Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi has hailed the various reforms being carried out by President Bola Tinubu, describing them as path to sustainable national development.
Fasuyi, who is the Asiwaju of Ijesaland, said the story of the economy of Nigeria, once told in the language of imports, queues, and ballooning debt, is beginning to change, due to the reforms.
At the heart of the shift, according to Fasuyi, lies the insistence of the president that the country must produce what it consumes.
The founder of the Ibadan Business School, who is also a management consultant and community leader weaved together a narrative on the reforms, blending praises with challenges.
“When a country borrows to finance consumption, it mortgages its future,” he said, adding “But when borrowing is channelled into production and infrastructure, the nation prospers.”
Fasuyi spoke against the backdrop of a debt profile standing at ₦149 trillion, 73 per cent of it domestic. For decades, Nigeria borrowed heavily, often to fund consumption.
“That cycle,” Fasuyi, using the turning around of petroleum products production as a case study, declared “is being broken under Tinubu.”
He further said: “Nigeria, a producer of crude, long exported raw oil only to import refined products at great cost. The Dangote Refinery, now fully operational, has changed that equation.
“Filling stations, once marked by endless queues, are suddenly free, and refined petroleum is flowing, not only across Nigeria, but also into neighbouring markets. The savings are massive.”
The President Tinubu administration, he noted, deserved credit for tackling and addressing, head-on, problems that it did not create.
Fasuyi said agriculture is the next frontier, adding: “If Nigeria consistently grows what it eats, the naira will stabilise, purchasing power will improve, and the economy will find firmer footing.”
He did not dwell on economics alone, as he told a wider story of Nigeria’s progress-population soaring from 63 million at independence to 230 million today; universities multiplying; infrastructure spreading; regions becoming 36 states.
“We may not be where we desire,” he reflected, “but no society remains static. Growth is relative, and we have indeed moved forward.”
He challenged Nigerians to see governance as a partnership, and not a spectator sport.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling granting local government areas financial autonomy, Fasuyi believed real change would come “if development starts from the bottom up. Communities hold enormous social capital. If tapped, it can transform Nigeria,”
Fasuyi dismissed the notion of external sabotage by the World Bank. He insisted that loans “are not the problem; it is what nations do with them. China still borrows. The difference is discipline. Nigeria must follow suit.”
As he prepares to mark his 70th birthday in Ilesa, Osun State with nine days of cultural, spiritual, and developmental celebrations, Fasuyi framed his life milestone within Nigeria’s struggle for progress.
With national life expectancy pegged at 62 years, he regarded his own age as both a blessing and a mandate. “Attaining 70 is a dream fulfilled. My joy is to use this milestone to further champion inclusive and sustainable development,” he said.
For Fasuyi, Nigeria’s path is neither hopeless nor complete, with his verdict bothering on cautious optimism.
“With disciplined leadership, participatory governance, and a citizenry committed to production rather than consumption, the country is finally edging onto the right track,” he said.
