News
President Tinubu: Stunts Of The Salesman
By Abdulaziz Abdulaziz –
IT was pin drop silence. All heads turned to his side of the hall listening as the man gently, but firmly, made a case for his country to this crème de la crème of the Saudi Arabian economic bureaucracy and business community. He grabbed attention with an off the cuff speech that exuded confidence, authority, assurance and truthfulness. It was a little wonder his audience followed through and nodded all through!
The setting was the Saudi-Nigeria Business Summit and the speaker was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It was a forum held on the sidelines of the recent Saudi-Africa Summit held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
President Tinubu went into the meeting hall at the JW Marriot Hotel in upscale Riyadh as the President of Nigeria. By the time he picked the microphone he quickly wore the garb of a chief salesman for a product he is excited to market.
It was an effortless exercise in sophisticated arts of marketing and advocacy. It was a presentation from the heart that was as unpretentious as it was unscripted. He spurned out the facts and the figures, reeled out the justifications and tickled the boardroom chiefs where it mattered without appearing weak or pitiable. It was a classic case of economic diplomacy and salesmanship at the highest level.
Since the beginning of his campaign for office, one of the most frequent words on his lips has been “prosperity”. President Tinubu is a prosperous man. His life is tinged with footsteps of prosperity, from the corporate world where he was a successful businessman to the prosperous political career that was capped with his election to the highest office in the land.
It had not always been rosy for him. He had told his story again and again to motivate the younger generation and inspire the country. He had toiled to reach the top. He knew the pains of want and starvation, and the sweetness that comes with economic liberation and prosperity. It is the latter that President Tinubu is desperately working to see that all Nigerians have tested.
He had the lifelong ambition to lead his fatherland. He has fulfilled this ambition. He could, if he chooses, stay back and enjoy the pecks that come with it and pass the time in office. But because the ambition was not a vain one, President Tinubu is up and doing. “I campaigned for it. I begged for the job. I even danced to get elected. There is no excuse!” That is his mindset and the philosophy of leadership for him, and it is for this mindset that he is willing to go to any length to ensure that he bequeath to Nigerians a prosperous country that everyone desires.
It was in his quest for this objective that the President chose to use his time in Riyadh to address the country’s top boardroom chiefs. It turned out to be not just another meeting or a boring address from just another President. It was dazzling interaction that stole the minds of almost everyone in the room, by their own admission.
“We came with high expectations but you have exceeded them,” said the Saudi minister of investment, Khalid Al Falih, who moderated the three-hour session, after the rousing applause that greeted President Tinubu’s address to the Saudi business community. The minister had in his welcome address spoke about how they had followed President Tinubu’s campaign promises and how he started off with the “boldest economic reform agenda in decades” for Nigeria, likening it to happenings in Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed Abunayyan, Chairman of Saudi’s ACWA Power confessed to being “inspired and motivated” by the President promising to see how his company can make foray into Nigeria. In the same vein, Abdulrahman Alfaqiq, the CEO of Saudi oil trading company, SABIC, promised to upscale their business relationship with Nigeria due to the assurances he got from the top.
They were just a few of the many who spoke in glowing terms about the President and in optimistic sense of the new business environment being created by President Tinubu for domestic and international investors.
This was not the first time and certainly not the last. In September, the President’s participation at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, was a potpourri of achievements. He maximally used the time to network with the right people and seek out investments for Nigeria.
It was, in every sense, a bumper harvest for the country as the President came back with a basket full of goodies amounting to billions of dollars in investment pledges. Most of the commitments are in areas dear to the heart of the President and at centre of our quest for development. These include the $3 billion promised by Jindal Steels for iron ore processing to aid Nigeria’s drive for industrialization, Skippersells’ plan to invest $1.6 billion in the power sector by building 2000MW power plants across the country in 4 years, Indorama’s pledge for $8 billion expansion of their petrochemical facilities in Rivers State, a billion dollars secured by the Defence Industry Corporation Of Nigeria (DICON), among others.
The President’s last trip to Germany for the G20 Compact with Africa Summit also garnered as much fruits with the signing of the $500 million gas and renewable energy pact with the German government, among others.
As a young man, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was trained as an accountant. He was a very good student, his records show, who finished from the Chigaco State University with flying colours. In the aftermath, he pursued strings of career opportunities in Accounting and Auditing.
He left his job on his own volition and ventured into politics. But in his new job President Tinubu is demonstrating that beyond his training in Accountancy, as omo iyaloja he has imbibed not a few skills from his revered mother and notable businesswoman to apply in his bid to market Nigeria to investors and the larger international community.
Abdulaziz is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media. He’s on X @AbdulFagge
**Calls for reversal of the ill-informed Move by the House of reps
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has Condemned the attempt by the House of Representatives to refer Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere and other members to the Committee On Ethics for probe over their Solidarity Visit to the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Fifty members of the House of Representatives hadq paid a solidarity visit to the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to celebrate his one year in office.
