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Moment Of Reality …Buhari, APC, National Problems
It is amusing to hear apologists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in defence of the Federal government say there are indeed no quick fixes to addressing the gruelling national challenges, for which they got the people’s mandate in the last general elections. Even the National Leader of the party Bola Ahmed Tinubu echoed same sentiments. But that was not what they told Nigerians during the campaigns.
All through the campaigns leading to the elections, the APC presented itself as a party with answers to all national questions and challenges. They promised change in the areas of national security, near comatose economy, poor electricity power supply, unstable petroleum products distribution, lack of a welfare package for unemployed graduates, shaky infrastructural development, absence of diversification of the economy with needed preference for agriculture and industtrialisation and less than competitive value of the Naira.
The argument then was that the party’s flag-bearer, General Muhammadu Buhari being an anti-corruption apostle, a retired general, and former Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was very experienced, prepared and ready to hit the ground running, once elected, as against the pedigree of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, whom they described as relatively inexperienced.
To convince Nigerians, the APC propaganda machine repeatedly said it had produced a blue-print of action, which would usher the required positive change Nigerians eagerly yearned for. They brandished a very lofty manifesto which they said would turn-around the economy, in no time, create millions of jobs, improve the power situation, ensure regular supply of Petroleum products, especially petrol and kerosene and most importantly, ensure the security of lives and property.
Nearly one year after, most of the problems have degenerated from bad to worse, with no inkling that the administration is on top of the game. The first sign that the Federal Government was not prepared for the mandate it got was during the constitution of the leadership of the National Assembly.
As it turned out, Senate President, Bukola Saraki was not the party’s preferred candidate for Chairmanship of the National Assembly, in the same vein, Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives was said to have usurped a position which the party reserved for someone else.
That created political crisis, with the party hierarchy battling from outside the Legislature to unseat the unwanted elements. Infact, Senate President Saraki’s travails before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) are believed to be remotely, or even directly tied to what party leader’s consider as punishment for his coup detat. To date, there seems to be mutual suspicion between the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council on the one hand, and the National Assembly with APC leadership on the other.
This suspicion manifested itself in the Assembly’s handling of the Budget sent to it by President Buhari, with alarms and blames of budget padding, loss of the original copy of the fiscal document and eventual tampering with provisions made therein. In fact, Buhari’s insistence on studying details of the budget first before signing it into law, after the NASS passage are all signs of the lack of trust between both arms.
With this measure of distrust, there does not seem to be the required synergy to hit the ground running. Even the mercurial Lai Mohammed, erstwhile APC propaganda machine, now Information Minister seems dried of the right words to explain the state of affairs.
Let’s not forget, it took the administration more than five months to constitute a federal cabinet of thoroughly recycled brains.
For months now, after repeated promises of change by the Petroleum Resources Ministry, which the President himself heads, fuel remains so scarce, when found, it sells for between N2,000 and N3,000 for a 10 litre jerrycan in the black market, the only alternative to the dry filling stations, instead of N870.
Nigeria which is one of the world’s top seven producers of crude still cannot provide enough petrol for local consumption, in spite of the change the APC promised before the elections.
The last deadline after several, given by the Petroleum Ministry’s Junior Minister, Dr Ibe Kachikwu was that by last weekend the product would be in abundance in Lagos and Abuja, and two days later, nationwide. But Abuja and Lagos residents said it was same old story. And Nigerian refineries still remain unuseful.
What of electricity power supply? From about 4,000MW it has dropped to below 2,500 causing bigger untold hardship on the citizenry. With scarcity of foreign currency support to buy generating sets, the people are simply in one big heat-hole, gasping for the last breath. Yet the FG has no answer to the tricks of the DISCOS.
With all these on, and the 2016 budget yet to work, speedy infrastructure development remains a mirage. Infact, the second Niger Bridge initially projected to be completed and delivered next year is now merely a pipe dream. So is the East West Road.
The economy is in a very bad shape with no positive signal that people are thinking. It’s been all complaints. Nearly a year into the tenure of an elected government, what Nigerians get daily are complaints against and blames on the past government which lapses it promised to correct, having researched and found solutions to all the problems.
So bad, some of the promises made are also being denied. A welfare package promised unemployed graduates for which the hopeful Nigerian youth lined up behind the APC in the last election has been blown-up by the wind. Infact, some even said the promise was not made to jobless graduates but to the very poor and vulnerable in the society.
