Yakubu Gowon, the former head of state in Nigeria, has offered counsel to President Bola Tinubu, advising him to dismiss criticism against his administration and maintain focus.
This guidance was shared with State House correspondents after Gowon's meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.
Gowon emphasized the importance of withholding judgment on Tinubu's government, asserting that it's premature to deliver a final verdict.
In his words, “Well, I was telling him that no Nigerian leader can get there and will not have all the reports 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 but with Nigerians?
“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 to things really done. 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 delved into discussions about the ongoing crisis in ECOWAS, with Gowon, one of the founding fathers of the regional bloc, emphasizing the need for a resolution.
Clarifying recent reports, Gowon dismissed rumors that he refused to attend a recent ECOWAS conference, attributing it to miscommunication.