United States out going Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, has credited President Muhammadu Buhari’s record in the last one year, saying the administration has performed well on the economy, fight against corruption and insecurity, given the circumstances it inherited.
He told a select group of media representatives on Friday that considering the very difficult situation Mr. Buhari inherited, the president has performed well in his first one year in office.
In his speech, 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 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.
