‘Nigerians must be patient with President Buhari’

Adejare Adegbenro, a political analyst and member of a group of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigerians needed to be patient with the President “because two months is not enough to assess a government that has a four-year tenure.” Seye Olumide reports

Buhari’s two months in office
THE Buhari administration has done well; given the short time it assumed office. A government is meant to work for the electorate and the first and foremost important thing is objectivity. And this requires that the leader should understand the magnitude of the problem on the ground, diagnose it and start to apply treatment.

It is very easy to tag Buhari “Baba Go Slow” but this sounds as if we want the President to administer treatment to the problem without taking critical look at the root causes of the ailment.

Who do you need to tell you that the system in Nigeria is not working? What works in Nigeria? Why don’t you think of the filth, mismanagement and corruption and those who steal? It even goes beyond that. So, we need to have a reorientation in everything.

Jonathan’s handover note
People will be quick to say Buhari was given a hand over note before his inauguration by the previous government so he should hit the ground running. When was it given and what was he given?

Another reason I said he has done remarkably well is that we have countries that are not faithful towards our government. The United States of America for instance, is not friendly to us, if it were, there would have been so much assistance of collaborations that could have solved a lot of our national problems. But what happens? Today, they are going to sell this to us; tomorrow they are no more selling to us. Yet, with this cat and mouse posture, we still maintain diplomatic relationship with them.

Buhari and fight against graft
I am not saying President Buhari is a saint. But let me tell you one thing, he is one of the few honourable Nigerians that came out to ask for people’s mandate. And he can never succeed until we back him up to take us to the Promised Land. We don’t need to steal to be rich and become millionaires in dollars. All we need to do is to be hardworking and prayerful.

He has started on the right path and we need the support of the media in that course. He has made it clear that no Nigerian is above the law and that is what we want. And that is why Nigerians should support the government.

Solution to the lingering National Assembly crisis
I will like to call on President Buhari, who is the leader of the country to exhibit spirit of forgiveness in the larger interest of the country. He should intervene to douse the tension so that the country can move forward. I don’t have full information about how it happened. But as it is now, God has reasons for everything.

I urge Mr. President to open an avenue for smooth transition and amicable settlement of the crisis. If we start to pass bucks and apportion blames on who did this and who did that, before we know it, four years would have gone by. It has happened and it has happened. The best option now is to harmonize our positions to find a way forward. Nigeria has no time to waste. And for me, I believe Mr. President will do what is right over the matter.

Saraki, a traitor or party faithful
Nobody is saying that Senator Bukola Saraki is not qualified to be Senate President. He is eminently qualified like other Senators. He is just one among the equals. And going by his pedigree and antecedents, the cap fits Saraki just as it would have fitted other contestants for the position. And for now, he is doing well as Senate President. I pray God to give him the wisdom to assist President Buhari to succeed in his onerous task of taking Nigeria to the Promised Land. I also urge other Senators to bury the hatchets and support Saraki in passing laws that would assist the President to move the country forward. And from President Buhari’s utterances and body language, one would decipher that he desires a great country. I therefore urge all Nigerians to rally round him and be patient with him because problems of 16 years cannot be solved in two months. And I can assure you that with the way he has started, by 2019, Nigerians will beg Buhari to contest for a second term because his government will be a success story by the grace of God.

Buhari’s perceived slow approach to issues
When they say this man is slow, they fail to appreciate the fact that he needs to understand the problem that is on the ground before acting. In the handover note, what they will tell you, and what he will find in the office after the swearing in at the Eagles Square will be a different ball game entirely. The information he never had before the inauguration, now he has it. The reality has now dawned on him. He needs to articulate it. And people complain that he has not constituted his cabinet without checking how much he has saved for the country in the process.