A Northern group, the Arewa Peace Coalition (APC) has urged
President Muhammadu Buhari to focus his efforts on building the country
rather than attacking his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.
A statement by its Coordinator, Abdulkadir Mohammed
said the President should take needed steps to salvage the country from
the current decline.
It urged Buhari to also ensure that his appointments carried
everyone along in the country.
The statement reads, “Nigerians didn’t vote Buhari to come
and give excuses on why he cannot perform… they believed he was capable and
particularly fit for the job of president.
“Since you won the 2015 election, we have been waking up
almost every day to hear stories about how Jonathan did this and Jonathan did
that. We have become tired and fed up.
“When will we begin to hear what Baba Buhari has done? When
will we begin to hear of what our Baba has done to salvage Nigeria?
“Bashing Jonathan at every opportunity has not solved any of
the problems you met as president. Nigerians have already voted Jonathan out.
They are disappointed that years after Jonathan has left, there is no day that
the Buhari presidency does not attempt to feast on Jonathan. Why then did we
vote for you?
“Mr President, there
were quite a few successes of the Jonathan presidency. Acknowledge those
successes and use them to your advantage.
“And then work to correct and avoid the mistakes that dogged
the Jonathan presidency. That is how successful nations work.
“Please leave Jonathan alone. Go around the country and
ascertain things for yourself. Two years into your presidency, you are yet to
visit more than 30 states in Nigeria.”
It added, “Appoint a competent team to assist you in the
onerous task of fixing Nigeria. Appoint people in every nook and cranny of
Nigeria.
“The Buhari
presidency must not be over-saturated by people from the northern part of the
country or people who share a peculiar history with you.
“You are now a Nigerian president NOT a Northern, Daura or
CPC president. You are president over Muslims the same way you are president
over Christians.
“It is with great discomfort that we write you this piece.
In 2015, many of us came out in large numbers to vote for you because we
believed that things would change for the better if you became president of Nigeria.
“When you ascended to the position of President of Nigeria.
We rejoiced across the streets of northern Nigeria. Some of our kinsmen trekked
hundreds of kilometres to celebrate your win in the 2015 elections.
“Two years into your administration, everything has turned
on its head. The price of food has skyrocketed across Nigeria. The quality of
education has nosedived. Access to affordable health care has become a problem.
Farmers are no longer encouraged to go to their farms. Nothing seems to be working.”
By Dolapo Adelana
