Babangida, Gowon, Jonathan Send Message To Tinubu

Former Nigerian leaders, General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida, and Goodluck Jonathan, have advised the new President, Bola Tinubu, to become president for all Nigerians.

Speaking on Arise Television on Sunday, the three former leaders in separate interviews, advised the former Governor of Lagos State to carry all regions of the country along.

The former leaders also urged Nigerians to be patient with the incoming administration as it settles to lead the country for the next four years.

Babangida Speaks

Babangida said Tinubu needs all the skills to be able to unite the country, stressing that Nigeria has some of the best brains that he can tap from to revamp every sector, including the military.

The former military Head of State also urged Tinubu to reorganize the civil service and called for a reform of the electoral process.

He said: “As Commander-in-Chief, he needs to take a good look at the armed forces to reorient them, retrain them and reorganize them because the armed forces have undergone a lot of processes that need to be put together and make them more efficient.”

Babangida further urged opponents of President Tinubu to accept the results of the last presidential election and asked Nigerian leaders to always have moments of reflection.

He further urged the new government to open up the economy and give Nigerians a direction on how it intends to solve unemployment, and inflation, among others.

“I wish the new administration well. Let them put Nigeria first and the welfare of Nigerians should be paramount. Leadership at all levels is missing. The new government should strive to rally Nigerians behind them.

“ The only advice for Nigerians is to be patient and continue to support the new government but if they see things going wrong, they should cry out as usual, but be objective about it,” he said.

Gowon Speaks

On his part, Gowon said he was satisfied that 60 years after, Nigeria still remains as one entity and called for massive support for the new government.

He said: “As far as I am concerned, I am satisfied that we are still existing as a united nation after the little fracas. Thank God we made it to 60 years and I hope we make it to the next 60 years, though I might not be here. But that is my belief: to keep Nigeria one and to strive to make a better country.

“Do your best, be a loyal Nigerian, love Nigeria-good or bad. Whatever it is. If it is bad, try to make it better and if it is good, try to make it the best. This is my attitude and this is why I have always supported every government that started in this country and I will continue to support them.”

Jonathan Speaks

Also speaking, Jonathan called for a reform of the system to ensure that persons appointed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are not only of impeccable character but go through a rigorous screening process.

He said: “I know there are issues bordering on the election, some are happy, some are not. Some are feeling other ways.

“In my own time in 2015, my senior officials, people who worked with me, there was this fear that after losing the election, what will be their fate?

“Will the new government just throw us into jail without even giving us a fair hearing, because the government is next to God and could decide to do anything? That fear was in the mind of people. Some people said should I stay, or run away?

“But this is different because it is the same party that has taken over, so the tension we faced then, Buhari may not face the same tension. Yes, there may be some who may have issues that bother them. But on average, they won’t have that kind of feeling. But it was tense and by this time, I already conceded defeat, so that was completely over.

“I knew why I conceded defeat because I was more interested in the country than myself which I also advise every politician, because without a country, there will be no president.

“The problem we have is the electoral management body and the security. If two soccer teams are playing and the referee decides to look the other way, they will injure themselves. You must not allow it.

“The electoral management body shares more than 60 percent of the blame because if they do their work well, the politicians will have no choice but to follow the rules, they and the security and the courts.

“I believe one day we will get there, but I feel sad now that our electoral process is still wobbly. We have migrated from card reader to BVAS, which is a superior technology. Why do we still have problems?

“For manual voting, we have problems, electronic we have problems, so where is the problem coming from? It’s the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). INEC has to sit up so as not to throw this country into conflagration one day.”