My Slow Pace Is Deliberate-President Buhari Hits Back At Critics

Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari has shoved off criticisms about the slow nature of his administration towards resolving national issues as he was expected by many to hit the ground running but the alleged slow pace of handling issues has earned him the name "baba go-slow" by many Nigerians.


Buhari in response to the criticisms said it has been a deliberate act on his part to avoid making mistakes that could affect the country negatively.

The President gave the explanation while speaking to a delegation of women in politics Forum at the Presidential villa,Abuja.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President said “People say we are slow. We are trying to change structures put in place by our predecessors in office for 16 years. If we hurry it, we will make mistakes. That will be a disaster,”

While decrying the spate of terrorism in the North East, Buhari told his guests that a committee to rehabilitate infrastructure and resettle Internally Displaced Persons in that part of the country would soon be inaugurated.He said the committee which will be led by Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.) will also include Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

He further said that he had compiled a list of damaged infrastructure, including schools and bridges and handed it to the leaders of the G7 and the United States, adding that “I didn’t ask for a Kobo (in cash). It is up to them to choose what they will undertake. Already, some of them have sent teams to verify our assertions.”

Buhari regretted that women and children are the worst victims of the Boko Haram sect.

He said, “In the North-East, what I saw for myself and on those clips is a source of concern for people with conscience.

“They are mostly women, and children who are orphaned. Some of them don’t even know where they come from. This is the pathetic situation in which the country has found itself.”

The President also said that the fight for the return of the Chibok girls is ongoing and “continues to be a most worrying issue” to his government.

He promised that his administration will do all within its powers in making the best efforts to secure their freedom.

The President acknowledged the case made by the WIPF for better representation of women in his government and assured that women would fare well in the composition of parastatals and their boards in the first quarter of the year.

He also assured them that the country has a budget proposal for the new year that is good for employment and manufacturing.

He added that all forms of assistance in this respect generated locally and from foreign countries as promised by the G-7 will be channeled through the committee when it is inaugurated.

“By the end of the second quarter, the full impact of these positive measures will be felt,” he told the visiting women.

The WIPF, made up of women leaders from 26 registered political parties led by Ebere Ifendu of the Labour Party expressed their full support for the government’s war on corruption and insecurity.