The Presidency has declared no sincere Nigerian would claim not to notice the important achievements so far recorded by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in its anti-corruption war.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Sunday while responding to criticisms of poor performance by President Muhammadu Buhari credited to Kano Politician, Dr. Junaid Mohammed.
In a statement, Shehu noted that though Mohammed was entitled to his opinion, he was not entitled to misrepresent facts about the achievements of the Buhari administration since inception.
Listing Buhari’s achievement, he said they include the crippling of Boko Haram terrorists, pointing out that the sect can no longer invade and occupy towns and villages unchallenged by the country’s military personnel.
He said, “The fact that civil servants and political office holders are now afraid to steal with impunity is, itself, a major psychological boost for the anti-corruption crusade of the Buhari administration, which no sincere Nigerian can pretend not to notice.
“Contrary to Junaid’s claims that President Buhari doesn’t acknowledge mistakes, we wish to remind the medical doctor that the President publicly took responsibility and apologized for the dissolution of the governing councils of federal universities when it was discovered that due process was not followed.
“We must stress that taking responsibility for mistakes is one of the finest components of integrity, and that President Buhari has never failed in demonstrating this virtue in words and deeds.
“Since the coming of the Buhari administration, the country has saved billions and trillions of naira which could have been diverted to private pockets if the government wasn’t committed to transparency and accountability.”
Advising Nigerians to shun “prejudiced and biased critics” like Mohammed, the Presidential Spokesman said ‘if Mohammed wanted to be taken seriously, he should speak truthfully about those he frequently attacked in his interviews’.
“It must be noted that President Buhari was not the only target of Junaid’s personal vituperations as former Presidents Shehu Shagari, Ibrahim Babangida, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan had all been victims of his jaundiced and malicious attacks.
“When it came to the late Sani Abacha, he tried it, but once he saw the prospect of elimination, he retreated.
“A cursory library search will reveal that this man has nurtured the habit of insulting every leader this country has produced in his time.
“Like a narcissist, he is just interested in grabbing the headlines. Without publicity, Dr. Junaid would probably give up on life.
“It is unfortunate that Junaid Mohammed has been using his political retirement life to engage in insulting every President to grab the newspaper headlines, in addition to taking advantage of the gullibility of uncritical readers that don’t bother to subject him to facts-check.
“It is obvious that Dr. Junaid appears to be infected with pathological cynicism and these kinds of critics are toxic to national progress because they are only primarily interested in destroying every positive effort and achievements of the government.”
