I was a guest on Channels tv (Lunchtime Politics) yesterday, January 1, 2020 to analyze the letter written to Nigerians on new year’s day by President Muhammadu Buhari and the position of my party was clear and unambiguous on some certain issues that were raised by the presenter.
1. On President Muhammadu Buhari not contesting in 2023 and his listed achievements in the economy and fighting corruption?
As far as we are concerned, it’s a non-issue and should not be up for discussion because the Nigerian constitution is quite clear on the number of terms prescribed for a president of which the incumbent is not exempted and to the best of my knowledge, the constitution has not been amended to suite a section, individual or group hence, he is not doing us a favor. However, his coming out openly to inform Nigerians that he is not contesting is still good and timely and should put the matter to rest once and for all.
There is clearly a disconnect between the government and the masses and Mr. President does not know what Nigerians are going through neither is the government in touch with global reality. In this era of 4th industrial revolution where the world is talking about Artificial Intelligence and robotics and the need to develop human capital, the government is busy drilling for crude oil in the far north while voting paltry sums for education and health.
In terms of fighting corruption, the current rating of Nigeria where she is placed 144th in the world on the corruption perception index by Transparency International settles that as we have not made any appreciable progress in our fight against corruption. Figures don’t lie.
2. On calling for peace in Nigeria?
The president should start matching words with actions as his own actions have been divisive and does not promote the peace he is professing. Virtually all political appointments have been tilted towards the north in clear violation of the federal character principle. If the president wants to amend the constitution to get rid of the federal character, he should please do, so that we know that going forward, he is free to appoint anybody from anywhere even if all his appointees will be members of his ethnic group.
But as far as the federal character principle as enshrined in the constitution is still in force, Mr. president is mandated to make appointments across board. He should visit the very foundation of what his actions have caused and begin to make amends by correcting the injustice and balance appointments across all ethnicity and religion.
3. On what do i expect from the government in 2020?
The president should start talking about restructuring because that is the only way forward. The APC government should stop deceiving us. The APC is the only party in the world that came to power based on promises made but denied all promises made immediately it got to power.
No nation can make any progress based on the current structure we have. Even if Mr. President does not trust oppositions’ views or the Jonathan’s report on restructuring, he can at least trust the Governor Nasir El-rufai report on restructuring. Let him start with the implementation of that report. Even if he is constructing roads and bridges, to what end when we don’t have a foundation? Let the APC start by implementing that report because that is the only way forward as a nation.
#WeNeedTransformationalLeaders
#TheTimeToRestructureNigeriaIsNow