Gowon: Nigerians are too harsh on the Tinubu government

Gen. Yakubu Gowon, the former head of state of the armed forces, was seen on Wednesday having candid conversations about the current state of the nation’s economy with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

After the private tour to the presidential residence, Gowon spoke with reporters and said that the critiques directed towards Tinubu’s administration were typical of any Nigerian leader. He also emphasized that people should give the President enough time to handle the difficult challenges.

The former military leader claimed that the political situation inside ECOWAS, particularly with Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali now under the control of military juntas, was a major focus of his meeting with Tinubu.

He claimed to have taught the President important lessons about how to resolve the problems permanently.

“This is my first visit to Mr. President since the inauguration, but I was there to wish him well and all the best,” Gowon stated. You must recall how occupied he was with guests, officials, and other celebrities after that, making it impossible for me to see him. I had to move overseas after that, but from there, he was able to contact me on my birthday and following the intriguing social media rumor that I had passed away.

However, I assume that due of his hectic schedule, I was unable to see him despite my best attempts when I returned.

But fortunately, he was able to offer me the chance to see him this time and talk about a number of topics, including the current state of the ECOWAS issue, which I believe has to be rectified. Furthermore, I believe that in order to determine how to resolve the situation, we had to talk about some of his goals as the ECOWAS’s surviving founding father or leader.

This is what led me here, and our meeting was really intriguing. Some of you have probably seen that I declined to go to the ECOWAS summit, though. Who wrote that report, you? Who carried that out? You know, I was attempting to convey the idea that I was likely the one attempting to undermine ECOWAS. That is not the case, at all. I believe there was a misunderstanding, but it allowed Mr. President to give me a call to talk about my next steps.

We talked about the ECOWAS summit throughout our conversation today. That has now been resolved, and I’m hoping that we can likely finish that message at the ECOWAS headquarters later today. They’ll probably notify you by 5 p.m.

“Well, I was telling him that no Nigerian leader can get there and will not have all the reports of what is being said about him,” he remarked in response to the President’s question about his advice for the nation’s current economic problems. However, based on what one hears and sees in the media, there is undoubtedly no question.

“I believe the administration is making every effort to address the different issues facing the nation, but what about Nigerians? You will face criticism, but don’t worry—those who arrive are more knowledgeable than you are. All that is possible, in my opinion, is for Nigerians to understand that the president needs time to do his tasks. Furthermore, it is too soon to declare that the ideal outcome will be attained right away. That’s what I think.

“I know, and if my memory serves me correctly, I was informed during the conflict that I was moving too slowly, that Nigeria most likely would not be able to win, and that we should now look for a dialogue. So, did we succeed or fail? We are presumably there because they are unaware of the subterranean problem.