A former Secretary to the Governmentoftge Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir David Lawal, has given his opinion on the leadership style of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Lawal described Tinubu’s personality as one marked by an “I know it all” attitude, which he identified as a significant character flaw.
Babachir in his argument said that while Tinubu is often regarded as a master strategist, his overconfidence and perceived self-sufficiency have led to flawed decision-making.
According to him, this has resulted in Tinubu overestimating his capabilities, particularly in making substantial decisions.
Speaking further he said,
“I always say this; I’m sorry to say this, but I will repeat it. The personality of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is that ‘I know it all.’ This is his character flaw. He knows it; he’s smart; he thinks he’s smart; he’s intelligent; they call him a master strategist, and from my own personal knowledge of him, that was what drove that possibility and that outcome, and now it has been shown that he has failed in his evaluation of his own capabilities for taking such huge decisions.
“If he had that competence, and if this cabinet has the competence, even after he has done that, they have had sufficient time to work out mitigating strategies.”
Engr. Babachir Lawal, who also spoke on State of the Nation on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, said Nigeria had collapsed after the swearing in of President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
He said the shocking announcement of fuel subsidy removal by him on the day of inauguration plunged the country into economic malady, stating that the policy was launched before the cabinet was assembled.
According to Lawal, the announcement of fuel subsidy removal led to increase in the transportation which is basically the engine of business for both the rich and common man in Nigeria.
Describing the action taken on May 29, 2023, Lawal said the non-existence of the cabinet and the Federal Executive Council, at the time, to address the consequences of such a harsh policy was the undoing of Tinubu, leading to a total collapse of the country.
Speaking on the Trust TV programme, he reiterated that I, “I can only repeat what I said before. I’ve spoken on this before. First of all, I did say one time you came into government on the day you were inaugurated,” he said.
“After swearing in you embark on the first major policies that are very impactful on the lives of the society. It is like a cowboy, or macho man removing subsidy. At that time, he didn’t have a minister of planning, that should plan the outcome, the consequences to take care.
“You don’t have a minister of finance who will calculate the impact of this on the society. You did not even have the Federal Executive Council that will approve that, you have nothing. As at that time, nobody to advise, nobody to break out ‘what ifs’”.
Speaking further, he said, “So immediately after that inauguration, Nigeria collapsed. It is like a balloon. Nigeria fell down. It deflated completely. Immediately transportation (fare) tripled,” he noted.
“That week! I used to buy animal feed for my cows from Zaria, I used to pay N270,000 per truck. Immediately that week, I couldn’t buy anymore, because transportation alone was going to cost me N1 million,” he explained from his personal experience as a farmer.
“I couldn’t afford it because the cost of fuel just jumped up. Everything. Last week I bought some equipment for my farm. I wanted to transport it from Kano, they were asking me to pay N3 million to transport three tractors and only to be put in a trailer. One trailer carrying three tractors!. Everything has gone up. So that policy alone crashed everything.”