Who is more vulnerable? A jobless oldman who could depend on alms from even neighbours or a jobless graduate, who so frustrated could, allow self to be conscripted into a gang of criminals or even Boko Haram? But they say jobless graduates are not the most vulnerable.
This leads us to the worrisome level of insecurity in the land.
There are likely to have been more deaths in the past two months across the country than last two years of the former administration, excepting Boko Haram related killings by soldiers. Daily, there are stories of senseless killings arising from clashes between herdsmen and defenceless farmers and communities, kidnappings and indeed cult-related violence.
The basic responsibility of any government is the protection of lives and property of its citizens. If that basic responsibility also does not have a quick-fix then the people live without hope.
Yet, in its desperation to expand its political power base, the APC government has also been putting at risk, the Nigerian Army’s reputation and relation with the Nigerian people. Rather than being the friends of the citizenry some Nigerians now perceive soldiers as potential political enemies, because of their misuse in civil issues.
Only recently, an Army Colonel abducted days earlier in Kaduna was found dead. And last week, dead bodies were found in a pit at the outskirts of Rivers State, with locals not recognising any. Many suggested, they could be products of extra-judicial killing.
Also, it is safe to say that the APC-led federal government seems to lack the neutrality required to institute a dependable, free and fair national electoral body that would conduct conclusive elections. Look at experiences of Kogi, Bayelsa and Rivers states. It appears that when the outcome of an election is unfavourable to the ruling party and government of the day, it is declared inconclusive; otherwise, what is holding the collated and announced results of the Rivers rerun?
This is why many Nigerians have started expressing doubts that the favourable democratic platform which ushered in the APC may be sustained. Some say it has since been destroyed and the ruling party now hopes on ‘Federal Might’ and the same impunity it often accused the PDP of, as sure-bet to win subsequent elections.
An octogenarian, Pa Wilcox Papaye, recently lamented in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, “Is it what you call change? Is it change for better or worse? This is worso-o”. It is the same refrain running through the lips of many.
But by far the most annoying is the unfulfilled promises to rescue the Chibok girls, for which a coalition of civil society groups lined up behind the APC. Nearly two years after, the government still has no clue, although Nigerian troops have done quite well in the battle against Boko Haram, with daily capture of terror kingpins.
What is needed now is for the Buhari-led government, to identify at least one problem, solve it fully and use it as a branding effort to market other yet-to-be fulfilled promises. More importantly, they should realise that posterity will not forgive the government of the day, if out of desperation, it kills the same nascent democracy that allowed it into power.
My Agony is that many of those who should be worried are still in a fool’s paradise, illusion of grandeaur, as if all is well. But they do not hear the talk on the streets. That may be why they seem comfortable.
Nigerians NEED real change for the better not the horrors of today.
Soye Wilson Jamabo
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We’re Determined To Leave Legacy Of Quality Education -Fubara
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has promised to give the best attention to the education sector so that standard and quality learning will never be compromised in the State.
The governor emphasised that in achieving such legacy, schools in the State will be driven with a curriculum that will equip school-aged children to become competitive, innovative and self-reliant.
Governor Fubara made the assertion while inaugurating the Governing Council of Rivers State University at Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He said: “There is a lot of noise everywhere: people asking what we are doing; that we are not focused, and that we don’t have direction.
”But I want to tell the world that we are focused and aware that we cannot grow if our energies are not channeled to education. Not just education, but purposeful education.
”Education that is creative. Education that gives you independence. We have left the era in the world when you speak too much grammar. We are in such times when it is what you can do with your hands.
”Our purpose for education is that we should bring back our academic programmes to where, at the end of your studies, you don’t need a job but you create jobs. When one creates a job, you automatically employ others. That is what I want this council to see as their task.”
Governor Fubara noted the non-existence of public secondary schools for the male child in the Diobu axis of Port Harcourt.
He said such negligence leaves children in that area who have completed primary education, and whose parents cannot afford sending them to far away secondary schools, to roam the streets, and therefore becoming willing tools for criminality.
Governor Fubara assured that such fundamental problem will be addressed by his administration as a measure to curb the negative impression associated with Diobu axis of Port Harcourt.
The governor said he trusts in the capacity of the members of the Governing Council of Rivers State University to bring about positive change in the institution while also contributing their quota to improving the general education standard in the State.
