Compelling Vision for Nigeria: Tinubu Cast the Vision Now
“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.” — Seneca
We stand at a precipice. The winds of global change are blowing fiercely, yet the ship of the Nigerian state too often drifts, buffeted by the short-term storms of election cycles rather than steered by the compass of a generational destiny. The time for patchwork governance is over. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must now do what the boldest leaders of history have done: cast a compelling, iron-clad vision for the next decade—a vision so robust and institutionally guarded that no incoming administration dares dismantle it.
To understand the scale of ambition required, we must look East. The “Gauge” research has meticulously tracked the trajectory of the People’s Republic of China, specifically its “Made in China 2025” initiative. This was not merely a slogan; it was a blueprint for dominance. In 2015, Beijing identified 10 strategic technologies, ranging from electric vehicles and renewable energy to AI architecture and quantum computing. Then they set 250 specific “mini-goals” to achieve global supremacy.
The results are not just impressive; they are terrifyingly efficient.
According to an updated article published on December 12, 2024, by FOCUS (the mouthpiece of the US Congressional Research Services), China has already recorded an 86% success rate on these objectives. This was not luck. It was funded by a massive financial framework targeting $1.5 trillion. By 2020 alone, over $627 billion had been poured into these core objectives.
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How did they achieve this quantum leap? They did not rely on thedi “invisible hand” of the market alone; they reverse-engineered capitalism. They established powerful State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) not as bloated bureaucracies, but as agile tigers of industry. They set a ruthless research and funding agenda. They aggressively courted top-tier researchers—especially Chinese nationals holding “star positions” in Western tech giants—enticing them home with patriotic fervor and unmatched resources. Where diplomacy failed, they were pragmatic, acquiring intellectual property through every means necessary, including hacking and forced technology transfers.
While China cured its dependency on US technology by birthing giants like Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, TikTok, and Huawei, Nigeria remains dangerously exposed. As I detailed in a recent article, our digital sovereignty is non-existent; we are tenants on American and Chinese digital plantations.
President Tinubu must stop being diplomatic about our reality. We need a “Made in Nigeria 2035” roadmap. This is not about white papers that gather dust. This is about selecting five to seven key sectors—perhaps Agro-processing, Green Energy, Fintech, Alternative Medicine, and Defense Manufacturing. Like China, Nigeria should back them with a N50 trillion sovereign fund over ten years.
This vision must come with guardrails. We cannot afford the policy somersaults where a new President cancels the previous administration’s railways or power projects out of spite. President Tinubu must work with the National Assembly to pass a “National Development Stability Act,” criminalizing the abandonment of these specific strategic projects.
Furthermore, we must kill corruption with the same ferocity as China. In Beijing, corrupt officials who sabotage national vision do not get plea bargains; they face the harshest penalties. If we pour trillions into a vision only for it to be siphoned by a kleptocratic elite, we are merely funding our own funeral.
Extensive analysis by Deloitte on emerging markets underscores this point. Their reports consistently highlight that capital flight and policy inconsistency are the twin killers of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria. Deloitte’s economic outlooks for West Africa warn that without “disciplined policy execution” and structural reforms that outlive a single tenure, growth remains a mirage. We need the “Deloitte Standard” of rigorous auditing and project management applied to our national vision; where every Naira released is tracked by blockchain, and every milestone is verified by independent, non-governmental auditors.
Mr. President, the world is moving on. The 4th Industrial Revolution waits for no one. You have the mandate; now you must find the will. Cast the vision. Lock it in law. Fund it with courage. And protect it with your life.
The time is now.
