Femi Adesina, special assistance to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has urged Nigerians to calm down and be patient with the government.
He said it is not good to keep demonizing the government by turning a blind eye to the good things the government is doing to make the country better.
The presidential spokesman said this in a statement on Thursday while reacting to a viral video of a boy pleading with his mother for dialog after committing an offense.
Adesina said the boy's action is a good lesson for Nigerians to learn.
His words, "There’s this hilarious video that went viral recently. A boy had offended his mother, and was about to get a beating. Tearfully, even before he got whipped, the boy tried to plead his way out.
"As the mother told him to stretch forth his palm to be caned, he entreated: “Mummy, it must not be hard beating o...This is my last chance. Last chance in the world.”
"Amidst tears, he said he had a question for the mother:
“Will you be going out today? You must rest a little...Mummy, calm down. Don’t be angry. I’m just telling you to be ‘calming’ down. You must rest a little.”
"The boy then reclined on a couch, to show how the mother must calm down, and rest.
"The boy and his mother became some sort of celebrity. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State asked to meet with him, and said there were fundamental lessons to learn from his tearful admonition to his mum.
"Calm down. I’m just telling you to be ‘calming’ down. Hahahahahaaaaaaa.
But if the truth the told, that message from the boy is for the entire country. We need to calm down. We are too uptight, nervy, edgy. We grumble, murmur too much, call the government a lot of names, try to demonize those serving the nation, when it could be “our last chance. Last chance in the world” to really fix things.
"If you listen to some people; angry youths, religious leaders, political analysts, newspaper columnists, news reviewers, so-called activists, then nothing positive is happening in the country. It is all about insurgency, banditry, killings, joblessness, corruption, lack and deprivation. True? False!
"Those things are there, as they are also in many countries of the world. But they are not the only things happening in Nigeria. Only that we would not see the positive things, except we calmed down. We would never enjoy the rainfall, if we expect rainstorm to carry away our rooftop at any moment. Calm down. “I’m just telling you to be ‘calming’ down.”