Be fair to us, Buhari tells critics

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged the Nigerian elite to be fair in their critique of his administration.

He also declared that Nigeria had fared better than when he assumed office about five years ago.

The President spoke in Abuja while receiving in audience the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Rev. Yakubu Pam.

According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, reported Buhari as charging Nigerians, especially the elite, to be fair in their criticism of the present administration, looking at the position of things in 2015 when he came to office and now.

He said, “Those criticising the administration should be fair in terms of reflecting on where we were before we came, where we are now and what resources are available to us and what we have done with the limited resources.

“We had to struggle paying debts, investing in road repairs and rebuilding, to revamp the rail and try to get power. This is what I hope the elite, when they want to criticise, will use to compare notes.”

The President also spoke on the security situation especially in the North-East, saying, “What was the situation when we came? Try and ask people from Borno or from Adamawa for that matter and Yobe. What was the condition before we came and what is the condition now?”

Buhari added that although there were still some security issues in the North-East, the situation had greatly improved.

He said, “Still, there are problems in Borno and Yobe; there are occasional Boko Haram problems, but they know the difference because a lot of them moved out of their states to Kaduna, Kano and here (in Abuja). We were not spared of the attacks at a time. The government is doing its best and I hope that eventually, our best will be good enough.”

The President also said the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons was top on the agenda of the government.

“The people in the IDP camps, the weak, aged, I feel sorry for the young because this is the time they are supposed to get education. We must not allow this time to pass because it will never be regained. So, we are really interested in what is happening there and we are doing our best,” he said.

Buhari commended the Executive Secretary on his appointment and activities on peace building around the country and assured him of the listening ear of the government to his contributions.

Speaking earlier, Rev. Pam had hinted the President about some of the activities of the commission since his appointment in July 2020, which included the organisation of Peace Summit on Southern Kaduna as well as peace building efforts in Plateau, Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa States.

He said the commission was proposing to host Christian leaders at a summit to help douse pressures within the polity.