By Oladipo Oluwatosin
When a house is built on sand, the rain only hastens its fall. But when it is founded on rock, storms merely test its strength. It is this philosophy that appears to be guiding the All Progressives Congress (APC) as it repositions The Progressive Institute (TPI) as the intellectual anchor of its stability drive.
On Tuesday in Abuja, the National Chairman of the APC, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, stepped into what many within the party now describe as its “thinking room”; a space designed not for noise, but for ideas. His facility tour of TPI was more than a courtesy visit; it was a statement of intent that the future of the party will be driven by knowledge, structure and evidence-based choices.
“This is my first visit to the Institute,” the Chairman said, commending the leadership and staff for deliberately building an institution insulated from daily political pressure. In politics, as in life, a river that forgets its source soon runs dry. By strengthening TPI’s independence, the APC leadership is seeking to ensure that strategy flows from reflection, not reaction.
Professor Yilwatda described TPI as a cardinal pillar of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that party stability cannot be sustained by slogans alone. It must be anchored on ideology, internal democracy and credible data. Over the last six months, he noted, the party has been intentionally building structured relationships with academia, civil society, development partners and the private sector; relationships that align squarely with the mandate of TPI.
In an era where politics is often driven by impulse, the APC Chairman’s emphasis on research was striking. He announced plans to deepen research capacity within the party, particularly in opinion polling and policy analysis. Wisdom, after all, is profitable to direct (Ecclesiastes 10:10). Without credible data, strategy becomes guesswork, and guesswork, as the elders say, is a poor substitute for foresight.
The Chairman also disclosed discussions with the European Union on potential collaboration in research and conflict management, a move that underscores the Institute’s growing international outlook. He pledged to engage stakeholders nationwide to ensure broad participation in TPI-led training programmes and hinted at plans to support land acquisition for the Institute, stressing the need for an accessible, international-standard facility in Abuja. If the foundation be sure, the building will stand.
Earlier, the Director General of The Progressive Institute, Dr. Lanre Adebayo, described TPI as the party’s stabilising compass. “Political party offices are naturally intense,” he observed, “but an institute like this exists to create stability, reflection and structure.” Globally, he noted, political foundations serve as the quiet engines behind enduring party systems, helping leaders reform and sustain relevance over time.
Dr. Adebayo highlighted the Institute’s growing footprint over the past year from training stakeholders across Nigeria and Europe to engaging NGOs, intellectuals and public officers in policy-driven conversations. Over 5,000 stakeholders have been trained in Katsina State alone, while recent programmes in Niger State targeted commissioners and special advisers. Preparations are also underway to train permanent secretaries and other senior public officers. Little drops of water, they say, make a mighty ocean.
Reaffirming TPI’s commitment to President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Director General stressed the importance of translating vision into understanding at all levels of society. Quoting Scripture in essence, he reminded stakeholders that “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). For the APC, TPI exists to ensure that vision is not only preserved but properly communicated.
Designed as a self-funding institution, TPI has largely sustained itself through proceeds from its training programmes. However, Dr. Adebayo emphasised the need for a sustainable financial framework that guarantees independence while enabling the Institute to continuously give back to the party. He who wants to go far must not walk alone.
As the visit concluded, senior officials of the Institute; spanning training, finance and legal studies stood as living proof that the APC’s stability drive is being matched with institutional depth. In a political environment often defined by speed rather than substance, the APC appears to be choosing the slower, surer path.
And like the wise man in Scripture who built his house upon the rock (Matthew 7:24–25), the party appears resolved to lay its foundation on solid ground, so that when the winds and storms of politics arise, the structure anchored at The Progressive Institute will stand unshaken.
