Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos
Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), has faulted those criticising President Muhammadu Buhari’s inclusion of deceased persons’ names in new boards of Federal Government agencies.
He said their criticisms were “extremely unreasonable”.
He spoke with INDEPENDENT on Monday.
Sagay described those accusing the president of incompetence as people with Lilliputian minds who should rather focus on important issues confronting the nation.
The Senior Advocate argued that the government had done nothing wrong since it was not possible for presidency officials to visit homes of appointees 24 hours to the announcement to check whether they were still alive or dead.
“This list has been under preparation for over two years and there are about 2,000 to 3,000 names on that list.
“So, a list containing so many names under preparations for that length of time should not surprise anyone that some of them had died as at the time the announcement was made two years later.
“The way I see these comments coming in over the list, it is like Nigerians are looking for something to quarrel about.
“For example, do they expect the presidency 24 hours to the announcement to be going about knocking on each door of the appointees asking ‘Yakubu, are you alive? Emeka, are you still living?’
“So, it is so extremely unreasonable for people to accuse the president of incompetence”, he said.
Continuing, he said, “What that reminds me of is a story of Lilliput. The Lilliputians who were just one inch tall went to war with their neighbours who were equally small.
“What was the cause of the war? The Lilliputians said if you want to crack an egg, you should crack it on the larger side.
“The other group said it should be cracked on the smaller side. That was the cause of the war.
“I think Nigerians and the elite who are talking about the list have Lilliputian mind, and I regard their attitude as collective stupidity and evidence of idleness of mind.
“To see that list and begin to quarrel about it seems to me a level of senselessness that I cannot imagine.
“There are many more important things affecting this country.
“The government is not at fault. The presidency couldn’t have apologised because they have not done anything wrong.”
