With the flurry of policy reforms in our country that is rapidly changing the socioeconomic landscape, it is critical that we take a cursory look at the series of actions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in about four (4) weeks of his presidency, particularly with respect to the quality of his team and the manifestations on society of the policy decisions that he has so far made.
Focusing on the team that would help him develop and implement his Renewed Hope promise, one of the strategic actions that he has taken is the appointment of some critical aides designated as special advisers in strategic areas that would be engaging the attention of Nigeria’s new political leader, President Tinubu.
An assessment of the calibre of people that he has assembled as core members of his team is critical because it would reflect the quality of decisions that he has already made that have so far created rippling effects and how well the policies would be implemented by the apparently savvy team of technocrats.
The policies that have had seismic effects on society range from the first which is the dramatic announcement of the end of petrol subsidy in the course of making his maiden speech as president on May 29, to the current announcement of more appointments of key officials to serve as his husband men and women in the delivery of the onerous task as well as some executive orders reversing some hurriedly passed laws in the twilight of the last administration.
It is a combination of his policy initiatives via acts of law and executive orders from the presidency that have combined to earn the reforms introduced by President Tinubu the sobriquet, Tinubunomics.
At this juncture, it is pertinent to recall that the immediate past Senate President of the 9th National Assembly, NASS, Ahmad Lawan, had on the 6th of June read out on the floor of the Senate a letter from President Tinubu requesting for their approval of 20 special advisers for him.
On that occasion, it was noted by the senators that the names and roles to be played by the potential appointees were not specified in the letter. But in the spirit of the new beginning, the list was approved as requested.
And apparently, President Tinubu has not disappointed the Senate that gave him a carte blanche and indeed the electorate by appointing ten (10) thorough bred professionals into the role of special advisers which represents half of the 20 approved for him by the legislators in the upper chamber.
The new special advisers who some pundits have aptly dubbed the members of the president’s ‘kitchen cabinet’ comprise of old timers and new comers.
And I would like to describe them as new and old wines in a new bottle with Tinubu’s presidency being the new bottle.
A typical old wine in the new bottle is Mr. Dele Alake who is now Special Adviser, Special Duties, Communications and Strategy. He is being characterized as old wine because he is one of the longest standing Tinubu devotees, having served as Commissioner for Information and Strategy during President Tinubu’s tour of duty as governor of Lagos State— 1999- 2007.
Since then he has remained steadfastly connected to President Tinubu through thick and thin to the extent that Mr. Alake has become a sort of right arm of the two (2) arms of Asiwaju Tinubu, and not just a right hand man.
A manifestation of the metaphorical description above happened during then presidential candidate Tinubu’s Chatham House outing on December 5, last year, where Mr. Alake (amongst a couple of other close associates of Tinubu) was assigned the role of responding to some questions posed by Chatham House panelists.
In the light of the above, the new Special Adviser, Special Projects Communications and Strategy, Mr. Alake’s prime role in the unfolding cabinet of President Tinubu is unsurprising as it had been long in coming.
Having currently been assigned a role officially, his authenticity as the man that has the ears and eyes of President Tinubu is no longer in doubt.
Therefore, the situation whereby Mr. Alake was challenged by the organized labor, NLC led by Comrade Joe Ajaero who questioned his role as a negotiator on behalf of government in the aftermath of the removal of petrol subsidy and threat by NLC to go on strike, would no longer arise.
It may be recalled that Mr. Ajaero, the NLC President, had during the first meeting after petrol subsidy removal was announced, stated publicly that he was not interested in negotiating with Mr. Alake because he could not fathom in what capacity he was acting.
That snide remark would not be repeated going forward because it has become clear that Mr. Alake is the mouth piece and a key strategist for President Tinubu, therefore a powerful factor in Tinubunomics.
Another special adviser whose pedigree has its roots running all the way to President Tinubu’s political origin as governor of Lagos State is Mr. Wale Edun. Like Mr. Alake, he too has remained with Mr. President till date, even long after he served as Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State during Tinubu’s reign as governor of Lagos State from 1999-2007.
Mr. Edun is a consummate investment banker with a rich pedigree that runs deep as an alumni of the foremost United States of America, USA, investment banks, Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs, amongst other leading financial institutions.
After introducing innovative measures that enabled Lagos State to ramp up internally generated revenue from a mere N600 million monthly about two (2) decades ago into multiple billions, Mr. Edun laid the foundation for the billion naira level to which successive administrations have taken internally generated revenue that currently is in the region of N50 billion monthly which is a superlative accomplishment.
According to records, Mr. Edun had stepped aside from the role of finance commissioner in the wee days of Asiwaju Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State to play a more active role in the private sector where he founded and operated Denham Capital.
But he remained an active member of the inner caucus of President Tinubu even after he migrated from public sector back to the private sector.
As such, under the watch of President Buhari, Mr. Edun had served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Ogoni Trust Fund, focused on environmental cleanup efforts in Ogoniland in the Niger Delta based on the recommendation of then APC national leader, Asiwaju Tinubu.
Given his rich background in investment banking/financial engineering and in line with his role as former finance commissioner in Lagos State, it was speculated that he would either be the new finance minister or governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
And his appointment into the new role as Special Adviser on Monetary Policy ends that speculation for now.
Without an iota of doubt, the revelation by President Tinubu in his inaugural speech that it is his desire to see an end to the regime of multiple naira exchange rates and platforms that defined the immediate past regime’s management of the economy, emphasizing that there would also be some house cleaning in the financial services sector, bore the imprimatur of Mr. Edun whom Bloomberg News had earlier quoted as having stated that changes in the financial landscape of Nigeria were imminent.
During his parley with Nigerians in France on the sidelines of the global conference on economic impact attended last week by President Tinubu in Paris, he revealed to his audience that Mr. Edun is the leader of Team Tinubu hashing out the policies that are driving Tinubunomics.
Arising from the above, his choice as President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Monetary Policy is a sort of validation of his position as an inner caucus member of Team Tinubu and a significant factor in Tinubunomics.
The third (3) special adviser appointed by President Tinubu is Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, who is a police man that reigned as a fearless anti-corruption tzar during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, OBJ, from 1999 to 2007.
Mr. Ribadu, a police officer that assumed the role of an anti-corruption crusader when he served as EFCC chairman and stepped on a lot of powerful toes before he retired from the police force after rising from the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG. He is fortunate to be named the new National Security Adviser, NSA.
Even though he has in the past castigated and indicted then Lagos State governor and now President Tinubu for alleged financial crimes, he has nevertheless been named a Special Adviser, and later NSA by President Tinubu.
That makes him a critical player in Tinubunomics.
So, from fighting financial crimes as EFCC boss, by virtue of his new appointment as NSA, Mr. Ribadu has been assigned an expanded sphere of influence as he would be in charge of the whole gamut of security of Nigeria which is a huge responsibility.