The former Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has urged the newly-elected president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his skills to address Nigeria’s economic challenges as soon as possible.
Babangida said this on Monday during an interview on Arise TV where he also congratulated the president, Tinubu and vice-president, Kashim Shettima.
IBB also described Tinubu as a skillful politician while urging him to reorganise the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) and galvanize the country’s economic heavyweights.
“Tinubu is a very skillful politician who needs to apply his skills to unite a very polarized nation,” Babangida said.
“He must galvanize Nigeria’s economic heavyweights, home and abroad, to address the economy of the nation and reposition the armed forces.
“As Commander-in-Chief, he needs to take a good look at the armed forces to reorient them, retrain them and reorganize them because the armed forces have undergone a lot of processes that need to be put together and make them more efficient.”
Babangida urged Nigerians to be patient with the new administration of Tinubu.
He stressed that Tinubu needs to be able to unite Nigeria, expressing the view that the nation has some of the best brains that he can tap from to revamp every sector including the military.
Babangida urged Tinubu to become a president for all Nigerians as he takes over the mantle of leadership of the country.
“I wish the new administration well. Let them put Nigeria first, and the welfare of Nigerians should be paramount. Leadership at all levels is missing,” the former Head of State said.
“The only advice is to be patient and continue to support the new government, but if they see things going wrong, they should cry out as usual, but be objective about it.”
Tinubu and Shettima were sworn-in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola as the president and vice-president respectively.
Justice Ariwoola administered the oath of office on Tinubu and Shettima at the Eagles Square in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on Monday.
