According to Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, those who first intended to disparage Hadiza Bala Usman, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Delivery Unit, are now starving.
Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers State, reportedly launched an investigation and suggested that Bala-Usman be suspended.
He made the call while serving as Minister of Transportation under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
But since stepping down, Amaechi has been harshly critical of the government, of which Bala Usman is an important cabinet member.
Last year, Amaechi stated that Nigerians should overthrow President Bola Tinubu because they were starving during a celebration of his 60th birthday.
“Everyone is hungry. We are all. I’m hungry if you’re not. Therefore, if you want us, the opposition, to remove Tinubu from office, we can do so,” he had stated.
Speaking at a colloquium on Usman’s 50th birthday in Abuja on Tuesday, Oshiomhole made a subtle allusion to Amaechi, saying that those who attempted to disparage the presidential assistant while she was the Managing Director of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) are now facing consequences.
“When you were appointed MD of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), some people with ‘bad belle’ who were drunk with power tried to rub you without knowing your background, and you fought back,” he remarked.
“They attempted to discredit your family’s reputation, but in the end, they discredited themselves and are currently starving.” Even the best of us cannot be oppressed by that hunger. I therefore said, “May the hunger last until they return to their creator,” when I learned that those who had been so powerful the day before were now hungry.
“Look at it, you are here, you have the honor of Nigeria’s Vice President being in attendance to celebrate your birthday,” said Oshiomhole, who praised Bala Usman’s leadership abilities. Can you really expect more when the people who wanted to discard you are still hungry and will eventually starve? You have us, the Chief of Staff, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“This is the prize for listening to and absorbing your father’s best qualities, Hadiza. I’m not sure why I chose to discuss your father, because others find it hard to comprehend why you are unique. Your father joined us in protesting at the National Secretariat while I was in Abuja. I am therefore unaware of our relationship when I hear what people have to say about you.
“I am really proud of you, little girl, but you are very stubborn,” they said. Because of your intelligence, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu chose you as a policy advisor and you brought certain perspectives to the election that others might not have considered. I replied in the affirmative since policy and the results of policy decisions are fundamental to governance.
He claimed that since plans are not implemented on a whim, President Tinubu is aware of where he placed her.
“He did not do it as a favor; he did it because he needed you,” Oshiomhole continued. Because he still values a reforming administration, he has kept you there. Even though we’ve shown that you can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results, people dislike reforms.
“This is what we say every day, but the same individuals start complaining when you have an administration, backed by the vice president, that says we will stop doing things the old way because we want a new outcome. That is life, but people who are optimistic about the future would prefer to take a chance, create policies, and carry them out mercilessly in order to make tomorrow better than today.
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