In Defence of Asiwaju’s “Renewed Hope 2023 Manifesto” By Professor Ojo Emmanuel Ademola

October 29, 2022 Babatunde Adekanmbi Just In 0

In starting this piece, I call to mind three things: the exigency that Nigerians need now is an exemplary leader and manager of people and resources as the next president; a few lines of the testimony of what Asiwaju did in Lagos, and the recent exposition on the fact that Asiwaju’s mandate, indeed is a calling. Now that Asiwaju has revealed the tenaciously expected manifesto, in addition to carefully reading and digesting every text and line, reflection on it also reminds the trending of great minds’ attitude that what Nigeria needs most urgently right from 2023 is the fulfilment of Asiwaju’s mandates in our country.
Babatunde Raji Fasola’s contribution and numerous others to the Lagos master plan and current impact on the nation’s works and housing sector, in my opinion, testifies to Asiwaju’s mandate, as I quote: “We received a MASTERPLAN and a Foundation from Tinubu, with which Lagos will continue to develop without interruption. That was my strategy and that of my successors as governor of Lagos. Everyone today sees the signs of Lagos development, and we are only just getting started.” Fashola, also known as the Actualiser, was Asiwaju’s Chief of Staff most of the time during his second term as governor of Lagos. He is known for being careful, thoughtful, and meticulous regarding governance issues. Fashola was destined to continue where Asiwaju left off in 2007, tending to the great seeds Asiwaju sowed in Lagos that are still bearing great fruit today. Asiwaju planted, Fashola cared for and watered the plants, Ambode pruned them, Sanwo-Olu harvested them, and Lagos has received a substantial harvest today. That is the great Lagos Story, which is currently working for Nigeria’s glory.
You might be able to recognise some inherent characteristics of management and leadership if you examine what transpired before the APC presidential primary election in greater detail. You would agree that Asiwaju gained early support from those who had never given him a chance to win the primary. Because they were unaware that pride is prohibited in elections, some individuals lost in the primary. It has an impact on both capability and popularity. These characteristics determine whether or not you possess the winning qualities. Asiwaju’s leadership of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 demonstrates not only his popularity but also his competence. He made honey out of the rock as he increased the state’s monthly internally generated revenue (IGR) from a meagre N600 million. The IGR has grown to N51 billion and is still growing. In a nutshell, the outcome of the APC presidential primary demonstrated unmistakably that Nigerians are familiar with Asiwaju’s name and support his mandate in the current political climate in Nigeria to become the next president in 2023.
Asiwaju used financial ingenuity to use the state’s resources, fulfilling his mandate of economic prudence. His heirs are building upon the foundation he laid while in office. Lagos continues to lead all 36 states in terms of development as a result. The best response should always be positive. If Asiwaju can do so in a significant portion of Nigeria, such as Lagos, shouldn’t he also be permitted to do so at the national level? The fact that Asiwaju will receive an overwhelming majority of votes from Nigerians remains a powerful incentive for them to support Asiwaju’s mandate.
Asiwaju is not a wrong person by any measure. He didn’t lack before he became governor in 1999. He became the multinational oil company Mobil’s Treasurer, where he made money. He gave his wealth to many different causes. He was primarily charitable. His charitable efforts are dispersed throughout the community, and many beneficiaries are unaware of their identities. Additionally, Asiwaju supported democracy with his wealth. It is crucial to keep in mind that during Abacha’s time, he was the sole financier of international pro-democracy groups that advocated for the revalidation of the presidential election on June 12, 1993, which was won by the late Bashorun MKO Abiola but was cancelled by former military president Ibrahim Babangida. Because he was a member of the National Assembly under the hierarchical arrangement that was in place before the June 12 election, the annulment particularly hurt him. After the Babangida junta, the federal executive branch of government left the country; the June 12 election was to usher in full democracy. An outstanding framework of exceptional management and leadership is at the heart of Asiwaju’s mandate, significantly promoting increased productivity and improved outcomes for all stakeholders.
Consequently, it is essential to note that Asiwaju paid close attention to the qualities of the next Lagos governor when discussing how he developed and implemented the master plan that has transformed Lagos into a place of growth and progress today. When selecting a candidate for governor, he made sure that competence and commitment to putting the Lagos master plan into action were the most critical factors. The fact that his heirs have not deviated from the master plan is the reason for Lagos’s current status as a robust sacred state among Nigerian states. The increased productivity plan, which will mobilise many commodities and other exports and make Nigeria a global leader in various manufacturing economy sectors, will play a role in understanding how the APC’s manifesto will be implemented under Asiwaju as president. Asiwaju’s willingness to invest in people provides the competence framework necessary to institutionalise commitment throughout the Nigerian governance plan.
Asiwaju never failed to leave Lagos with competent, dedicated, and determined governors who have ensured that his original ideas, visions, and roadmaps, as outlined in the Lagos Masterplan, are followed to the letter. This is because Asiwaju is ruled by the triangular focus of knowledge, vision, and the will to make things work. His succession plan for leadership is still the best that Nigeria has ever had, and the master plan couldn’t have been successful with leadership laggards and incompetent misfits who couldn’t effectively implement it.
As a result, Asiwaju demonstrated his expertise, depth of vision, and depth of sight not only by developing a long-term masterplan for Lagos but also by identifying, recruiting, and supporting a succession of successors who are not only qualified to carry out the masterplan but also dedicated to its execution and implementation. As a result, Lagos’s positive outcomes will always be achieved by combining these three leadership qualities. Exemplarily, this is Asiwaju’s brand’s power. He knows something to solve Nigeria’s problems; He is competent and able to create a master plan, recruit the right people to implement it, and ensure that the master plan is followed over time to achieve success. The manifesto reflects Asiwaju’s undeniable advantage over all other candidates currently running for the presidency.
For Nigeria, Asiwaju has undoubtedly seen the goal of achieving management 4.0. The manifesto is synonymous with the national goals development manual to achieving greatness for every Nigerian. The debate about the skills of 2023’s embodiment of leaders and managers is rooted in the conception of the manifesto that relates sufficiently with Asiwaju’s mandate. For instance, at the heart of the APC manifesto is Asiwaju’s promise of a fourth industrial revolution to underpin the global discourse of robotics playing significant roles in boosting productivity and engaging every Nigerian gainfully in the national interest of developing every facet of the economy. Asiwaju has proven that with foresight, vision, competence and dedication, resounding results are inescapably always achievable in every context of governance.

