Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, has called on Nigerians to allow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to run its course.
Speaking on Arise News, Aliyu cautioned against hasty judgments or political instability, emphasizing the importance of patience with the current leadership.
According to Aliyu, Nigerians should give Tinubu’s administration a chance to prove itself, just as they did with former President Muhammad Buhari’s eight-year tenure. “If we could tolerate the late Muhammad Buhari for eight years, oh my God, let’s try it maybe by 2031, we can jettison the arrangement if we find it convenient,” Aliyu said.
The politician also challenged opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to present viable alternatives to Nigerians if they seek to remove the current government. “You see, my argument had always been, what is the alternative? What is it if you want to remove this or that government or that governor or that president? What is the alternative that you’re offering to the people?” Aliyu queried.
Aliyu further highlighted the sensitivity surrounding Nigeria’s informal power-sharing arrangement, questioning whether the ADC or PDP plan to adhere to this system. “Even though we’re unconstitutional, but we seem to have accepted our rotation, is ADC or PDP saying that the ATS that is due by our arrangement, that is due to the South, now will go to the South?” he asked.
On governance, Aliyu emphasized the need for inclusivity, stating that many people want to contribute to the process and feel part of it. “Many people, all they want is to be part of the integral process so that they are seen or they see themselves as contributing to the process of governance,” he said.
However, Aliyu criticized the lack of internal control within parties, specifically the PDP, where money has penetrated all organs of the party. “There are many people in the PDP which will have suspended or dismissed. But we are so incapable because they have been able to use money to penetrate all the organs of the party,” he stated.
Aliyu also likened defectors to nomads, saying, “Why I described the nomad, you know a nomad does not have a home, a nomad in most cases does not even have a country. Wherever he finds himself, that is home.”
In his characteristic style, Aliyu used a powerful metaphor to drive home his point on leadership behavior. “You cannot be bad and expect to have your child as an angel. Your child looks at you and the way you behave,” he said.
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