Lai: No leader as tolerant, understanding as Buhari

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says he is yet to come across any leader as “tolerant” as President Muhammadu Buhari. 

The minister spoke on Friday, when a received a team from the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in Abuja.

Mohammed said with the numerous challenges Nigeria has faced in the past six years, it requires tolerance and wisdom to lead the nation.

“The kind of challenges we faced in the last six years would challenge the most resourceful person. This is a country of about 200 million people, over 500 ethnic groups and tongues and people with different aspirations, religions and beliefs,” he said.

“Running a country like Nigeria is like running a mini-continent and this is why I want to salute the tolerance, wisdom and peculiar governance style of Mr president.

“I say this because in the last six years, I have been attending the federal executive council (FEC) meeting. The president will, on any issue, listen to the submissions of all the 43 ministers if they want to contribute to any issue without betraying where he stands on the matter.

“Even when we know that some of our colleagues are not making so much sense on a topic, the president will listen attentively and will say ‘thank you’ at the end of the contributions.

“I believe that it is his background and experience that moulded him that way and till date, you cannot see any minister that will say his view was never heard. No matter how pedestal it might be, the president will listen.”

The minister added that he is “yet to see a leader as a patient, tolerant and understanding as President Muhammadu Buhari”.

Speaking on the achievements of the present administration, Mohammed said significant progress has been recorded in the fight against insurgency.

He also said the present administration has succeeded in diversifying the economy by investing in non-oil sectors, including agriculture and the creative industry, adding that the social investment programmes have also alleviated the suffering of Nigerians.

According to NAN, Lai said no previous government in the country’s history has surpassed Buhari’s record in infrastructural development.

In her remarks, Gloria Akobundu, coordinator of NEPAD and APRM in Nigeria, said the team is carrying out a second peer review of Nigeria.

“Nigeria was first peer-reviewed in 2008 and since then till date, here we are for the second peer review,” she said.

“What we are doing is to assess Nigeria from 2008 to date to see what is being done differently, how have we implemented the previous report called the national programme of action.

“Barely 11 years down the lane, we can say we have consolidated democracy; we have done well in some aspects like infrastructural development, agriculture and diversification of the economy.”

Abdoulie Janneh, the lead panellist for the country, said the report of the review will be transmitted to the African Union (AU) in February 2022, during the summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.