Presidential Broadcast: Matters Arising

In Nigeria, it has been the norm for a sitting president to address the nation on the anniversary of her Independence which is marked every 1st October, since 1960.
President Muhammadu Buhari has performed this ritual five times since assuming office on May 29, 2015; and none of these national speeches has drawn more flak from the Nigerian public than the one delivered on Tuesday.
Led by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which described the 59th Independence Anniversary presidential speech as insulting to the psyche of the nation and a mockery of democracy, many prominent Nigerians took turns to flay Mr. President and his All Progressives Congress (APC). Among these notables were Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Olu Falae, Mr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Mr. Reno Omokri.
According to a statement credited to the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, “The PDP notes that President Buhari, in his recorded address, failed to forcefully address the key issues of freedom, social justice, constitutional order, separation of powers, rule of law, human rights, credible elections, national cohesion, accountability and transparency in government, the very fundamentals of an independent state, because his administration had violated them all…”
On his part, Balarabe Musa, former Governor of old Kaduna State, condemned Buhari’s tone which, he said, sounded rather authoritarian than conciliatory. According to him, Nigerians had the right to complain and engage in peaceful protests if their leaders were not performing as promised; but instead of encouraging the suffering people, the president was threatening dire consequences against any protesters.
The Tide is equally disappointed that the presidential address did not throw sufficient light on what the APC-led Federal Government hopes to accomplish, going forward; especially on issues relating to the Niger Delta region.
Moving the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is obviously not the solution to the apparent lethargy and systemic corruption going on in the commission. We say so because even the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) being supervised by the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry has not fared any better, particularly in the area of equipping already trained ex-militant agitators from the region.
Our disappointment also stems from the president’s reference to the Ogoni clean-up even when it is obvious that nothing tangible is happening on the ground. For a project that has such global appeal, having been birthed by a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the president has not considered it worth his while to visit the area and see things for himself. What’s more, the East-West Road which runs across all the South South States has been abandoned for a very long time whereas work is steadily progressing on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Abuja-Kano Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge in Onitsha. We can only pray and hope that the N205 billion said to have been earmarked for the construction of 19 roads and bridges totalling 794.4 kilometres across 11 states includes the East-West Road and the Oyigbo section of the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway.
It is no longer in doubt that the Federal Government’s attitude towards issues concerning the Niger Delta has remained rather lukewarm. Since 2016 when elders of the region, under the aegis of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), submitted a 16-point request to the Buhari administration, part of which was quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), completion of East-West Road and building of modular refineries, not much, if anything, has been accomplished by way of response. This for us is quite worrisome. The Federal budget in the past four years of Buhari’s dispensation, the region cannot boast of any significant milestone under the present regime.
On workers’ welfare, it is already obvious that the government does not intend to approve payment of a living wage for Nigerian workers. Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, had while advancing reasons why the government cannot meet Labour’s expectations on consequential adjustments in the N30,000 New Minimum Wage only stopped short of telling the world that Nigeria’s economy is the worst across the globe. This is against the official claim made daily by his principal that the nation is recording tremendous progress in every sector.
President Buhari’s claim to have impacted significantly on agriculture within the four years he has been on the saddle cannot be totally true as the Goodluck Jonathan administration had already worked out a promising agricultural roadmap which his successor readily latched on to. Then came the herders/farmers clashes and, with it, the wanton destruction of human lives, houses and farm crops across the land.
In all, and like some of his critics had already observed, the president should have been less belligerent, even if more patronising, in his latest nationwide broadcast. There is no doubt that even his staunchest supporters are beginning to be disillusioned, especially on account of his rather slow style of governance. Nigerians are really suffering and are understandably in search of a quick fix to the nation’s economy. Why not, if that was part of what Mr. President promised during his electioneering campaigns?