Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says President Muhammadu Buhari is “slow but steady” in his approach to governance “now that he is older and given his experience”.
Tinubu was speaking on Monday during the launch of a book — ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’, written by John Paden, a professor of international studies — at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
“In tracing the evolution of Buhari, the national leader said, the author’s assertion that military rule is based on the power its holders can wield, while civilian rule is based on the legitimacy derived from elections, is a point with which I dare not debate.
“Buhari’s career embodies this, hence his transition from being a military ruler to being a civilian leader, who subjected himself to the rigors and uncertainty of elections four times. Thrice he patiently went to court, seeking redress from electoral manipulation.
“The author, quite accurately, remarked on the Buhari victory equation, as flowing from Northern grassroots support and coalition-building with the South West as well as with other tendencies.”
Tinubu noted that Paden, in the book, succinctly explained the transition from the Buhari in uniform to one in civilian garb.
“He notes that in terms of style of leadership, Buhari as a young military head of state was in a hurry,” he said. “However, now that he is older and given his experience, he is ‘slow but steady’ in his approach to governance.”
Tinubu said the choice of Yemi Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 presidential election proved that the president was not intolerable to religious difference as it was insinuated.
