ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The tireless minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Nyesom Wike has bagged the Innovate Africa Leadership Award of 2025

The minister who barely 48hours ago went on a massive projects flag-off/commissioning across the Territory truly deserves the continental award.

For twenty days, Wike was in his feet moving from one axis to the other.

Read his keynote address in part below:

“Distinguished African leaders, captains of industry and innovators, global partners, distinguished academia, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen.

“It is with profound humility that I stand before you at this historic gathering convened under the auspices of Innovate Africa Corporation. I thank the organisers for their foresight in hosting this timely conference and for the privilege of delivering this keynote address.

“I also express my sincere appreciation to the Innovate Africa Leadership Council for the humbling recognition conferred on me with the Innovate Africa Leadership Award 2025.

This honour belongs not to me alone, but to the resilient people of Nigeria and especially to President Bola Ahmed Tinibu, whose bold vision for renewal has given me the platform to contribute to our nation’s transformation.

The wording of your invitation letter is not only a tribute, but also a compelling testament to the effect that amid the cacophony of misrepresentation and the fog of political distortion, there still exist organisations and individuals capable of objective, fair-minded and rational evaluation of leadership and development efforts.
That the organisation found me worthy of this role in recognition of our commitment to infrastructural renewal and transformative leadership is deeply reassuring and truly appreciated.

In an age when leadership is too often viewed through partisan lenses, your invitation stands as both a soothing balm and a powerful vindication, an affirmation that purposeful governance anchored on vision and accountability still commands genuine recognition.

Your thoughtful words, I quote, “Your Excellency, your administration’s bold investment in the infrastructural renewal of the Federal Capital Territory have not only redefined Abuja global standing, but have also inspired confidence in Africa’s capacity for homegrown solutions”.

I am not taking it as flattery, but as a sincere acknowledgement of the collective efforts and transformative strides we are making in Abuja.

Such commendations, echoed by many discerning voices from both within and beyond our borders, strengthen our resolve to continue serving with conviction and excellence.

Let’s take a retrospective reflection on Africa’s present moment. Africa today stands at a historic crossroads. On one hand, we are endowed with immense natural wealth, fertile land, vibrant culture, and the youngest population in the world. We are a continent of extraordinary promise, alive with creativity, innovation, and a deep cultural heritage that has shaped humanity itself.

Yet, on the other hand, we continue to grapple with weak institutions, infrastructural deficits, widespread unemployment, poverty, and recurring governance failures that have constrained our progress.
This is the paradox of our age.

How can a continent so richly blessed remain so constrained? How can such abundance coexist with scarcity? Such youthful energy be stifled by joblessness. Such sovereignty be undermined by fragility. This tension defines Africa’s present moment, a moment of both urgency and immense possibility.
At the heart of this paradox lies the decisive factor of leadership.

Leadership remains the fulcrum upon which the destinies of nations rest. It determines whether our vast resources become a blessing or a curse, whether our diversity becomes strength or division, whether our challenges become stumbling blocks or stepping stones.
When leadership is visionary, accountable, and courageous, even the most daunting obstacles can be transformed into opportunities.

But leadership must also create the enabling environment for transformation by providing the critical infrastructure that attracts investment, drives productivity, and sustains growth.
At present, the level of investment in Africa remains minimal precisely because of infrastructural decay and policy inconsistency. Roads, power, railways, and digital connectivity are the arteries through which development flows.

Without them, the economy cannot freely breathe.
It is to be deeply regretted that Africa continues to export raw materials and import finished goods, a cycle that perpetuates dependency and stifles industrial growth. This situation is unhealthy for sustainable development which has eluded the continent for far too long.

Africa’s future will be written by the kind of leadership we nurture today. Leadership that not only dreams, but dares, not only commands, but serves, not only governs, but transforms.
Real leadership in the 21st century to… (inaudible)Africa’s future.

The time has come to move beyond transactional leadership, the kind driven by personal gain, patronage, and short-term calculations.
To embrace transformational leadership rooted in vision, courage, service, and accountability. Leadership must not exploit, empower, it must not rule, but serve. It must not merely transact, but transform.
Many commentators agree that the greatest impediment to Africa’s progress and the chronic ailments of development for decades is the place of poor and mediocre leadership.

