By Okoi Obono-Obla
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State deserves unreserved commendation for his rare candour and statesmanship. In an era where opposition politics in Nigeria has been reduced to perpetual wailing, cynicism and playing to the gallery, Bala Mohammed has risen above partisanship to speak truth to power in the most patriotic sense.
Despite being the National Leader of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and a key pillar of his party’s presidential ticket, Governor Mohammed did what very few Nigerian politicians dare to do: he publicly appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his bold, courageous and transformative reform agenda.
This is leadership. This is maturity. This is putting Nigeria first.
President Tinubu has done what others feared to do. He has brought a semblance of order and transparency to the opaque, previously cabal-infested oil and gas sector. Where subsidy fraud bled the nation of 5% of GDP annually and enriched a few, the President stopped the bleeding. He has introduced unprecedented transparency in the petroleum value chain, from crude production to revenue remittance.
His tax reforms are equally historic. For decades, Nigeria operated a chaotic, multiple-taxation system that stifled business and encouraged evasion. Today, under Taiwo Oyedele and the Presidential Tax Committee, we have a streamlined, pro-growth tax reform that protects the poor and compels the rich and corporations to pay their fair share. Revenue generation has surged, and as Governor Mohammed rightly observed, states are now receiving far more resources to drive grassroots development than ever before.
The security intervention in Bauchi – the deployment of a high-powered military contingent and the establishment of two battalions in Alkaleri and Tafawa Balewa when bandits nearly overran the state – shows a President who does not discriminate by party affiliation. That is the hallmark of a national leader.
It is time for the rest of the opposition to learn.
The ADC, NDC and other opposition elements must desist from this infantile, bitter and bad opposition politics of playing sour grapes. You cannot wish Nigeria to fail simply because you lost an election. You cannot condemn every policy, even those clearly yielding positive results, to remain relevant. Nigerians are wiser than that.
Governor Bala Mohammed has shown the way: when the government does well, say it. When reforms work, commend them. Opposition is not about blind hatred of the President.
In this spirit, the APM presidential candidate, Governor Seyi Makinde, should follow the honourable path his party’s National Leader has laid. If Bala Mohammed can see and commend President Tinubu’s good work, then the logical, patriotic, and statesmanlike thing for Makinde to do is step down so President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can complete his bold agenda of resetting and rebuilding Nigeria.
Nigeria needs continuity, not disruption. It needs reformers, not pretenders. Bala Mohammed has demonstrated statesmanship. Others should emulate him.