We’ve learnt from Buhari’s humility, selfless leadership – Ministers

Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

The valedictory session held at the State House Council Chamber, Abuja, on Wednesday, afforded ministers opportunities to reflect on the journey so far, with some of them recounting their experiences.

On his part, outgoing Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami said: “I will forever remain grateful to the President for finding me worthy to serve in his cabinet; it was an opportunity that exposed me to leadership skills especially for national development.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, recalled the helicopter crash involving the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, the health challenges that confronted the President at the initial stage of the administration, the death of James Ocholi in a car crash and recession that hit the country as some of the worst experiences that characterised the administration.

Minister of State Agriculture, Heineken Lokpobiri said Buhari will remain a lesson in humility and selfless service, adding that the mere fact that the President was able to manage the economy following the drop in oil prices at the international market stands him out better than Venezuela example.

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, thanked Buhari for shunning personal sentiments in appointing him, according to him, despite the fact that he was relatively unknown to the President prior to 2015, he trusted him enough to serve in the cabinet.

He equally lauded the Vice President for rallying the ministers at any point in time to achieve set goals.

Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, said despite being in politics for four decades, his experience in the last three and half years in Buhari’s cabinet will remain a reference point for him. He seized the opportunity to advise Nigerians to embrace ICT.

Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said the degrading of the terrorist sect Boko Haram, especially reclaiming annexed local council authorities would remain a defining moment for Buhari’s government.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said despite being a journalist with a critical mindset, the President never for once asked him for any favour, not even to influence contact awards.

Farewell message from some of the ministers:

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi: “Let me begin by this thanking God for the opportunity Mr. President has availed me to serve. I met a lot of people in the cabinet.

“Mr. President if I exceed the three minutes it’s not because I failed grammar in school, I had credit in grammar. As a student of grammar, we are told to summarize and that is exactly what we have done.

“Mr. President I met you first in 2007. I never saw you before because when you were the head of state I was a student in university of Ibadan, a radical one at that, a Marxist, so we were among those who demonstrated against some of your policies.

You recall when you came to my chambers in 2007, I wished you good luck and you turned to me and said, don’t wish me good luck, wish me the best of luck.

“Recall I told you, you are the best material to be president of Nigeria but unfortunately the elite will not allow you to be president and I was in PDP. I said they will not allow you and your chances of beginning the President was high.

“The next time I met you was not in person but through phone. You called me after I had defeated governor of Plateau for my second term as governor’s forum chairman. You said to me that you were so elated that you gave somebody free money. I was impressed.

Mr. President, let me thank you for not converting me to Islam. I say that specifically because in 2014, when I walked into Christ the King Catholic Church, I was literally chased out of the church as a governor because I was accused of supporting a man whose agenda was to Islamize Nigeria.

And in Rivers State they begin to call me Alhaji Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. I thank you because they have dropped the Alhaji and back to Mr. Chibuike Amaechi.

“I was told in the cause of the campaign that you were autocratic and therefore you will not be democratic.

Most of us are not happy that you have moved from your autocratic nature of yours to an extreme democrat that everything puts to test of the people, to the extent that the people now feel that the only way things can go on in this country is by the rule of law. We all know that the rule of law is the beginning and the end of this government.

Talking about the financial impunity that we saw before, people were making money without having any productive capacity for that.”

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said: “Wealth of knowledge, skills and experience that we have been compelled to learn from each other. For me, every encounter I had with Mr. President is like going to school.

Today, I’m proud to be graduating with first degree from the PMB’s school of governance, integrity, accountability and due process.

I’m proud to say that I was in the department of EMT that was ably chaired by His Excllency, the Vice President which we all call silently as workaholic who expects you to be there sometime till 2am. He is never tired.

Minister of State Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri, said: “Mr. President let me join me colleagues in thanking you for appointing me a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

What I have learnt in the last three and half years I have not learnt in my 12 years as a parliamentarian. I was a speaker in Bayelsa State of Assembly in 1999. I was a Senator in 2007 to 2015 but the last three and half years cannot be equaled to what I learnt as a member of cabinet.

“So my appointment is something that I will cherish in the rest of my life. I enjoyed cordial working relationship with the Vice President and members of the cabinet within this period of my appointment and I’m very glad to say that your leadership style is exemplary, it was God ordained and I always tell people that you came at a time thatGod wanted you to come.

I have always told people that what saved this country is because of your integrity as the world sees yo as a man everyone can trust.

“The president’s integrity is the difference between Nigeria and Venezuela that has more oil than us but has been in crisis since 2015.””

“Mr. President as you go to the next level let me suggest that as president of Nigeria, you’re the president of the black world, you have enormous responsibility, so you need all the time to attend to other matters apart from the FEC proceedings and so it is my very humble submission that in the next level, let the office of SGF develop standing order that will regulate proceedings of the FEC that will save Mr. President a lot of time to attend to other matters.

“That will prevent some of my colleagues that will talk four or five times as they would be allowed to talk only once. You will only be allowed to talk twice if you’re the one presenting the memo. It will be nice if we see some of the reforms take place so that we will be able to save Mr. President enough time.

Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, said: “I want to congratulate Mr. President for the wisdom in selecting the current members of the cabinet.

There is no doubt that while there was some delays in appointing cabinet members, a lot of people had grievances of sort but the fact that you succeeded in appointing this crème of Nigerians has justified the fact in the saying ‘ it is better late than never’.

There is no good for you in rushing to appoint the cabinet only for you to have problems along the way.

“So, I wish to say that the lateness or the delay has been worthwhile because over the last three and half years we have had one team which has been very compact, focus and determine to contribute its quota under your leadership.”