”I charge you, not just in terms of administering the affairs of the university, but let us add something different from the normal things that we already have to see new things.”
In her response, on behalf of the other members, the Pro-Chancellor of the Governing Council of Rivers State University, Justice Mary Odili (rtd), thanked the governor for finding them worthy to serve in such capacity.
Justice Odili assured they will work assiduously as a team to solve the problems that agitate the mind of the governor and ensure their contributions form part of the legacy that will be bequeathed by his administration.
The members included Justice Mary Odili (rtd) as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council with Barrister Mela Oforibika and Chukwuma Chinwo, Esq.
Others were Adata Bio-Briggs, Esq., Dr. Jonathan Nimi Hart, Ngo Martins-Yellowe, Dr. Nancy Nwankwo, Dr. Igoni William-Park, and Mr. Ogbugbu Barisua.
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Fubara, Others Eulogise Rivers First Lady’s Mother
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, and key stakeholders of the State on Wednesday paid glowing tributes at the Service of Songs held in honour of late Mrs Adeline Jaja, mother of the wife of the Governor, Lady Valerie Fubara, at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Mile 1, Diobu, Port Harcourt.
Speaking at the event, Governor Fubara described his late mother-in-law as a great and visionary woman who lived on truth and conviction in what she believes.
“Mama was a great woman. She wasn’t a materialistic person. When she believes in you, she’ll be all out for you. She stood for me. I feel pained that, like my own mother, she left at this moment.
”Mama believed so much in God, and the wonders of God. I thank everyone, particularly the Church. On behalf of the bereaved family, we will support the Church to immortalise her name,” the Governor said.
In his homily, Vicar of the Church, Ven. A. A. Ijon-Ama, who spoke on the gains of death, said physical departure from earth was not an ultimate end but an opening for higher and permanent gain and perfection.
He pointed out that when a man has a good relationship with God, he stands to gain more in death.
Ven. Ijon-Ama described late Mrs. Adeline Jaja as a devout Christian, who exuded deep sense of hospitality, and endowed with accommodating spirit, noting that she will be greatly missed by all.
The Vicar, who prayed for the repose of the soul of Mrs Adeline Jaja, also solicited for Divine fortitude for the family to bear the great loss, and called for the immortalisation of the deceased to keep her good legacies alive.
Some family members, who spoke at the Service of Songs, extolled the virtues of the deceased, describing her as “a great community leader, counsellor, peace maker, and caring mother, who provided for the needy, and participated actively in Church activities.
Highlights of the event were special prayers for the bereaved family, conducted by the Anglican Bishop of Evo Diocese, Rt. Rev. Innocent Ordu; remarks by key family members, choir ministration, among others.
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CBN Donates 2m Bags Of Fertiliser Worth N100bn To Farmers
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has donated over 2 million bags of fertilisers worth N100 billion to farmers through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Mr Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the CBN, presented the bags of fertilisers to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Cardoso said that the gesture aligned with a core objective of the apex bank and the agriculture ministry, which is food security.
He said that the initiative also resonated deeply with livelihoods of all Nigerians, and was aimed at curbing escalating cost of food.
“The CBN places a significant emphasis on maintaining price stability as one of its primary mandates.
“Food prices are a crucial component of inflation, especially considering that a substantial portion of household expenditure in Nigeria is allocated to food and non-alcholic beverages.
“This reinforces the critical need to address food inflation as a pivotal aspect of managing overall headline inflation, “ the CBN governor said.
Cardoso also said that the apex bank had been implementing measures to curb inflation over time.
“But in the short term, the inflationary pressure may persist, predominantly driven by escalating food prices.
“This is why we are strengthening our collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security with the shared objective of mitigating the surge in food prices.
“The CBN has veered away from direct quasi-fiscal intervention and transiting towards leveraging conventional monetary policy tools for executing monetary policy effectively.
“We want to extend our support and closer ties with Ministry, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that bear this mandate.
“And we aim to enhance our partnership with the agriculture ministry to enhance food productivity and security “ he said.
In his response, Kyari, commended the apex bank for the kind gesture.
He assured the CBN governor that the fertilisers would be effectively distributed to farmers.
“We will deliver the fertilisers to the farmers and ensure its judicious use to address the galloping inflation, “ he said.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, who was also present at the event, commended the CBN for the gesture towards price stability.
According to Bagudu, 2.15 million bags of fertilisers will go a long way towards controlling the ever increasing cost of food.
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