Across the continent today, both military and civilian dispensation, leaders have often emerged through self-serving conspiracies that there are little or no relation to national interest or development.
Consequently, many African nations have been saddled with leaders unprepared for the enormity of leadership.

The result is a tragic pattern of groping in the dark, with nations endlessly experimenting with the fundamentals of development, basic infrastructure, primary healthcare, functional economy, efficient democratic and judicial systems, and credible institutions.
The 21st century calls for a new kind of African leaders who are prepared, principled, and passionate; leaders who embody vision and resilience; leaders who believe that there are boundless possibilities and act decisively to unlock them.

They must be bold enough to make difficult but necessary decisions. They must be proactive enough to anticipate the future, and committed enough to build systems that prioritize excellence over mediocrity, performance over politics.

The leadership that Africa deserves in the 21st century is one that is about caring rather than controlling. A true leader must see himself as a servant, humbled by the weight of responsibility he carries for the welfare of the people.
Africa is in urgent need of servant leaders.

Leaders who do not see themselves as bosses but as mentors, genuinely committed to the building of communities and the upliftment of people.
Harry Gordon Selfridge and John C. Maxwell captured this distinction beautifully. I quote, “A boss drives his team, a leader guides them. A boss relies on authority, a leader relies on trust and goodwill. A boss inspires fear, a leader inspires enthusiasm. A boss I, a leader says we.

A boss demands punctuality, a leader is early to lead by example. A boss blames when things go wrong, a leader exceeds the problem. A boss knows the path, a leader walks it with a team. A boss says, go, a leader rallies his people with, let’s go together.

True leadership, then, is not about position or power, but about inspiring, serving, and joining with those you lead. This is the kind of leadership Africa must embrace if we are to move from stagnation to transformation.

Transformative leadership is not an abstract thing. It is a living reality where both vision meets purposeful action. Here in Abuja, we have witnessed how infrastructural renewal anchored on political will and strategic investment can turn aspiration into achievements.
Roads that were once impassable are now open. Bridges connect communities. Public spaces once abandoned now thrive with life, enterprise, and hope. These are not mere structures of concrete and steel.

They are symbols of what is possible when leadership dares to dream and to deliver.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to a difficult but necessary reform further reminds us that leadership is ultimately about sacrifice for the greater good.
From the first day of his presidency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu demonstrated encourage by confronting one of Nigeria’s most formidable challenges, the removal of the fuel subsidy.

When I was talking about leadership, I said you must take decisions, very difficult decisions that you are being confronted with. That’s what I mean about leadership. When a leader cannot take decisions at challenging the times, then that is not leadership.

All of us are aware today so many states can say we have resources to carry out development.

We have resources to provide infrastructure. We are no longer running around banks. We are not looking for how banks will give us money. So much money is now in the hands of states.
But what is important, what you use the money for is a different thing. But leadership has been provided by taking a decision that has made this money to be available to the various states.

What the states do with FCT is now the concern of those that leadership is given to. For me, giving me the responsibility as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, I have that political will without any apologies to anybody to make sure Abuja competes with other cities of the world.

I have taken decisions that so many people thought, that why will he do this? Can he stand this? Three days ago, I was informed that the police was constructing houses under the high tension.

And the Development Control went there to say, look, you cannot do this. The police arrested them.
And I called the DIG Operation. You arrested them. I will go there by myself, and I will not allow it to happen. And I went there. And I saw the high tension. And I said, look, we must say that you cannot. Under my leadership, this will not be allowed.

And I told the Development Control, bring down the buildings. Heaven will not fall. Heaven will be at rest. And as I speak to you, heaven is at rest. That is leadership. It doesn’t matter who is involved. It’s leadership.

People come to us. You know that things are wrong, what you are doing is wrong. It has nothing to do with the political party you belong to.

