Humorous politician, Patrick Obahiagbon, has slammed Nigerians for calling president Muhammadu Buhari ‘Baba Go Slow’, especially because of his refusal to name his cabinet members early.
Speaking with Vanguard in a recent interview, Obaihagbon who is the Chief of Staff to Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, insists that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stands no chance in the guber election scheduled to be held in the state in 2016.
President Muhammadu Buhari had come under attack by some sections of Nigerians for his supposed "sluggishness" in naming his cabinet members and his inability to crush Boko Haram within weeks of inauguration.
However, Obahiagbon believes that the Nigerian president has already shown Nigerians what he can do with the political terrain of the country, and also called for Nigerians’ understanding with the former military dictator.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has left no one in doubtexcept of course, incorrigible political Philistines and revanchiststhat he has set his hands on the plough and no political Jupiter can stop him now from cleansing the Augean stable and navigating the ship of the Nigerian state from Bermuda Triangle.
“He has demonstrated a diaphanous commitment to pulverize the monster of corruption by not just vacuous sloganeering as it was in the past, but has announced a willingness to begin an epic prosecution of economic vandals. The constitution of a Presidential Advisory Committee against corruption, headed by the fiery and no nonsense Professor Itse Sagay, is a further demonstration of his commitment.
“I simply don’t understand what they mean by sluggishness. Mr President met a country in a state of economic phlebotomy, social anomie, moral putrescence and political erebusism. Was he supposed to have, against this background, begin to take precipitate steps bordering on the harum scarum just to satiate the dramatic proclivities of those who lightly cogitate that Nigeria is a political cinematography? No no no.
“Fixing the Nigerian economy just now requires systematic methodology, a sangfroid disposition and a calculative mind as cool as cucumber. His shuttle diplomacy to rally Nigeria’s neighbours and the international community at regional and global levels are already paying off in the war against Boko Haram. His spartan discipline and respect for the rule of law, especially on fiscal matters, are already yielding positive mileage for the economy.
“Nigerians are used to theatrics and histrionics but President Muhammadu Buhari is not a man of theatre and drama. He is a man of few words but much action,” Obahiagbon posited.
On whether he thinks the success of the PDP in Edo south in the national assembly elections will repeat itself come 2016 governorship election, Obahiagbon stated vehemently that nothing was achieved by the opposition party in the last elections, he said:
“What were the results achieved by the PDP in the last elections? They simply latched in on the South/South sentiments and the Christian/Muslim stratagem during the presidential election and, even at that, the final results were a photo finish and, of course, when the House of Assembly election took place, when the issues were now local and internal to Edo, was it not now conspicuously demonstrated that APC owns papa’s land, going by the outcome of the elections?
“If anything has changed since then it’s that the people of Edo are now more attracted to the APC and the Comrade Governor, especially with the non-performance of the PDP also at the federal level and their eventual defeat.So what is the tension? Edo is APC state anytime, any day and come rain, come sun. 2016 will come and go and I can tell you that it will be wishful thinking for the PDP to dream of winning the governorship in Edo, not now and not in the nearest future.”