Politics
Let Our Policies Be Consistent
Every president, Governor or elected public officer always comes during campaigns with a box full of promises, but in reality most of these promises are either gimmicks, not well researched or it could be just general statements another person makes to get elected into office.
This is because you can hardly see coherent policies presented by them when they kick-start their administration as all what we get are inconsistencies in their execution of programmes or projects. Sometimes what we get are policy somersaults with different statements on just one single project by different spokesmen for the government. This is not just queer but has become the order of the day under this present federal government.
Between 2015 to 2018, every problem or challenge faced by the Buhari administration had been attributed to the previous administration or enemies, especially opposition parties.
Even the bad monetary policies that led to capital flight which resulted in the recession we experienced had different interpretations by various government officials.
But one thing still remains constant and that is the problem of selective amnesia on happenings within the country especially in the areas of policy execution or pronouncements by spokes- persons for government.
For example when the former Chief Justice was being harassed, the presidency said it was not aware of the plot to remove him, but events later proved that everything was orchestrated by people in the corridor of power, who were given the necessary go –ahead order to do the ground work.
Where this selective amnesia also reared its ugly head was in 2018 when the president was said to had directed the immediate past inspector general of police to relocate to Markurdi and take full charge of the fight against the herdsmen menace in Benue State which he refused to do. And what was the response. “I am not aware,” was the refrain the nation got as explanation.
This penchant for being not aware to some observers of the country’s development strides could be interpreted to either those at the helm of affairs are pretending or are just churning out policies which they are not sure will be widely accepted; but where this fails suddenly the symptom of amnesia comes in.
Half truth disinformation and total denial of reality are just the symptons that are in vogue now. At the height of the herdsmen rampage in the country, we were told that these killers were not Nigerians but foreigners, and when indigenes of the various communities wanted to retaliate, we got another song that they were Nigerians and even the army was said to have been giving them protection.
In 2019, another series of political drama unfolded called RUGA which the average Nigerian, who can read and write cannot see in the dictionary. Again, while the president said he was not aware of the project, monies were already earmarked for the project.
So the question is who is really in charge of this country? Is it a faceless group out to cause mischief or someone or group of people are out there playing games or toying with the unity of the country?
This question is vital because if the president’s spokesman in the person of Garba Shehu will be harping on Ruga and the office of the vice president, Professor Yomi Osinbajo, is saying another thing, who then is playing mischief with our collective commonwealth?
Whenever there is a discordant tune and verbal somersault in government policy, know that something is seriously wrong. No president should allow this to continue once a clear-cut policy is pronounced, no government official should give it a different interpretation unless we are led to believe that it is either, the president is not in full control of his government or he has a hidden agenda which is known to only a few previledged hangers-on.
Governance should not be likened to a football game where even in full glare of your screen you will see footballers who commit foul yet deny that they committed such offence. Even to a ten year old child, the person denying such offence is not only lying but looks funny and ridiculous.
To make matters even more hilarious, INEC, which announced the use of computerised card readers for the 2019 elections in 2018 suddenly discovered that it had no central server to record votes scored during the presidential election. So who are they fooling in this country?
Is lying and forget fullness now part of our culture? If it has become so let us make it a subject in our universities so that we can train future generations in the art of lying. Lying will be made so attractive that foreigners will come to Nigeria to under study our experts. People will also be discouraged to tell the truth.
I see a future where lying will be accepted if this present situation of selective amnesia is allowed to become a virus that affects only top government official. Religious leaders will also have less preaching to do as they will be helpless on the issue of morality and truthfulness.
It is rather sad that our emotions and sentiments have blinded us to the dangers coming our way. Any country where sentiment replaces sound intellectual reasoning is on the path to destruction. Why is it that people who call themselves fathers and mothers will continue to believe that they can govern Nigeria by lying and feel that other Nigerians are illiterates and uninformed?
Consistency and truthfulness have always been a driving force of any country’s development. When investors see that a government is not only consistent with its policies but its officials also don’t dance different dance-steps to one drumbeat then their confidence can be sustained and people will be ready to say Nigeria’s development policies are consistent.
Basically, people who rely on lies to sell a producer have inferiority complex and uses such device to step up their acts. So such devices can only be used as a cover up to what they never expected will come their way especially, their being elected or appointed into office.
Governance is all about trust and when that trust is gone, no matter what is done subsequently to remedy the mistakes or harm that must have been done to the nation’s psyche will take a long time to heal.
Nigeria is a multi-cultural society and no individual can have all the wisdom or solution to solve its diverse problems. So whenever a government makes a policy statement it should always strive to harness the views of experts and opinion leaders across the ethnic divide before making those policies or programmes public.
Yesterday was Onoghen, today it is “RUGA” or cattle colonies, what will it be tomorrow? Nigerians are watching as four more years of this administration will eventually come to an end. What then will be the legacies it will leave behind, will it be sufucation, information mishandling or just propaganda against its opponents? Only time will tell.
Tonye Ikiroma-Owiye
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.
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