Asiwaju’s deep understanding of leadership and its requirements remain rare features that made him a script and nurtured a productive, durable and practical roadmap that has taken Lagos to the zenith of growth and progress today. Asiwaju will equally gift Nigeria with a team that will oversee the Nigerian masterplan even after he finishes his tenure as President, as was the case in Lagos. Asiwaju will lead the fourth industrial revolution, having prepared the stage for a grand developmental blueprint that will unleash Nigerian potential in the foreseeable future. He knows the way. He knows the means to navigate that way. He knows the right people to drive it. He knows the results to get. On these, he is a veteran; he is a professional; he is a guru. Lagos is a testimony of Asiwaju’s mandate of vision and capacity realisation of making Nigeria work again and great globally. No other candidate in the hustling has any record that nears this accentuated action plan for a greater and better Nigeria.
In putting the manifesto into action, Asiwaju’s administration will undoubtedly concentrate on the massive and unprecedented fourth industrial revolution by encouraging young people to become job providers rather than job seekers. Asiwaju shows that he will make significant investments in sports, culture, youth empowerment, and entrepreneurship to give millions of Nigerian youth more job opportunities. To put it another way, Asiwaju will continue to develop every sector of Nigeria’s economy and motivate every citizen to manage themselves to greatness by fostering this environment. Asiwaju will collaborate effectively with the current hardworking farmers, market women, dynamic young entrepreneurs, and hopeful children. Nigerians are among the best in the world, and they will rank their friends among the best. When given a fair chance, they excel in every human endeavour.
Regarding governance and the selection of competent leaders, Asiwaju can never be wrong. He never misjudged Lagos. Asiwaju, a strong character, strategist, thinker, wealth creator, and doer can change the narrative with the manifesto and restore the APC to its former glory as the beloved party of the people whose support brought it to power seven years ago. He cannot be wrong in Nigeria, especially since Asiwaju is a strong character. He has the mandate from his party, but the bigger one is in front of him: the people’s order, which will grant him the authority to restore our nation’s functioning and make it great globally. After speaking with people from all walks of life and travelling the country, Asiwaju came up with his plans for Nigerians. Additionally, he was well-engaged from the top down. They possessed a wealth of management and leadership abilities that would benefit Nigerian citizens to the fullest extent. I am confident that Nigerians will elect Asiwaju as the country’s next president with a majority of votes, despite the enormous task at hand. Nigeria is well-prepared for growth and development. Asiwaju is a tried-and-true master planner with the expertise, vision, intelligence, and determination to take bold and decisive actions on governance issues. He is well on his way to making the same colossal progress as he did in Lagos; he will surely achieve for Nigeria.
The scientific approach to resolving issues pertaining to governance is consistent with Asiwaju’s foresight. The freedom to deviate from supposition can quickly become seen as an unnecessary delay and distraction when science resembles knowledge acquisition, limiting scientific progress to applications that are currently predictable; As it encourages corporate ventures into the collectively unknown, and more consideration for individual freedom to think laterally or “outside the box” is beneficial. Asiwaju as Nigeria’s president, will open up a wide range of superb national and international visibility for the country’s future, ensuring that Nigeria will always be great locally and globally. Overall, Nigerians owe it to themselves to elect him to be president in February 2023 so that he can begin and implement a grand master plan for Nigeria, just as he did for Lagos between 1999 and 2007.

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