People talk about criminals taking over the entire Abuja, we said okay. We will go and locate them. We will identify where they are. And we went and we said, oh, these are shanties. We will not allow these shanties in the city. Bring them down.
I saw on television so many people carrying placards. Wike is this, Wike is that, yes that is leadership. Somebody has to take the decision and I have taken the decision. You are not there to satisfy a particular person. Leadership is about the people.

Somebody converts green area. They said he’s a former chief of this. He’s a former this of this. I said, fine. Who approved this? Nobody. Sir, let’s trend with caution. I said, what caution? They said, the man is the former chief of this, I said yes. He is former. The law does not know that, about former or present. The law must take its course, I said, take them away.

Of course, in the next few hours, phone calls everywhere. I didn’t change. That’s leadership.
You may not be right, but you must take a decision. And that’s what this present government is doing.

People forget where we were yesterday. I don’t know how many people will be in a position to take that decision, so bold, very difficult decision that requires that sacrifices must be made.

A lot of us started crying. How can you remove fuel subsidy? How can you do this? The masses are suffering. We agree. But it is fraudulent and so he took that decision.

Within that short time thing appears that the whole heavens will go down. But by the grace of God, that decision, he took, very difficult decision that made a lot of …(inaudible) at that time. Prices of fuel went up, this up. But today, things are stabilizing.

When I was a governor, we never shared more than N500 billion in a month from the federation account, never. I’ve never had more than 10, 15 billion in a month. Today, states are sharing not less than 2 trillion every month.
Why because of the removal of the fuel subsidy.

As the leader of the FCT, as the leader of state A, as the leader of state B, as the leader of state C, it’s behooves on them, on us, to provide leadership. Leadership that’s not transactional, leadership that brings commitment and leadership that provides infrastructure.

Two days ago, we’re in a Wuye District. Contract was awarded to develop Wuye District 2009. 16 years ago, a contract to develop a district 2009.

And we are in 2025, 16 years ago, and I asked you, where was the leadership to develop a district? That has about 700 and something hectares of land, provide roads as the basic infrastructure for people to move in, for residences, and carry out their economic activities, commercial activities. No way.
But today, you have a leadership that have said, look, we can’t continue this way. We must have to fix it. It took that leadership two years to fix it. Today, everybody who stays in Wuye or those of you who have access to Wuye you can now see.

A country like this, just to have ordinary that’s very common all over the world, for train stations to operate, became difficult; millions of dollars were spent, it requires a strong leadership, a transformational leadership. Not leadership based on ethnicity, not leadership based on religion, but leadership that is focused, that’s transformational.
I remember when the Nigerian Bar Association had their annual general conference here in Abuja and the President said, …(inaudible) I want to ride on the train to the airport. I want to. I’m not interested in land. I want to ride on that train. It didn’t take us one year. That train is working, it is operational. That is transformational leadership, that is leadership that’s focused. That’s what Mr. President has done.

Here in Nigeria, in Africa, we’re only talking about leadership based on where you come from. Leadership based on relationship. So, Africa cannot talk about development. Africa cannot talk about progress, its leadership is transactional, its leadership is based on relationship, if leadership is not transformational, forget it.

And I believe, by the grace of God, Nigeria is going to see a new narrative. I know that a lot of us are not patient, yes. But you forget that things have been so bad. It’s not where somebody is sick, a pastor or a prophet calls you, kneel down, it’s different. He says you are healed, go. It’s different.
This requires time.

This requires taking tough decisions. And then, it will take time before it you begin to see results. And by the grace of God, the results are coming trickling in and all we need to do is to be patient.
Equally, transformative leadership, equally, transformative is his effort to decentralize governance and address the cultural imbalance. I was talking about what the president was doing.
Today, this bold decision of Mr. President is beginning to yield results. States and local governments now receive higher revenues for development. The burden of debt accumulation is easing.

The price of petrol is gradually aligning with market realities under sound regulatory oversight.
Equally, transformative is Mr President’s effort to decentralize governance and address the structural imbalance of over-centralization. Through the creation of zonal and regional commissions, President Tinubu is devolving development closer to the people, an essential step towards genuine federalism.

