Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says he is “yet to see a leader as patient, tolerant and understanding as President Muhammadu Buhari,” especially in the running of affairs of the country.
The minister stated this on Friday in Abuja when he received a delegation from African Union Development Agency–NEPAP and Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
The team is carrying out the second peer review of Nigeria as well as the country’s self-assessment report and validation.
The minister noted that with the kind of challenges the country had faced in the past six years, it could only take the tolerance, wisdom and peculiar governance style of the president for the nation to move forward.
“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.
“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,” he said.
The minister added: “I say this because in the last six years, I have been attending the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings. The president will, on any issue, listen to the submissions of all the 43 ministers if they want to make contributions 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 explained that when the government took over in 2015, it faced the challenge of insurgency as the Boko Haram terrorists had taken over most parts of the North-East region.
He said the administration also met an economy that had virtually collapsed while the oil price was down from $120 per barrel to about $30 per barrel.
The minister said the critical infrastructure of the nation had also collapsed with little or no budget to fund them when the Buhari government took over in 2015.
Six years down the lane, Mohammed said Boko Haram had been decimated and their members were surrendering in droves while the government is winning the war against banditry and other forms of insecurity.
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