Be patient with Tinubu, Gowon appeals to Nigerians

Be patient with Tinubu, Gowon appeals to Nigerians

•Urges ECOWAS to lift sanctions on Mali, B’Faso, Niger

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), has cautioned Nigerians against rushing to judge the performance of President Bola Tinubu.

He made the call while speaking to State House correspondents on Wednesday after meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Gowon said he advised Tinubu not to worry about the current criticisms against his administration.

The elder statesman said it was too early to deliver a final verdict on Tinubu-led government.

He said: “well, I was telling him that no Nigerian leader that can get there and will not have all the report of what is being said about him.

“But certainly, there’s no doubt from what one hears and what one sees on the various media, etc. I think the government is trying their best to deal with the various problems of the country.

“Don’t you worry you will get criticised, but people who get there know better than you know. I think all what one can say is that Nigerians, we’ve got to give the president time. And it is too early to sort of say absolute result, perfect result will be achieved now.

“That is my opinion. I know and if I can remember, when I was fighting the war, I was told I was too slow and that probably Nigeria cannot make it and that we should now seek for discussion.

“Well, did we do it or not? They probably do not know the problem underground, so that is where we are.”

The two leaders discussed the ongoing crisis in ECOWAS, with Gowon as one of the founding fathers of the regional bloc emphasising the need for a resolution.

There had been reports that Gowon refused to attend a recent ECOWAS conference, but he dismissed them as miscommunication.

Gowon said he and Tinubu were able to clarify plans regarding ECOWAS during their talks on Wednesday.

“This is my first visit to Mr President since the inauguration, but I was there at the inauguration to wish him well and all success. If you remember how busy he was after that, visitors, members of government, various personalities, so it was not possible for me to be able to see him.

“After the time I had to travel abroad but from abroad, he was able to reach me on my birthday and after that interesting social media report that I was dead.

“But when I came back, I made a number of efforts but unfortunately I think because of his busy programme, it was not possible for me to see him.

“But luckily enough, this time he was able to give me the opportunity to see him and to discuss various matters especially the issue of the ECOWAS problem at the moment which I think needs to be resolved.

“And being the surviving leader or founding father of the ECOWAS, I think we had to discuss some of his plans in order to see what can be done to bring the matter under control.

“So, this is what has brought me here and we had a very interesting meeting and I’m sure some of you have read reports that I refused to attend ECOWAS conference, isn’t it?

“No, that is not the case. I think there was a miscommunication, but then it gave the opportunity for Mr President to call me so that we can discuss what I was to do.

“So that ECOWAS meeting was part of the discussion we had today. So that has been done and solved and I hope that we can probably be able to have that message done later on today at ECOWAS headquarters probably by 5pm, they will let you know,” he added.

Urges ECOWAS to lift sanctions on Mali, B’Faso, Niger

Later on Wednesday, Yakubu Gowon urged the regional political and economic union to lift sanctions on Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic.

Gowon made the call in an open letter to the Heads of State and the ECOWAS member states on Wednesday.

Widely seen as West Africa’s top political and regional authority, the 15-nation bloc of ECOWAS – formed in 1975 to promote economic integration in member states – has struggled in recent years to reverse a wave of military takeovers in the region, including Mali in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger last year.

Members of the fifteen-nation bloc (excluding the four members suspended since falling under military rule – Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger), along with the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union, agreed to close all borders with Niger, suspend financial transactions and freeze the country’s assets in external banks.

The three countries, which mulled a counterforce, the Alliance of Sahel States, against the regional bloc after the overthrow of the democratically elected government in Niger, announced their exit from ECOWAS on Sunday, January 28, 2023.

In a joint statement by their military leaders, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré (Burkina Faso), Col. Assimi Goita (Mali), and Brig. Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani (Niger Republic), the three countries announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS with immediate effect.

The three countries, which are currently under military rule, said they ceased to be members of ECOWAS as the regional body had allegedly “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism.”

They claimed that ECOWAS had become a threat to its member states.

Gowon, who presented the letter to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, in Abuja at a press conference, expressed concern that the pronouncement by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic to exit from ECOWAS threatens the unity of the bloc and has far-reaching implications for ordinary citizens.

He said, “It saddens me to learn that ECOWAS is threatened with disunity following the announcement by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, three important Member States, of their intention to leave the Community.

“The impact of such a decision will have far-reaching implications for the ordinary citizens who have been the major beneficiaries of regional integration.”

Gowon called on the ECOWAS authorities to immediately consider the implementation of the “lifting of all sanctions that have been imposed on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger.”

He appealed to the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, including leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, to re-unite for peace and stability in the region.

“Therefore, on behalf of all the founding fathers of the Community and myself, I urge the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, including the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, to put aside their differences and reunite for the peace, stability and prosperity of our sub-region,” Gowon said.