Former presidential aide Senator Babafemi Ojudu has voiced his concerns about President Bola Tinubu’s suitability to lead Nigeria at this critical time.
Speaking as a guest on Edmund Obilo’s State Affairs podcast on Monday, Ojudu, who previously served in the office of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, expressed his belief that Nigeria would have been better served under Osinbajo’s leadership.
“This country would have gone places with him if he had the opportunity, but it didn’t happen,” Ojudu said, reflecting on Osinbajo’s loss to Tinubu in the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries.
Ojudu, who has worked closely with both leaders, criticized Tinubu’s personal philosophy, particularly the “Emi Lokan” mantra, which he described as ill-suited to Nigeria’s current needs.
“I feel that having worked and related closely with the principal of Emi Lokan, and worked at the National Assembly and presidency myself, I just feel that the philosophy of Emi Lokan was not appropriate at this time,” he said.
Praising Osinbajo, Ojudu emphasized the former vice president’s visionary qualities and collaborative approach to governance.
“Osinbajo was the best person to govern Nigeria at that time, having seen him up close,” he stated.
He argued that effective leadership in Nigeria requires more than individual brilliance, stressing the importance of teamwork and shared vision among key government officials.
“Whoever is going to run this country successfully must not be an individual. He must be one person working within a group of people who have the same vision as him,” Ojudu said.
He further highlighted the need for competent leadership across all sectors, noting that a president cannot succeed with ineffective or unaligned heads of critical institutions.
“You can’t just be a president and have a useless Inspector General of Police, a useless head of Customs or Immigration, or a Chief Justice of Nigeria. Everybody must sign on to your ideals, ideas, and visions,” Ojudu concluded.
