Former Edo State deputy governor and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obadan, speaks on President Goodluck Jonathan’s loss of power and what Nigerians expect from President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari. Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, brings the excerpts.
Jonathan’s concession to Buhari
It just showed the real Jonathan, not the superficial Jonathan that the sycophants around him made him to look like. He presented himself just as God created him to be. I was not surprised that he manifested in that form. Shakespeare said that there is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads unto fortune, omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shadows and mysteries. President Jonathan knew very well that the game was up and if he must be remembered in history, he must do something positive; he must do something for which generations unborn would keep him in memories, and that he did. I am very proud of him.
I must confess that for those of us that have studied the man, Buhari, it is obvious that Nigeria is now set for greatness. But all hands must be on deck. Promises made must be fulfilled. If we put our house in order because this race is not for the weak but the strong, then history will also remember President-elect Muhammadu Buhari.
Factors that worked for Buhari
The partnership brought about by Bola Tinubu and Muhammadu Buhari must be commended by all Nigerians because it is leading us to greater heights. If they had remained selfish, self-centred, we will not be where we are right now. I had earlier stated that if we must win the presidency, then the person to pilot the boat (national chairman) should be John Odigie-Oyegun because you needed a man with the patience of Job, you needed a man that is highly articulate, you needed a man with humility and commitment to help bring about change. He is not greedy and has no itchy fingers. That was why many of us looking at those that were contesting for the post agreed that God had given us Odigie-Oyegun for that purpose. Really, what we enjoy today is because we had the right people in the right places and I must commend the leadership of APC who took time to select the team. Yes, some, out of anger, left because they could not achieve their personal objectives. There were some people who, if given the national chairman of the party, would have sold the party, and we would not be where we are today. The high level of corruption, indiscipline and sycophancy would still have continued. But now, Nigeria is set for a change.
Buhari fulfilling his electoral promises by 2019
We may not have 100 per cent fulfilment of our electoral promises in 2019; but Nigeria will see positive changes. They will know that we are on the right track. History has shown that Buhari is not seeking the office for personal aggrandisement because he is a man of principle and integrity, but for a just cause. Upon that premise and with the calibre of people around, all the promises made will be reasonably fulfilled.
With the dwindling price of oil…
Unfortunately for this country, oil prices are dropping and that is the time he is coming into the office, but I want to appeal that we must all be patient with the incoming administration. We have a problem in this country which is why even the very rich refuse to set up industry because they need a quick turn-over. In Nigeria, we don’t have that patience. People expect magical performance from General Buhari from the day he is sworn in, but that will not happen. There must be a period of planning and studying the issues on the ground before talking of implementation, before we start seeing results. At times when they mention 100 days in office, I laugh. What 100 days in office will achieve is not enough to assess the progress of any man. If you have four years to go, you should not start judging the man until two years. Then you can say that this man has done two years and we are not seeing any signs. So, Nigerians should be patient with the incoming administration. I believe God is interested in this nation.
President-elect and the kind of people surrounding him
My Bible tells me that when you spike the shepherd, you scatter the sheep. When you reverse that, you will see that when the shepherd is feared, the followers learn from it. All I will say is that those that have been stealing should steal no more. We now have a man that can be referred to as Mister Integrity; Mr. Honesty. When he stands upright, all others will follow, but when Mr. President starts stealing dollars and directing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to send transfers that are not official, the tendency is for the followers to steal the same. So, you find out that corruption will be embedded. But if the man there is upright and hears of any corrupt movement and reacts against it, knowing fully that he has no skeleton in his cupboard, it will serve as a deterrent and nobody will practise corruption. I believe that we have reached a point in our history where those who are called to serve must serve with honesty. Now we must begin to say to ourselves, we are going into office to serve the people not our interest because the consequences are grave. As a professional accountant, when I watch the television and see the Minister of finance
defending the indefensible, I just feel sad. It is not Nigerians who are being deceived, but the fellow who is dishing out lies and destroying our reputation with her deceitful utterances. So we must now say to ourselves, we are going into offices to serve our people because the consequences are there for us. If you look at it, Jonathan was removed from office by the sycophants he surrounded himself with. It was the sycophants that caused Jonathan to lose his seat by unguarded utterances, deceitful utterances and sloppy ways of doing things. That was what led to the downfall of Jonathan. That’s why I started by saying that the real Jonathan manifested in his concession speech. He is a real man. I am sure that those were the qualities former President Olusegun Obasanjo saw in him and recommended him for the job. But while in office, he gave room to sycophants who also advised Obasanjo to go into third term and were setting Obasanjo up for destruction.
Today what the progressives fought for from the genesis of the struggle had just started manifesting because this was why many of us went on exile. Unfortunately when we regained power from the military, we didn’t have the resources and number to take over government. That is why whatever is said about Bola Tinubu, I will keep commending him for the way he continued in the struggle, because he knew the objectives of the struggle. He was the only one that came out and participated in governance, but he never lost sight of the struggle. He held on to it and ensured he did everything within his reach to see to the manifestation of the objectives. Today we are very happy and proud of him.
