Bala Mohammed: My criticism of Tinubu’s protest speech was constructive

Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, says his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s speech during the #EndBadGovernance protest was in good faith.

Speaking on Wednesday at the state executive council meeting, Mohammed said his comment was not to offend anybody.

During the 10-day nationwide protest, Tinubu addressed Nigerians and called for the suspension of the demonstration.

On August 7, the governor criticised Tinubu’s speech for not addressing the immediate demands of Nigerians, noting that it was “empty”.

The governor said his remarks should be viewed as a constructive call to action for the federal and state governments to address the citizens’ concerns, rather than as an attack.

“I spoke constructively as an opposition and somebody who means well for the president, the government, and the people of Nigeria,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“I had not done it to cause any disaffection or to insult anybody.

“We have to listen when their cry is very loud on bad governance and areas of limitations and inadequacies, where the expectations of our people have not been met.

“We have scarce resources to manage, and that is why I said we must use the little resources that we have to do so much.

“Nobody cares; nobody will listen to you when you begin to complain and blame our predecessors for the inadequacies.”

Mohammed said it is unjust to place all the blame for poor governance on the federal government, adding that the states also share responsibility.

“We are not just blaming the federal government for everything,” he added.

“We (states) also have to look at ourselves, do a swift analysis on ourselves, and make sure we do things that would put food on the table and make things easier.

“We know we are not in charge of national policies and programmes, but we must be able to implement national policies as a loyal federalist.

“We should, at the same time, look at our own challenges and make sure that we connect with the people.”