Minister of Defence Mansur Dan-Ali, said: “Upon assumption in 2015, we met ill-equipped armed forces with low morale and the standard of discipline in the military was eroded due to partisanship over the period of time, leading to neglect of its constitutional role.

As you may recall at the time this administration was inaugurated in May 2015, 1/3 of the local government areas of the northeast was under the control of the insurgents, Boko Haram with bombing across the country.

“Similarly, under your leadership the ministry of defense has recorded a lot of achievements, some which include the review of national defense policy, increased occupational capability of the Armed Forces, condcut of internal security and the decapacitation of Boko Haram among others.

“Despite all these achievements recorded so far, the nation is still experiencing serious security challenges especially in Northeast and North central.

These challenges are not insurmountable. The Armed Forces and other security agencies are doing their best to address these problems.”

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu: “As a journalist who have been very critical of government and perhaps a nobody, I would never have become a minister, but not for this gesture of Mr. President.

“I will like to thank Mr. President for giving freedom, since I became a minister the president has never ask me to give anybody a contract or directed me to employ anybody and I think this is very rare.

In addition, I will like to thank the Vice President for his humility. Like I have said in other occasions, Nigeria has never been lucky to have a combination like this- the president who is famous for integrity and the Vice President who is a true man of God.

“Sir, both of you have the greatest burden on your shoulders to ensure that this alliance that produced you prevails and its maintained.

And sir, it will not prevail until something is done because immediately after you what will happen to Nigeria if you are not succeeded by your own type of integrity, then we are going back to something worse than the one you succeeded.

This is very important; I hope this occupies your mind, the next cabinet and perhaps the party.

The Mnistry of Education should not get less than one trillion Naira.”

Minister of State, Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, said: “My appointment was unique because I had never been in politics prior to my appointment.

Unlike many people, I didn’t know Mr. President directly but you gave me the twin portfolios of managing director of NNPC and minister of state petroleum. This put on me the responsible to try and cleans that ministry so that it will be useful to Nigerians.

“I have had the unique privilege of working with mr President directly, different from being my president, he was my direct boss. In that prior we had worked together to deal with many problems that beset that industry.

Problems of fuel scarcity, dwindling production, transparency, crisis in the Niger delta and fiscal federalism and the TSA ultimately captured most of the earnings of this country from that sector.

“We have done that with very many sacrifices, this is probably the first president that L will know who would have served four years and I can attest that no oil bloc has been given to him neither to him.

I can also attest that there is no contract that he has shown interest personally neither have I. This is probably the first crop of ministers that worked with no official residences and sometimes from their personal cars.

“But I have learnt that if you come to serve Nigeria you have come to sacrifice and if you can’t serve with sacrifice then there is no need to serve.

“Three things I have learnt from you which have been very very helpful, in the first is the power of silence, especially if you don’t have anything to say that is meaningful. The second is the power of calm when the water is turbulent and the third is the audacity of integrity.

That integrity is what has led us to take some of the bold steps that we have taken that ordinarily Nigerians wouldn’t have forgiven inclusive of the lifting of the price of petroleum products which was essential at the time.

“I thank you me president for these lessons and the guardians.”

Niger Delta, Usani Usani, said: “I have seen the passion of Mr. President trying to get the ministers. I have seen Mr. President try to make the minister comfortable but the laws or lack of laws have not allowed it, in this case leaving us with so many sacrifices as ministers. In this sacrifice we have had a lot to learn which has enriched my experience.

“I will like to suggest that in the second run of this administration, there should be deeper discusses for policy articulation which will informed all participants in that administration of the update of whatever decisions the government take.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said: “Thank you for the opportunity despite the fact you didn’t know me from Adam. But your leadership has been such that you treated everyone the same whether you knew them before or not. In fact unless one was told, one would never know who you knew before.

“Mr. President, no one in the history of the country has held as many top leadership position as you have so it is intimidating to be called upon to advise you on any matter. But you are humility personified.

“I will recall a few very short anecdotes that highlight a few of your many qualities.

“In Poland, you showed your humility when after a long tiring day, you were kept waiting by the Deputy Prime Minister. I advised you to leave but you preferred to wait patiently and you were proved right, it was a wonderful meeting.

“In Mali, you showed very strong stoicism physical courage to continue participating in a meeting when you were ill. You later needed a long medical treatment.

“On The Gambia, you showed decisive leadership when you surprised some presidents at a meeting by telling them to be in Abuja in two days, they came. At the working lunch, you called the Chief of Defence Staff and told him to call his counterparts in four countries, plan launch ed land, air and sea move towards Gambia, that was the era of Yahya Jammeh. History.

“In Nairobi, you showed great deftness and dribbling skills. We prepared too long speech for you, we saw that five minutes time limit was being rigorously enforces.

After you told me you had to leave for a while and I should sit in your place and deliver your speech. While I did I read so fast the interpreters could not keep up.

You came back and asked me with a smile if I had delivered the speech and I said yes sir with great difficulty! Lesson learnt. I have learnt so much from you sir.

“Mr. President, you assembled a great cabinet from advisers and it has been a joy to work with each and every one of them.

“Your choice of VP was a truly inspired one. You both are a dream team – match made in heaven. Remember James Ocholi our late colleague and brother and former minister of state Labour, May his soul continue to Rest In Peace.

“I pray that God will continue to guide, protect and bless you both as you embark on your very well deserved second mandate.

“We fought the good fight, finished the race and keeping faith. Thank you Your Excellency. Nigeria is respected around the world thanks to you. “