In the area of security, his administration has invested in the training and retraining of the armed forces and approved the recruitment of forest guard nationwide to reclaim ungoverned spaces from bandits and terrorists. These and other survey measures have repositioned Nigeria towards stability, productivity, and growth.

Yet, it must be emphasized that no leader, however visionary or determined, can succeed without the support and cooperation of the people. No matter how strong, no matter how visionary, no matter how courageous a leader is, without the support of the people, that leadership quality will never materialize.

The burden and glory of national transformation must be shared. History teaches us that no nation progresses without synergy between its leadership and fellowship.
There must be synergy between leadership and fellowship. For example, Dubai, for example, attained global prominence through the unity of purpose between a decisive leader and a believing people.

For as Yasser Jarrah observed, I quote, “Dubai had a leader who acted quickly and decisively, not shaken by challenges, and had his people backing him and believing in his vision”
If we can re-imagine leadership across Africa in this same spirit, leadership that builds, not blames, that inspires, not divides, that empowers, not dominates, then no mountain will be too high, no challenge too great, and no dream too ambitious for our continent.

The time for belief is here. The time for action is now. Together with visionary leadership and a committed citizenry, Africa can begin to realize the continent of its dreams.

Africa stands today at the threshold of destiny, a continent rich in promise yet still wrestling with the lingering weight on dependence; for too long, Africa has looked outward for solutions to problems that can only be solved from within.
The time has come for Africa to come of age and rise beyond the rhetoric of aid and dependency, and to take deliberate, courageous decisions to chart its own path towards self-reliance, prosperity, and global relevance.
Foreign aid, once embraced, is a bridge to development, has too often become a crutch that weakens resolve and distorts priorities. Development cannot be donated. It must be built. No nation or continent has ever achieved greatness through the benevolence of others.

America cannot donate development to you. Great Britain cannot donate. France cannot. All they do, don’t think they want your own development. They give you ideas that at the end of the day will help their own country, not your own country.
So you must on your own.

” If you wait for donation for development, it will not come. Mention one country that developed through donation. No way.
Africa must now be clear, with convictional clarity, that it will no longer be defined by grants and conditionality’s but by ideas, innovation, and indigenous strength.
Our future, hear me well, our future must be crafted, not in the conference rooms of donor agencies but in the creative laboratories, farms, classrooms, and workshops of Africans, determined to transform their continent.

If followership is the fulcrum of transformation, then investment is the engine that powers it forward. Leadership alone is not enough. Leadership must inspire investment, both domestic and foreign, that ignites growth, creates jobs, and builds resilience.

Yet, investment in Africa must not remain extract. It must be productive, inclusive. It must prioritize infrastructure, education, innovation, agriculture, health, and the creative economy. Above all, it must empower women and youth, the beating heart of Africa’s future.
70% of Africa’s population is under the age of 30. This is not a statistic. It is a revolution waiting to happen. If we invest in our youth through education, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and skills training, we will unleash the greatest demographic dividend in human history.
Already, Africa’s youth are pioneering FinTech in Lagos and Nairobi, building creative hubs in Dakar and Accra, and revolutionizing agriculture in Kigali and Addis Ababa.
Our responsibility as leaders is to remove barriers, provide platforms, and trust the brilliance of our people.

The energy, creativity, and resilience of Africa’s young population are not just assets. They are the very instruments of the continent’s transformation.
I’ve often argued that infrastructure is not merely about roads, bridges, or buildings. It’s about opportunity, assets, and dignity. It’s about connecting farmers to markets, children to schools, patients to hospitals, and innovators to investors.

In Abuja, we have sought to re-imagine infrastructure as the backbone for a city worthy of our national aspiration, and in doing so, we are demonstrating what is possible when vision meets political will; when leadership builds the enabling environment, stable power, strong institutions, transparent policies, and visionary governance, investment flows.
Africa’s greatest resource is not its oil, its minerals, or its fertile soil. It is its people. Across the world, Africans are excelling in technology, science, business, and the arts.

They need cooperation, laboratories, and creative industries that shape global culture and commerce. If they can thrive abroad, they can thrive even more at home.

