By Ominabo Wealth Dickson
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| *Buhari |
With
inflation hitting 18 percent, economic analysts suggest that the nation’s
economic woes are intrinsically linked to the lack of economic direction by the
government of the day. Worse still, is the administration’s confusion on
economic measures to address the financial hardship in the nation. It is a
government of many mouths. In the night, the government tells you it wants to
sell the country’s assets but in the morning, it will tell you again that it
wants to borrow from agencies to address the country’s economic crisis; the
same government comes up again in the afternoon to inform the masses that through its
financial prudence, it has been able to save enough money by blocking leakages
and recovering looted funds that will meet the social needs of the populace.
Which voice would the masses believe?
It
has been tales of confusions, contradictions and tragedies of errors since
President Buhari came to power. At one point it was the tragedy of the
other room, at some other time it was the error of double speaking, and in many
instances it is a tale of confusion and contradiction coming from the President
and his team. If Nigerians would permit the ignorance of the President in not
knowing the difference between Western Germany and Germany Nigeria
There
is hardly anything that the President does that is not characterized with some
measures of errors and mediocrity. His public speeches have been subject of
many errors and embarrassment, the reality is that the President started with
errors and will likely to end his administration with errors. These traces of
mediocrity have continued to manifest in all actions of the President. It is on
record that President Buhari presided over the most controversial national
budget in the history of Nigeria
It
could be recalled that during the Edel Fitri celebration of this year, President
Buhari promised Nigerians that they should expect a bumper harvest at the end
of the year but by November this year, the same government is now forecasting
food famine. What does one expect from a government whose only agenda is
to fight corruption, ignoring the fact that corruption multiplies in a society
of poverty. It was President Buhari who declared that Boko Haram has been
technically defeated last year but the same degraded and 'defeated' Boko Haram
has continued to soar in criminality. Recently, we were greeted with how Boko
Haram killed some senior officers of the Military. On October 21, 2016 Premium
Times reported that “at least 83 Nigerian soldiers including a commanding
officer are still missing days after they came under a Boko Haram attack”… The
report also revealed that “the missing Commanding Officer of 223 Tank Battalion
in Gashigar, was identified as K. Yusuf, a lieutenant colonel. Military sources
said the troop could not withstand the Boko Haram because they had only two
light armour tanks to work with.”
It
has been revealed that the waning strength of the Nigerian soldiers is as a
result of the lack of strategy by the Commander-in-Chief. Premium Times on
November 7, 2016 also published an interview it had with a top military source
on why Boko Haram has been gaining momentum in the past months. Below are
few excerpts of the Premium Times interview: “It is sad that the Nigerian Army
is announcing that the attacks are being carried out by remnants of Boko Haram
terrorists when all reasonable persons can see that Boko Haram is still a
formidable force. The Nigerian Army is more concerned with pleasing the
political class while the grassroots people are still suffering… But
the impression being created is that troops are better off now in terms of
equipment than under Jonathan... Unfortunately,
for every battle we engage in, the equipment keeps wearing, and to worsen
issues, this equipment were not procured with their fast-moving spare parts.
The big question is, how many equipment has the present government procured and
to where are they deployed for use?
“So
how did we lose the plot? Recall
that there were mercenaries that fought with Nigerian Army troops in the first
and second quarters of 2015. Yes. Boko
Haram seems to have good strategist who study our modus operandi and cause them
to adjust accordingly. The Nigerian military may need to reappraise its
approach to counter insurgency operations.
“Those
mercenaries really assisted us and their withdrawal signaled the gradual
regrouping of Boko Haram terrorists. This is because their withdrawal was
sudden and not in phases.”
One
of the tragedies of the Buhari Presidency is the over politicization of issues
of national importance. The administration is always quick to rubbish steps
taken by the last government, forgetting that government is a continuum.
It could be recalled that last year, Buhari as then President-elect was quoted
as saying: “What is more worrisome is the fact that Nigeria
Humanitarian
crisis in Nigeria Nigeria
All
spheres of our nationhood are characterized with glaring realities of
retrogression. These hardship and sorrow in the land are neither the acts of
devil nor the making of God as some eschatologists would suggest, rather, it is
an indication of the many missing links that exist in the leadership of our
nation.
As
a way of conclusion, I would like to say that every great leader is usually
appraised by the number of battles he won, the challenges he overcame, the
promises he kept and above all the social and economic impacts that were witnessed
during his time. President Buhari must begin to make conscious effort to put
smiles on the faces of the Nigerian masses. At this point, he must realize that
every decision counts; now is not the time govern with philosophies of party
pettiness and trivialities, it is time to put Nigerians first in every decision
he takes, especially in appointing people into positions of authority. There is
still hope that Buhari can still turn things around for the general good of
Nigerians if he is willing to act right and be obedient to his conscience and
the laws of the land.
*Ominabo
Wealth Dickson is a commentator on public issues
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