Nigeria’ll gain from Buhari’s experience – Are

Dr. Lekan Are In this interview withOLUFEMI ATOYEBI,a former Chief Executive Officer, Ogun/Oshun River Basin Development Authority and Chairman of Kakanfo Inn and Conference Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State, Dr. Lekan Are, says the criticisms against the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), are needlessWhat’s your view of Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari?I met him for the first time in 1984 at the Dodan Barrack, Lagos, after he came into power in December 1983. I was the Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun/Oshun River Basin Development Authority at the time. He later called all heads of parastatals and ministries to a meeting in Abuja, where we defended how we ran our various agencies. We all took turns to do so. When it was my turn, I presented a detailedreport and Buhari expressed satisfaction at my presentation.However, he was not happy with some of those who presented their reports before me and he made it known immediately at the meeting. He told them to learn from my presentation and how I ran the office.When I was asked to defend having a guest house and a school inside the premises of the Ogun/Oshun River Basin Development Authority in Abeokuta, I explained that because our location was some miles away from the main community, at least three hours of working time would be lost if my staff had to take their children to school in the morning and bring them back in the afternoon. I said the school was meant for their children and that we also accommodated pupils from the rural community around us.I also explained that the guest house was meant for staff that had to travel from far places on official duty to our location and anyone among the public who wished to stay there. I told Buhari that it was notfree. He was satisfied with my explanation. He said that he was impressed with the way I have managedour resources and time. When we were to leave, he called me and asked if I needed more money and I said that I would be happy. I got a 17 per cent raise in allocation. That was when the heads of parastatals were given the authority to have direct access to their finances instead of through the ministers of supervising ministries. More @ http://www.punchng.com/politics/nigeriall-gain-from-buharis-experience-are/