Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Orientation, Sunday Dare, compared President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms to the transformative leadership of Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew.

He also dismissed rumors of a cabal in the presidency, insisting that President Tinubu is 100% in charge of governing the country.

Dare, who made the observation while speaking on TVC’s Politics on Sunday programme, noted that while Yew’s three major decisions were controversial, they had significantly improved the quality of life for Singaporeans.

Lee Kuan Yew was the first and longest serving Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990.

Widely regarded as the founding father of modern Singapore, Lee transformed the city-state from a small, resource-poor British colony with high illiteracy rates into the most prosperous country in Southeast Asia.

Under his leadership, Singapore developed a robust economy with one of the highest per capita GDP figures in Asia.

Dare, a former Minister of Sports, said it came at a time when Nigerians need to face the reality, saying the government’s resources and revenue are dwindling while the population is increasing.

According to him, President Tinubu has come to change the narrative.

He said: “We have a lot of leaks in our system. And like I said, there has to come a time when you’re going to need a leader to emerge.

“Let me give you the example of Lee Kuan Yew, from 1953 to 1990. His story is well told. When he came in, he made three major decisions that became highly controversial, but he stood his ground to the end, working with people and not just explaining but making sure there were improvements in quality of life.

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“First of all, he said to have English as the unifying language.” He was attacked to the hilt. Second, he said, to pay civil servants, civil servants, massive salaries, which was very important. The third thing he did was to ask to bring in the best people, experts from anywhere in the world – the best experts in energy, power and education to build the basic infrastructure needed to develop Singapore.

“Those three decisions were so controversial, but he stayed the course. This president will stay the course because he has seen the data and knows that what Nigeria needs now is repair. I am sure Nigerians will come to terms with this development and in the near future they will begin to see the impact. Already, we see it. You are looking at CNG.

“You look at NELFUND; is extremely successful. You look at credit cards; as it is, over 11,000 civil servants have earned their money at the lowest rate of interest you can ever get, four percent. This president works for this country. This president deals with statistics and data but also understands that, to some extent, there are certain decisions that need to be made now; if not, this country will suffer for it.”

On the issue of a cabal, Dare explained that the idea of ​​a cabal refers to only a few people who hold key positions that the president must meet daily for briefings.

“I think we’ve gotten so comfortable with the idea of ​​the cabal, and you have to understand how the idea of ​​the cabal — the people I call the cabal — are the people who own the key sectors of the economy.

“These are people who are advisers, who have to advise the President on trends, who have to put critical data in front of him, and they have access to him. How does access turn you into a member of the cabal? The Minister of Finance, for example, sees him (Tinubu) constantly to show him all the indicators for him to see and he has to have constant meetings.

“So what happens is that this idea of ​​a cabal has a negative connotation that we root for. I think this notion should change, because in any government, you have 5 to 7 people in key positions who have to constantly report to the president. This access is what people think makes them a cabal.

“The president is 100 percent in charge and always has been from day one and has demonstrated it. When the CBN cyber security charge came out, the president canceled it because he dealt with the facts.

On the tax reform bill before the National Assembly, the presidential adviser said the president acted within the law by allowing the legislative process to take its course.

He explained that the tax reform bill, when signed into law, will be critical to reforms in various sectors of the economy.

Dare noted that developed nations that were at par with Nigeria in the past have adopted painful fiscal reforms that have helped them in their economic transformation.

“I think it’s absolutely important because when you look at the four bills right now in the National Assembly, they’re just bills – they’re not acts yet. That means there’s still an opening to have conversations around the bills, take some things out, readjust some elements of them and bring them back.

“I think it’s an outstanding bill and it’s central to the larger reforms in various sectors that the president is working on. When you look at the Nigerian tax bill, the general bill, you look at the joint tax bill, you look at that for revenue, then you look at the tax administration.

“The President’s preference is to have a de jure approach, not a de facto one, because even if you do it outside the legislature, then you must have violated the constitution of Nigeria. So being a president who understands the law and the Constitution says it’s already there, let’s deliberate the representatives of the people across the country.

“The people, governors, Nigerians can send whatever comments they have, whatever wrongdoings they have and then they can be processed. I think this is the best way.

“I think it’s the right way because any other way will bring a crisis. When you look closely at the tax, it targets posterity, not poverty. Look at income tax, for example: you can keep 100% of your taxes in your domain. That brings control of your taxes, but also a level of accountability at the state level,” he said.