What Africa needs is not just philanthropy, but an inclusive. It becomes the lifeblood of transformation, building confidence, nurturing enterprise, and turning our democratic energy into economic power.

In this regard, Africa has walked this road before. In 1980, under the Organization of African Unity, as it then was, our leaders adopted the Lagos Plan of Action, a bold pan-African blueprint for economic self-reliance, industrialization, and regional integration. It was a visionary document that sought to place Africa’s destiny in African hands.

Unfortunately, it faltered, not for lack of brilliance, but because of external pressure, mounting debt, the imposition of structural adjustment programmes, and limited political will eroded its foundation. Western prescriptions dismantled local priorities, while disunity among African nations weakened our collective resolve. Yet, the dream did not die.
Four decades later, it has been reborn through the African Continental Free Trade Area, the most ambitious project of economic integration in African history. The AFRA represents the modern reawakening of the Lagos vision to build a single market for goods, services, and ideas, driven by Africans, traded by Africans, and consumed by Africans.

With 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP exceeding $3 trillion, Africa is no longer a peripheral actor in the global economy.

It is the best epicentre of global growth.
The AFRA is not just a trade agreement, it is a declaration of intent that Africa will no longer accept to be a supplier of raw materials and a dumping ground for finished goods.
It is the cornerstone for Africa’s second liberation.

The liberation of this economy is offered a renewed chance to industrialize certain regional value chains and negotiate global partnership from a position of strength. Through regional integration, Africa can finally replace aid with trade and dependency with dignity.

Africa’s future lies in the hands of Africans who believe in the power of their own ideas and ingenuity. The world has seen what Africa can do when it believes, when it uses ancient civilization that still astonishes scholars, when it produces leaders who change the course of history, and when its sons and daughters abroad lead global innovation. That same spirit of greatness still resides within us.

The time has come to believe again, not in promises made abroad, but in the promise that beats within our continent’s heart. When we unite our market, harness our talents, and invest in our own future, we will not need to chase the world. The world will come chasing us.
The rebirth of Africa will not be written in donor reports or policy prescriptions, but in the ingenuity of our people, the integrity of our leaders, and the industriousness of our youth and women.

Africa must not rise above aid, rediscover her strength, and rebuild her institution. We must remember that no one can do as much for us as we can do for ourselves, and that’s in this world of concrete interest.

There’s no free lunch and no lasting hand out. Let us therefore re-imagine investment, reclaim our self-reliance, and reposition Africa not as a continent waiting for benevolence, but as a country prepared to lead.

The future of global prosperity will be written here on African soil, by African hands, and for the glory of Africa and all humanity.

My closing reflection distinguished ladies and gentlemen, reimagining African leadership and investment is not merely an intellectual exercise. It is an urgent call for action. Our continent can no longer afford incremental change. The time has come for transformational change.

Let me be clear, Africa’s future will not be given to us. We must build it, and we must build it now. The future I see is an Africa where leadership is rooted in service and integrity, not in privilege and power.

Where investment fuels inclusive growth, lifting millions from poverty into prosperity, and women, stands at the forefront, driving innovation, creativity, and governance, where infrastructure becomes the great equalizer, connecting communities and economies, and where Africa speaks with one voice, not as 55 fragmented states, but as one dynamic continent re-imagined, renewed, and resolute in purpose.

The question before us is not whether Africa can rise, but whether we possess the courage to lead, the wisdom to invest, and the will to unite.

History will not remember what we merely dreamed for Africa. History will remember what we did for Africa; it will judge us not by our rhetoric, but by our actions and results.
Let us therefore leave this conference not with lofty words, but with firm commitment to lead differently, to invest boldly, and to believe radically in the limited potential of our continent.

“The time is now. The place is here. The responsibility is ours, and the future unambiguously belongs to Africa.

“Let me conclude by wishing you all a truly enriching and inspiring two-day engagement. May this gathering renew our collective resolve to guide, challenge, and propel African leaders and investors toward the noble task of transforming our continent from a mere land of promise to a land of fulfillment, dignity, and shared prosperity.
God bless you. God bless Africa. And God bless Nigeria.