By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state has said that he meant well for President Bola Tinubu, his government and the people of Nigeria at large.
Mohammed stated this in Bauchi on Wednesday before the commencement of the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting.
It could be recalled that the governor had criticized President Bola Tinubu’s policies and programmes, saying it was not favourable to Nigerians.
He also said that the speech of the president on August 4, calling on the protesters to suspend the protest and come for dialogue was ‘very’ empty.
However, Mohammed said before the SEC meeting that “certainly, when something is so spontaneous like a protest, you cannot be spared no matter how good you are.
“We are not just blaming the federal government for everything, we also have to look at ourselves, do a swift analysis on ourselves and make sure we do things that would put food on the table and make things easier.
We know we are not in charge of national policies and programmes but we must be able to implement national policies as a loyal federalist while at the same time, looking at our own challenges and making sure that we connect with the people.
We are not on our own and that is why I spoke. I spoke constructively as an opposition and somebody who means well to the president and to the government and the people of Nigeria.
“I had not done it to cause any disaffection or to insult anybody but certainly, we are not also spared of what I said. It is not about partisan politics, it’s about responsibility,” he said.
Mohammed appreciated his colleagues, the members of the council for the support and sense of comradeship they had exhibited over the years.
He advised that the protest was a wake up call to all of them, not only to the presidency but to the sub-national and all the leaders in various capacities.
And of course we know we have to listen when their cry is very loud on bad governance in areas of limitations and inadequacies where the expectations of our people have not been met.
Whatever the reason, we have scarce resources to manage and that’s why I said we must use the little resources that we have to do so much.
“Nobody cares, nobody will listen to you when you begin to complain and in our style, we don’t blame our predecessor and that is why God brought us here to manage the situation and make it better,” said the governor.