The outgoing United States Ambassador to
Nigeria, James Entwistle, has praised President Muhammadu Buhari’s
record in the last one year, saying the administration has done well on
the economy, fight against corruption and insecurity, given the
circumstances it inherited.
Mr. Entwistle will be leaving Nigeria at
the end of July, ahead of his retirement from the U.S. Foreign service,
after a career spanning 35 and half years.
He told a select group of media
representatives, on Friday that considering the very difficult situation
Mr. Buhari inherited, the president did well in his first one year in
office.
The envoy, who drew a parallel between
President Obama and President Buhari, said although it was
understandable for Nigerians to have high expectations of change, they,
like the American people, should be patient with the administration.
“I see a parallel between President
Buhari and President Obama. President Obama had not been in office very
long before the people had the same kind of impatience. A lot of people
forgot what difficult situation President Obama inherited,” Mr.
Entwistle said.
“I think the same thing is happening to
President Buhari. It is completely understandable for the people to have
high expectations. They are impatient, because they want to see change.
But, the president inherited very difficult circumstances.
“Some of the things he identified that
needed to be done, like ending corruption, reforms in the petroleum
sector, ending of the conflict in the North East, are things that even
when you work as hard as you can, they are going to take some time to
yield the kind of result you expect. People should be patient.
“It is good that the expectations from
Mr. President are very high. But, I think people should remember what he
inherited. And in my opinion, I try to be neutral and balanced, I think
Mr. President and his team have done a good job in this first year,”
Mr. Entwistle said.
On the economy, the out-going ambassador
said the sliding oil prices affected most economies, including
Nigeria’s. He said these days no country is an “economic island” and
what happens in one economy, affects others.
He said President Buhari’s economic team
has done a lot, particularly in the areas of exchange rate and removal
of fuel subsidy, which he said could see the economy begin to do well.
Mr. Entwistle also gave President Buhari “very good marks” for his handling of the economy.
On the fight against corruption, the
ambassador said he has a lot of respect for President Buhari, saying he
has remained consistent with his campaign promise to make it the focus
of his administration.
Credit: PremiumTimes
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