The Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria's greatest-ever leader. Audu cited Tinubu's extensive political experience, institutional reforms, and willingness to make difficult economic decisions as reasons for her assertion. In an article, she argued that leadership should be evaluated based on the institutions built, difficult decisions taken, and the future made possible, rather than immediate comfort.
According to Audu, Tinubu's political significance predates his emergence as president in 2023. She noted that his career spans his time as a senator during the Third Republic, his involvement in the pro-democracy struggle, exile, and his tenure as governor of Lagos State. Tinubu's influence continued after leaving office as governor through his role in opposition politics and the alliances that contributed to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its 2015 victory.
Audu highlighted Tinubu's experience as governor of Lagos State, which she said helped establish the philosophy of a "capable state". She argued that effective governance requires institutions capable of mobilising revenue, formulating policies, executing decisions, enforcing rules, and creating conditions for private enterprise to flourish. This experience, she believes, has informed Tinubu's approach to leadership at the federal level.
The PEBEC DG also discussed Nigeria's economic challenges, including the rising cost of petrol subsidy, foreign exchange imbalances, weak public revenues, infrastructure deficits, import dependence, and administrative inefficiencies. She described this as a "political economy of postponement", where governments often transferred the cost of avoiding difficult reforms to the future. Audu noted that Tinubu disrupted this pattern through the removal of the petrol subsidy, although she acknowledged that the transition had imposed hardship on Nigerians.
Audu highlighted the administration's ease-of-doing-business reforms, aimed at reducing the institutional cost of being productive in Nigeria. She identified areas such as permits, customs procedures, company registration, commercial courts, and government approvals, where bureaucratic inefficiencies could impose additional costs on businesses. The objective of the business-facilitation framework is to ensure that the government facilitates legitimate enterprise rather than becoming an obstacle to it.
According to Audu, the reforms are linked to the administration's ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030. She acknowledged that reforms often carry immediate costs while their benefits take longer to materialise, making them politically difficult. Audu noted that Tinubu's political career has been marked by a willingness to expend political capital on difficult decisions rather than simply accumulate it.
While acknowledging the contributions of other Nigerian leaders, Audu said Tinubu's political journey was unusual. She urged Nigerians to continue demanding results, better living conditions, social amenities, and infrastructure, adding that recognising Tinubu's contribution did not mean suspending scrutiny of his administration. Audu acknowledged that Tinubu's work remained unfinished but maintained that his political career had already shaped important institutions and political developments in Nigeria.
Key points
- PEBEC DG Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu praises President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria's greatest leader.
- Audu cites Tinubu's experience, reforms, and economic decisions as reasons for her assertion.
- The PEBEC DG urges Nigerians to continue demanding results and scrutiny of Tinubu's administration.