The lawmakers, who consist of members of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP), Labour Party ( LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party ( NNPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) also include the spokesman of opposition coalition, in the House, Ikenga Ugochinyere..
Ugochinyere had explained on the sideline of the thanksgiving service in Port Harcourt that federal lawmakers were in Rivers to solidarilize with Fubara and celebrate with him on his one year of transformational leadership.
But the House had referred the Honourable members to the Committee on Ethics for disciplinary action over their visit
However, the chairman,
Media Committee of the
Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) Chief Barr. Chukwudi Ezeobika in a statement has tackled the leadership of the House for the action which he said clearly cast doubt on its integrity in the observance and or adherence to the laws which they enact/promulgate.
“Relying on the point of order/ privilege raised by Yusuf Gagdi of the All Progressives Congress, Plateau State to arrive at such decision is erroneous and grossly misleading.
“The House, by this very action, has impugned on the integrity and sacredness of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) especially Sections 39 and 40 which guarantee Freedom of Expression and the Press as well as that of Peaceful Assembly and Association respectively.
“We, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), hereby call on the leadership of the House of Representatives to, without further delay retract its ongoing steps in the purported probe of these Honourable members by its Ethics Committee and not engage in any act that may violate the fundamental rights of its members or any member of the public.
the Kano State Police Command has countered reports that Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero will lead Jumma’t Prayers at Kofar Kudu Central Mosque, Kano, where Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, Emir of Kano, leading prayer at the moment.
The reinstated Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II and the dethroned Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, have been laying claim to the throne, creating confusion in the city.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had dethroned Ado Bayero and asked him to hand over within 48 hours.
But the dethroned monarch in defiance returned to the town under military protection and has been operating from the mini palace since then.
In a statement by Abdullahi Kiyawa, spokesman of Kano Police Command, said, “The Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Usaini Gumel, FIPMA, psc further assured that all necessary security arrangements have been made for Alhaji Aminu Bayero to observe his Jummah Prayers in the Mosque where he lives at the Nasarawa Palace.
“The CP also assured that the Police and all other state security agencies will provide adequate security at the Palace where Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II is expected to observe his Jumma’at Prayers.
“Members of the public are therefore advised to ignore the false reports and misinformation circulating on social media and to go about their activities without fear of molestation or intimidation assuring that the Police will continue to provide the necessary security for ensuring that residents observe their Friday congressional prayers peacefully and without threats to their lives and property.”
The emirate tussle has continued to linger since the reinstatement of Sanusi and dissolution of the five emirates.
There have been cnflicting court orders for and against
Based on the conflicting orders, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kayode Ariwoola, had summoned the head of the Federal High high Court and Kano Chief Judge.
The Police statement reads,
KANO STATE POLICE COMMAND
31ST MAY, 2024
The Kano State Police Command is hereby advising all residents to disregard the false information circulating on social media that Emir Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero will lead Jumma’t Prayers at Kofar Kudu Central Mosque, Kano.
2. The Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Usaini Gumel, FIPMA, psc further assured that all necessary security arrangements have been made for Alhaji Aminu Bayero to observe his Jummah Prayers in the Mosque where he lives at the Nasarawa Palace.
3. The CP also assured that the Police and all other state security agencies will provide adequate security at the Palace where Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II is expected to observe his Jumma’at Prayers.
4. Members of the public are therefore advised to ignore the false reports and misinformation circulating on social media and to go about their activities without fear of molestation or intimidation assuring that the Police will continue to provide the necessary security for ensuring that residents observe their Friday congressional prayers peacefully and without threats to their lives and property.
SP ABDULLAHI HARUNA KIYAWA, ANIPR, MNISMA,
POLICE PUBLIC RELATONS OFFICER,
FOR: COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, KANO STATE COMMAND.
As the royal turbulence continue to shake the foundation of the city of Kano, the ancient city is tension soaked as the two contending Emirs- the reinstated Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II and the dethroned Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, have indicated their determination to hold Jumaat prayers at the Palace Central Mosque.
A press statement issued Thursday night, signed by Danburan Kano, Munir Sanusi Bayero, spelt out the itinerary of the reinstated Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II to the Mosque to lead the Jumaat Prayers.
The statement explained that Emir Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II, who resides in the Palace, and is closer to the contending Mosque, is expected to lead the two rakat Friday prayers.
Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II has been leading the Jumaat Prayers at the Palace Central Mosque as the Amir of the City, a statement explained.
The statement by Danburan invited Kano residents to come and listen to the sermon to be delivered by the Emir Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II.
However, another statement from an aide of the deposed Emir, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero invited residents to join him at the Emir’s Palace Friday Mosque to observe the Juma’at prayer.
It stated that the movement to the Emir’s Palace Mosque starts at 12.30 pm.
However, the police are yet to comment on the development.
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