President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described late nationalist leader Obafemi Awolowo as a courageous and visionary statesman whose leadership went far beyond superficial governance to fundamentally transform the Southwest geopolitical zone and the larger society.

Tinubu said that Awolowo’s leadership style distinguished him as a rare figure among Nigerian leaders, earning him the reputation of a ‘sage’ whose wisdom and foresight traversed generations.

The President made the remarks on Friday while delivering a keynote address at the 2026 Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Lecture held at Efunyela Hall in Ikenne, Ogun State, where he paid glowing tribute to the late sage’s enduring legacy of bold leadership and people-centred policies.

The President, who was represented by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Isiaq Adekunle Salako, added that Awolowo remains one of Nigeria’s most respected political thinkers and administrators, widely regarded as “the best president Nigeria never had.”

He said the late premier of the Western Region would continue to be remembered for exceptional integrity, deep intellectual capacity and the courage to implement welfare-driven policies that propelled the region to the forefront of socio-economic development in Nigeria.

The President recalled that Awolowo’s transformative policies, particularly in education, healthcare and infrastructure, laid the foundation for the enduring socio-economic progress of the South-West region.

He cited the late leader’s revolutionary Universal Primary Education programme introduced in 1955 as an intervention that initially faced stiff resistance from British colonial authorities, political opponents and even parents who preferred their children to work on farms.

Tinubu said despite the opposition, Awolowo remained resolute, focused and undaunted in pushing forward with the programme, famously vowing that any parent who prevented a child from attending school would be arrested.

“You may hate me today, but tomorrow you will thank me,” Awolowo once said while defending the controversial policy, a prediction the President noted had since proven correct.

Tinubu said the success of the policy demonstrated Awolowo’s willingness to take difficult decisions for long-term national development rather than pursue cosmetic or populist measures.

Beyond education, Salako said the former Western Region premier also embarked on an ambitious infrastructure drive, constructing more than 2,000 kilometres of roads and dramatically expanding the region’s transportation network.

According to him, the scale of development achieved under Awolowo was nearly ten times the road infrastructure inherited from the British colonial administration.

He further recalled Awolowo’s leadership of the Unity Party of Nigeria between 1979 and 1983, during which five governors in the South-West and Midwest implemented the party’s four cardinal programmes of free education, free healthcare, integrated rural development and full employment.

He noted that those administrations have continued to serve as a benchmark for evaluating governance not only in the South-West but across the country.

President Tinubu said he has drawn inspiration from Awolowo’s courageous and tough decisions, which the late sage took at a time many wanted him pursue populist view that would not be transformative in the end.

The President said his administration has undertaken some reforms he described as courageous steps aimed at rescuing the nation from fiscal collapse.

He argued that many past administrations avoided difficult economic decisions, preferring temporary palliatives rather than structural reforms.

According to him, his economic policies have begun to stabilise Nigeria’s economy, citing improvements in GDP growth, inflation trends, foreign reserves and debt-service ratios.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to sustain their support for the government’s reform agenda, noting that major economic transformations require patience and collective commitment, stressing thatbAwolowo’s legacy remains a reminder that meaningful leadership requires courage, vision and the determination to pursue policies that secure the future of generations yet unborn.

He also commended the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation for sustaining the intellectual legacy of the late sage through annual lectures and policy engagement since its establishment in 1992.

He called on institutions and citizens alike to continue promoting objective discourse and national unity in pursuit of peace, stability and progress. (The Nation)