The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhahri on National Assembly Matters, Senators Ita Enang has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should not be attacked for his statement which appears critical of President Buhari.
Enang stated this in a chat with members of the Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG), who had paid him a visit in Abuja to deliberate on issues of national importance especially with the statement made against the administration of President Buhari by the Chief Obasanjo.
According to him, Obasanjo, with his statement on the administration of the president was echoing the thoughts of Nigeria which he is passing on to president Buhari as his campaign manager so he can make amends. He said with the statement, Obasanjo has become the campaign manager of President Buhari for the 2019 presidential election.
Enang said “Obasanjo in his statement look at what saying before commenting. What are the people saying about education? What are they saying about security? What are they saying about the economy? What are they saying bout fight against corruption? What are they saying about even distribution of posts and appointments in the country? What are they saying about speed, and as campaign manager, he will now say let us change our strategies in each of this.”
He further stated that the advice of Obasanjo is not asking Buhari not to come out, but for him to change strategy before coming out.
“Emeritus president Obasanjo’s advice is not saying don’t come out. He is saying change strategy as you are coming out and he is telling us this is how some people are thinking and he’s simply drawing our attention to the fact that we are working very hard, but not communicating as much as we are working,” he said.
“He is now drawing our attention that we should match politics with governance, because we’ve been doing much of governance, but we’ve not been doing much of politics of communicating what we have done.
We just simply been thinking the people will see it, think it and those who have not seen or felt it are feeling that we have not done enough, so it was time to go and activate our media, public relations and communications machinery in each sector of governance, so that they can drive home our points and achievements, so that the public will appreciate.”
Enang further stated that the supporters of the government should be very happy because Obasanjo who has gone everywhere is now bringing feedback to him to restrategise. He said Obasanjo has mingled with the poor, the rich, the international community and many more.
Enang added that the fact that Obasanjo wrote the letter to Buhari several months before the election is an indication that he wants the president to reassess and change something, unlike the letter he wrote to former president Goodluck Jonathan when there was no longer time to correct all he stated in his letter.
“We should be very happy that president Buhari who is working very hard is not everywhere, but Obasanjo is everywhere to hear what the people are saying.”
“Former president Obasanjo is now everywhere, nationally, internationally, in school, amongst students, on the streets among the down-trodden, in the class room among the teachers, in different social and political function among celebrants or those who are moaning, among people with one problem or the other. He is most times there before he is been discharged of affairs or duties of state.”
“Therefore been there, he can now tell his successor, president Buhari that this is how this people are feeling and fairing; change your style or communicate the justification for this style to them. Therefore, he is working for president Buhari to succeed.”
The final thing we want to talk on this point is that he is doing this as a very good campaign manager, because he is not telling us when it is injury time. In previous letters of president Obasanjo to former heads of government, he used to release it at injury time when there is not time to correct, but now he has released at a time that we have time to communicate more because I don’t’ think there is more to correct. We are to communicate more of what we have done, see areas of incomplete action and go and complete those actions.
“Former President Obasanjo does not deserve abuse, he does not deserve condemnation, he does not deserve insult, and he does not deserve unkind words. He is a statesman, he is a benefactor of the country and a beneficiary also and as a benefactor and a beneficiary, he can speak at any time what other cannot speak, and I want to thank him and I want other Nigerians to join me in thanking him because he has told us what to do in time and we are on our toes doing it.
