The Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu, has urged Nigerians to embrace failure as a tool for nation-building, saying societies progress when citizens are willing to learn from setbacks rather than constantly condemn their country.
According to a statement on Friday, Tinubu made this remark in Lagos during an interview, stressing that national development depends on collective belief, resilience, and a shared commitment to move the country forward.
He maintained that the essence of nation-building was to make failure an acceptable concept and to extract lessons from it.
The business tycoon said Nigerians must stop assuming the country cannot work and instead take responsibility for making it work.
“We learn from our failures and we get it right. We stop condemning the country and believing the country cannot go right. The country can go right, and it goes right by us as a people collectively moving in one direction,” he added.
Tinubu, popularly known as J.A.T., spoke shortly after he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree in Business at the 56th convocation of the University of Lagos, in recognition of his contributions to enterprise building, energy sector transformation, and national development.
He said success in business and nation-building requires the courage to take risks, noting that fear of failure often prevents people from trying at all.
“A lot of people are scared of failing. They simply don’t try and, accordingly, they never succeed,” he said, drawing parallels with countries that achieved major breakthroughs only after repeated failed attempts.
The Oando boss also called for stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors, especially in education, health, and other social services.
He said alumni engagement was critical to the development of educational institutions.
“There are ex-students who have done well and need to be re-engaged to contribute to the development of these institutions. This is a continuous process of reinvesting in what you have towards building a beneficial future,” he said.
Speaking earlier on behalf of other honourees at the UNILAG convocation, Tinubu described the award as a renewed call to service rather than a celebration of past achievements.
He said the University of Lagos, established in 1962, was founded on the understanding that political independence alone was not enough and that the country needed world-class institutions of learning.
Tinubu paid tribute to past and present leaders of the university, noting that UNILAG had produced men and women who shaped Nigeria across public service, law, science, enterprise, medicine, the arts, and diplomacy.
He said the institution had also evolved into a hub for innovation, digital research, entrepreneurship, and the creative economy, producing a new generation of problem-solvers.
“UNILAG has never been content to produce credentials but has produced nation-builders,” he said.
According to him, the country is at a defining turning point, undergoing a difficult but necessary transition driven by reforms aimed at stabilising the economy, restoring confidence, and unlocking productivity.
He stressed that reforms would only succeed when ideas shape action and knowledge guides leadership, adding that universities are drivers, not spectators, in addressing national challenges.
“Citadels of learning generate the ideas, train the innovators, test the evidence, and nurture the ethical leadership that progress demands,” he said.
Tinubu also urged the prioritisation of education, saying countries that perform well consistently invest in learning, particularly at higher levels.
Reflecting on his personal journey, Tinubu said he grew up believing one could dream beyond circumstances and build from scarcity.
He recounted how, as a young lawyer with limited resources, he identified opportunity in crisis, a mindset that shaped his entrepreneurial journey.
“Do not wait for perfect conditions. You have to move, you have to dare, and you have to build as you proceed,” he advised young graduates.
Born on June 25, 1967, Tinubu studied law at the University of Liverpool and the London School of Economics before being called to the Nigerian Bar in 1990.
He later co-founded Ocean and Oil Group, which evolved into Oando Plc, now a leading integrated energy group in sub-Saharan Africa.
Beyond business, Tinubu has played key roles in humanitarian response and education through the Oando Foundation, as well as global policy engagements, earning him the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2022.
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