TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to leave ex-President Goodluck Jonathan alone and focus on his government which is “losing direction”.

The Arewa Peace Coalition (APC) gave the advice in a statement issued by Abdulkadir Mohammed, the group’s coordinator.

Mohammed also called Buhari’s attention to prevalent national issues, including the president’s “lopsided appointments” and the economic hardship facing the country.

He urged Buhari to discourage the “current negative campaign” against Jonathan and focus on the mandate of fixing Nigeria and improving the quality of lives of the millions of Nigerians.

“Nigerians didn’t vote Buhari to come and give excuses on why he cannot perform… they believed he was capable and particularly fit for the job of president,” Mohammed said.

“Since you won the 2015 election, we have been waking up almost every day to hear stories about how Jonathan did this and Jonathan did that. We have become tired and fed up.

“When will we begin to hear what Baba Buhari has done? When will we begin to hear of what our Baba has done to salvage Nigeria?

“Bashing Jonathan at every opportunity has not solved any of the problems you met as president. Nigerians have already voted Jonathan out. They are disappointed that years after Jonathan has left, there is no day that the Buhari presidency does not attempt to feast on Jonathan. Why then did we vote for you?”

The group also advised Buhari to acknowledge some of the successes of his predecessor and consolidate on them.

“Mr President, there were quite a few successes of the Jonathan presidency. Acknowledge those successes and use them to your advantage,” Mohammed said.

“And then work to correct and avoid the mistakes that dogged the Jonathan presidency. That is how successful nations work.

“Please leave Jonathan alone. Go around the country and ascertain things for yourself. Two years into your presidency, you are yet to visit more than 30 states in Nigeria.”

The group also told the president not to leave out any section of the country in his appointments.

“Appoint a competent team to assist you in the onerous task of fixing Nigeria. Appoint people in every nook and cranny of Nigeria,” Mohammed said.

“The Buhari presidency must not be over-saturated by people from the northern part of the country or people who share a peculiar history with you.

“You are now a Nigerian president NOT a Northern, Daura or CPC president. You are president over Muslims the same way you are president over Christians.

“It is with great discomfort that we write you this piece. In 2015, many of us came out in large numbers to vote for you because we believed that things would change for the better if you became president of Nigeria.

“When you ascended to the position of President of Nigeria. We rejoiced across the streets of northern Nigeria. Some of our kinsmen trekked hundreds of kilometers to celebrate your win in the 2015 elections.

“Two years into your administration, everything has turned on its head. The price of food has skyrocketed across Nigeria. The quality of education has nosedived. Access to affordable health care has become a problem. Farmers are no longer encouraged to go to their farms. Nothing seems to be working.”