Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has described President Bola Tinubu as a courageous leader, working to prevent Nigeria’s problems from getting progressively worse.
Dogara said this at the 14th Convocation and 17th Foundation anniversary of the Achievers University, Owo in Ondo State.
According to him, Tinubu is a leader who is prepared to lead with unbridled courage even at a personal cost.
“With what President Bola Tinubu has done, whether it’s the freeing of local government areas from the choke-hold of economic stagnation the states had hitherto subjected them to or the groundbreaking bold tax reforms proposals he had placed before the National Assembly, I see a glimmer of hope that we may be dealing with a leader who is prepared to lead with unbridled courage even at personal cost.
“It gladdens my heart that we are now dealing with a leader who is not avoiding stubborn tasks and is very much unwilling to put off difficult conversations.
“I support the president’s tax reforms not because they are perfect but because it is the right thing to do.
“However, I must concede the fact that those opposed to it have the right to do so but I do not share their jaundiced nay tenuous and puerile position that because they disagree with some aspects of the reforms, then the reforms must be withdrawn or killed.”
According to him, those who oppose the reforms should clearly spell out what they disagree with and make a better proposition than that of the president for Nigerians to compare and contrast in order to make informed choices.
Dogara, who is the Chancellor of the university, said that a call to do nothing about the reforms was either bad politics, sheer buffoonery or a combination of both.
He called the youths to be at the centre of transformation, noting that “through education, innovations, and a shared commitment to excellence, we can build a Nigeria that fulfils the aspirations of its people.”
The chancellor also tasked Nigerian universities to be centres of learning and innovation that would come out with practical solutions to the country’s economic problems.