According to The Nation,he spoke in Johannesburg, South Africa at a public lecture on the theme: Politics, Culture and the New Africa. He said:
“This (Buhari) administration has inherited a heavy baggage. While I am critical in some aspects of the priority, I think that to clear up the mess left by previous administrations is going to take quite a while, especially in the economy sector. So, I don’t use words like optimism or pessimism; I’m just pragmatic. I look at what is on the ground and, of course, wherever I can intervene, I do both privately and publicly.”
