Abraham Ogbodo in an article for the THE GUARDIAN has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop using former President Goodluck Jonathan as an excuse for everything. 

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari is beginning to sound like a broken record. Since his inauguration more than three weeks ago, he has maintained one line: The race isn’t a 100-metre dash and time is required to finish well. He is talking as if he only knew about the marathon race ahead after May 29, and now asking for permission to reorder his projections. Even the dullest of Nigerians must have heard enough of the President’s plea for patience to instinctively grant him the understanding he is seeking so desperately.

But the conversation has still not moved forward. In fact, it is degenerating into lamentation and a blame game, which are far more dangerous.

For instance, the President is saying that his inability to name a cabinet after three weeks is caused by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s refusal to cooperate with the committee headed by 85-year old Ahmed Joda that he, Buhari constituted to design a blueprint to change Nigeria.

This lack of cooperation, according to the President, caused the committee to submit its report late and that this lateness is delaying the prompt implementation of government’s programmes, including, perhaps, the appointment of a federal cabinet and other officers of government.

Since Nigerians have pledged to be patient with Buhari, they are not going to probe to know the truth of the matter. I can only add that the man had all the time and opportunity to prepare for this assignment. He ruled Nigeria between January 1, 1984 and August 27, 1985 as a military head of state and regarding his re-incarnation on May 29, 2015 in a democratic garb, he had worked at it since 2003, when he debuted as a presidential aspirant in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

And so, inventing one reason after another for his lack of movement after 23 days belies his robust pedigree. Maybe in the burning passion to re-incarnate and save Nigeria from itself, the President did not do proper profiling to reconcile his patriotism with his readiness (in terms of what is required) to take on the big task. The job requires speed and accuracy in spite of all the real and imagined challenges. This constant reference to what Jonathan did or failed to do at every turn as reason for the current standstill is not going to help matters.

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SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN