Almost 2 years to the end of his tenure, President Muhammadu
Buhari simply shared with the public
that he felt like absconding when he saw the national treasury after he took
over the mantle of leadership. Going by this statement, the president inherited
an empty treasury from the last PDP administration.
I have been asking myself when the ruling All Progressive Congress
will stop blaming the PDP even when they spill ordinary milk. As far as this specific
APC stalwarts are concerned, the PDP is responsible for the rain that
damaged crops and the death of humans on the face of the earth. Even 9 months
into their administration, PDP is still being held for power failure, economic
recession, inflation and low purchasing power. Infact sometimes you will almost
conclude that only PDP states are owing salaries when in the real sense,
several APC states are lead debtors too.
Balderdash is what it will be called if anyone says that the
PDP achieved nothing in her 16 years of rule.The PDP in her first 8 years in
this country established the Global systems for mobile communications GSM, the
National Health Insurance Scheme NHIS, The National Open University NOUN and the successful Pensions programme we have
today. These are programmes that clearly
touched the lives of millions and are still running till today with many of
them sustaining themselves. I do not want to mention the outlandish debt
cancellation of the OBJ administration in 2006.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s 8 years in this country
groomed democratic norms- permitting an uncrushed opposition, a criteria needed
for democracy to thrive. Jonathan respected and enforced electoral processes
sometimes to his detriment! His time witnessed massive foreign direct
investment that led Nigeria to the place of Africa’s largest economy. Jonathan’s
government also led Nigeria through the first alternation of governments within
a democracy. Jonathan secured the Freedom of Information bill, the Petroleum
industry bill and boosted Local Content Policy. The enthronement of the APC today
is based on that respect for democratic rule enshrined in the Leadership of the
PDP at the time. We are not saying that corruption, poor infrastructure and insecurity
did not thrive during the PDP era but the truth is that the PDP did not start
them!
Despite these allegations by the ruling party, the APC till
today is yet to provide the economic blueprint this country is following. FDI
is declining and genuine investors are holding back. No genuine investor puts
his money in an economy with inconsistent policies. Most elections held since
May 29, 2015 has been fraught with massacres and inexplicable manipulations with
Kogi, Rivers and most recently Ondo state for reference. Political and economic
stability is critical for businesses to break even and then thrive.
A hungry man is an angry man. Nigerians do not care about blocked wastage
and anticorruption until the impacts of its dividends can be felt by that
ordinary man on the streets. We can continue with this anticorruption noise for
4 years with yet no water, no good education, no roads and no power supply.
While lowering her voice on “fantastically corrupt” and “other
room” comments, the Nigerian government should please solve national problems
and tell PDP stories to the dogs. We are tired of them! If Power supply, portable
water and poor infrastructure had truly been major problems before PDP took
over 1999, then the APC should please drop her mics and ask for Tinubu’s
spectacles with which he finds solutions to problems.
PDP’s inactions
should be APC’s shining edge. Nigerians are not interested in any presidential
AWOL or kitchen turn-ons as long as there is food on the table. Tackle
corruption but fix infrastructural problems. Block wastage but create an
enabling environment for businesses. Anything
outside this to the Nigerian is just verbal gymnastics. Tell it to the dogs!
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