ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. President-elect Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, has said expected change by Nigerians will not happen overnight, saying “the biggest message is to try and persuade the people that it is not possible to change the state of affairs now.”
He made this remark while Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), led by a former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Alhaji Maitama Sule, paid him a courtesy on Sunday.
According to him, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been in government in the last 16 years “and those 16 years, most of you know it better than myself, Nigeria earned revenue more than what it earned from 1914 till then.”
According to him, “you know that we used to have Nigeria Airways, Nigeria Shipping Line, Nigeria Railways. Where are they now? Where is the infrastructure?
“Between then and now and what we earned in between then and what is on ground shows how efficiently the PDP managed Nigeria in the last 16 years. Now, we have invariably inherited all the problems, especially in the North- East.”
On the just concluded elections, he said he got relieved when he spoke with the president of the United States, Barak Obama, saying “I could feel the relief in their voices because they are people of conscience. Forget about religion, colour and development.
“They are people of conscience because they have reached a stage where they have stabilised their society and they are relatively secured materially, physically and otherwise. They know we are in danger,” Buhari stated.
Buhari also told the northern elders that he would shift attention from oil to agricultural and mining sectors to create jobs.
Earlier, the NEF urged Buhari to allow justice to reign during his administration, if he wants to succeed as a president.
The forum further advised Buhari to ensure that he established a good justice system that would be of benefit to Nigerians, irrespective of region or political affiliation.
Those who were part of the NEF delegation included Mr Bello Sulaiman, Wantaregh Paul Unongo, among others.
Sule, during his address, said “with justice, you can rule Nigeria well. Justice is the key, irrespective of tribe, religion and race; justice must be done to whosoever deserves it.
“Behind every crisis anywhere in the world is injustice, and the solution to that is justice. The world itself can never be governed by force, fear or by power; in the end, what governs is the mind, what conquers is the spirit and what governs the mind and spirit are justice and fair play,” Sule said.
He equally advised the Buhari not to discriminate against any part of the country.
While praising the president-elect, he said he knew him as a disciplined individual who would instill discipline in the Nigerian society, saying “I’m sure you won’t compromise your principles.
On the just concluded general election, he said everything that happened was an act of God, saying: “We want to thank God, as what happened to Nigeria was an act of God and God has brought about this change.”
Credit: Tribune (Nigeria)
