Date: 2016-10-03

A former Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party in Kwara State in the 2015 general elections, Dr Mike Omotosho, yesterday urged Nigerians to exercise patience with the government to deliver on its electoral promises.

Reacting to the 56th Independence anniversary in a telephone chat, Omotosho said despite the myriad of challenges bedevilling the country, there is hope for better days ahead.

He admitted that the expectation of the people on the government is overwhelmingly high but good things do not roll in on the wheel on inevitability.

The ex-gubernatorial flag-bearer, however, expressed the reservation that the nation's democracy has not yet nurtured more than five decades of its independence as a nation.

He identified truthfulness, fairness, goodwill and all inclusive interest as cardinal principles in running a successive government.

"I expect that by now, we should not have many infrastructural challenges even our democracy is still not stable as expected. At 56, a man should be married, the family should be stable, in fact, he would have been almost done with taking care of schooling of his kids. But Nigeria at 56, we are still struggling with so many spheres of our endeavours, be it economy, infrastructure or political.

"But I think the focus should be on what we can do to quickly remedy and how we can begin to be considered one of the most favourable in the league of comity of nations out there.

"The truth of the matter is that nothing good comes easy. I sincerely hope and believe that the administration (Buhari) is truth to its promises. If all of those planned actually worked the way they should, if we walk the talk, the future is very bright. It is just a teething problem. You need to go through some pains in order to gain. So, I believe there is very bright light at the end of the tunnel. All we need is a bit of patience with time to see all those things matured.

"Additionally, in whatever we do, be it in governance, our family life or anywhere we are, we should ask ourselves four simple questions. Is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build goodwill on inter-friendship and then will it beneficial to all concerned? If we applied all these not just as individuals but as a nation, we will come up with policies that will be beneficial to everybody.

A retired Permanent Secretary in the state Civil Service, Prince Suleiman Ayodele Fagbemi, was of the view that Nigeria is on the right track with the policies of the present administration.

He, however, opposed the plea-bargaining as a way of recovering looted fund, saying it allows some exposed individuals to perpetrate corruption.

Fagbemi said although some Nigerians were unhappy that the government is slow in responding to the nagging problems in the country, but noted that the damage done cannot be rectified quickly.

"God has been so kind to Nigeria. So kind in such a way that for 56 years, we are able to hold ourselves together. That in itself is an achievement. By the time we got independence in 1960, things were not as they were now. Before 1960, we were being governed by the so-called colonial masters. They released us to try our own administration, and for three good years, our past leader worked and they discovered that we had proper footing and by 1963 we became a republic. That is another achievement.

"As at that time, the population cannot be compared to what it is today. But the natural resources discovered that we are now harping on, even if discovered, they have not been harnessed. So far, Nigeria has made giant steps. I will disagree with those who said we have achieved nothing. We have achieved a lot. How many Universities did we have when we started? We can only count on Premier University of Ibadan, Nigerian University,Nsuka and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Today, both public and private universities are more than 100, that itself is an achievement.

"If you look at the road network, the rail and the air transport, though we relied solely on rail transport in the olden days, which was very effective anyway. It was not sufficient and cannot cope with the present situation of our country.

"One government goes, one government comes. So far, so good, credit goes to those who ruled us in the past, and in particular I want to single out the present President (Muhammadu Buhari). He has done wonderfully well. Were it not for him, only God knows where Nigeria and Nigerians would be today.

"For those clamouring that he is too slow, it is better to be slow and steady because slow and steady wins the race. Things have been so bastardized. You could see a lot of money being stolen by an individual. What are they go to do with such money? The money could be used to provide employment for teeming students whose parents tried hard to get them these hard-won University certificates. Hope is not lost, the man (the president) has started well, we need to cooperate with him, we need to be patient with him. If we do that, certainly, Nigeria will bounce back.

"The policies adopted by this government are the best any right thinking leader could profess. You will agree with me that a lot of things had gone bad, a lot of money had been stolen and a lot of investments had been bastardized. He has started well. You could imagine how much this man has already recovered. The era of Buhari/Idiagbon was the best administration in Nigeria. If they had allowed that man to finish just four years, Nigeria would have been in a better place today.

"We need to call a spade, a spade. Let those who stole our money return it. There should be no plea bargaining. If somebody stole N10 and you now say pay N1, are you encouraging corruption or you are not? To me as an individual and a right thinking people of this country will still give kudos to our President that his policies are still the best approach. We will get out of these economic woes shortly. Rome is not built in a day. It is easier to destroy an edifice than to build it. What the man is doing is reconstruction all over to ensure that Nigeria is now on a better pedestal.