A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, urged Nigerians who have been accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of being too slow to allow the President at least 100 days of honeymoon.
He said change, which was at the centre of the party’s campaign ahead of the presidential election, would not be achieved with a magic wand.
Tinubu spoke with State House correspondents shortly after meeting behind closed-door with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“May 29 was when this President was sworn in. It is an international norm, there is an honeymoon period, at least a minimum of 100 days’ honeymoon. And you won’t allow honeymoon at all? You said change is not coming. Change is not by magic. It is driven by the people, the spirit and the character and the planning,” he said.
The former Lagos State governor said the nation had witnessed many problems in the past because policies were made in a hurry without proper planning.
He said it was better for the government to take its time to plan, than to rush into taking actions because of sentiments and emotions.
He added, “It is not fair to jump into those conclusions (that change is late in coming). There must be time to plan, to review and even listen to people.
“There is a separation between a campaign period, articulating your vision, expressing the promises to Nigerians, there is a time to look holistically at what you inherited, analyse it, distill and then take action.
“Even in a 100 metres race, there is a time to say ‘on your mark, set, ready, go.’
“So, you don’t even want a time to be on your mark, set and go? No, you are not being fair.”
The president met members of your party in the House of Representatives that ended in deadlock. What is your position in all these?
On the leadership crisis in the National Assembly, Tinubu said it was only the conclusion of the media that the peace meeting called by Buhari on Monday ended in a deadlock.
He said rather, his position was that there was a political process that needed to develop its own life and be worked upon to stabilise and continue to serve the interest of the populace.
Tinubu said by the time the National Assembly started its lawmaking in earnest, the President needed to step in once in a while as he did in order to let the people to understand the import of the expectations of the public and particularly of the international community on various programmes and institutions.
He said Buhari’s decision to step in to douse the tension was not a wrong step.
The former governor said he decided to visit the President to welcome him from what he described as successful trip to the United States of America and to ensure that the party remained on track. -Punch.
