Wednesday 14 October 2015

All Progressives Congress And Excuses



                  President Muhammadu Buhari                                                        
Since the All Progressive Congress assumed the leadership at the federal level, it has been one excuse or the other. Immediately President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn into office, he complained that the national treasury was emptied by the immediate past administration. This excuse is untenable because there is nowhere in the world where past administrations save money for a current administration to spend.
Every administration generates funds to run its government not to keep for incoming government to spend. But the APC led federal government is not being honest to Nigerians by saying that the last administration didn’t leave anything in the treasury. The last administration actually left $29b in the Foreign Reserves while the Sovereign Wealth Fund had $2b at the time the last administration came to an end.  This amount to $31b! With $31b in the treasury, was it right for the APC led government to have claimed that the last administration left an empty treasury? Was the $31b in the treasury not Nigeria’s money? If the last administration left an empty treasury, how did Buhari get the $21m (about N20b) he gave to the Multinational Joint Task Force on June 15th? Government saves money practically to meet emergency needs such as floods, fire outbreaks, storms and other devastations but not to keep funds for incoming governments to pay salary and allowances of workers as the APC led government want to have us believe.
Owing to the excuses being peddled by the APC government, all the promises the political party made during the electioneering are being recanted by the party. President Buhari is being separated from the All Progressive Congress. Some promises made during the campaigns are now being attributed to Buhari vice versa those made by the Buhari. This is disheartening! It must be made clear that whatever promises made during the campaigns either by the APC or Buhari are bidding Mr. President because there is no independent candidacy in the politics of Nigeria. It is a political party that sponsors a candidate for an election and not the other way round. So, having this in mind, APC cannot turn round and say whatever promises it made during the elections are not bidding on President Buhari. On the other hand, the promises made by President Buhari during the elections don’t concern the APC is a fraud because President Buhari is a member of the APC and he was sponsored by the political party for the election.
Since President Buhari assumed office he has not fulfilled any of his campaign promises. Time and space will not permit to mention all his promises during the campaigns but a few of them will be mentioned here.  First, he promised to provide a meal to school children on a daily bases. No school pupil has received a free meal even for a day since Buhari assumed office. Second, he promised to pay N5,000 monthly allowance to about 25 million poorest Nigerians. He has not fulfilled this promise too! In addition, discharged but unemployed National Youth Service Corps members were promised allowances but none of them has received a dime from this administration.
 It is possible that the unrepentant supporters of President Buhari would say he has not fulfilled these promises because there are no ministers. If there are no ministers, is it the fault of the school children, poor Nigerians and discharged NYSC members? Is it not Buhari that is searching for angels to be his ministers? Since Buhari has not appointed his ministers, has he not been receiving his salary and allowances? If he is truly committed to fulfilling his campaign promises, why did he not order the release of money to provide meals for the school children, pay the N5,000 to the poor and discharged NYSC members? Why is he not rejecting his salary and allowances because he has not appointed ministers?
 Four, Buhari also promised to overcome the Boko Haram insurgents though no time frame was specified but the Boko Haram insurgents are waxing stronger. The background of President Buhari as former military head of state which Nigerians thought would assist in combating the insurgents has been negated. In fact, the insurgents have killed more people within the four months of this administration than they did in the entire six years of the last administration! The last administration succeeded in pushing the insurgents from Abuja but they have returned to Abuja under this administration with their bombing of Nyanya and Kuje areas recently. With all the bombings that have been occurring under this administration, no Nigerian has called President Buhari a “Kindergarten President,” “Clueless President” or “Weak President” like they called former President Goodluck Jonathan!
Under the illusion of searching for saintly ministers and waging a pseudo-corruption war, this administration has unwittingly lost four months without any foundation laid for any new schools, barracks, hospitals, roads, airports, power plants, dams, railways, housings, water plants, etc. Above all, no policy has been made as to the direction this government is headed! All Nigerians are inundated with on a daily bases is how the previous administration had destroyed the country. This is unaccepted!
The APC led federal government talks as if they are still campaigning. They should realise that campaigns are over; they are now in the driver’s seat, so they should fulfil the promises they made during the campaigns. It is not enough to condemn the immediate past administration, it is now the turn of the APC led government to show its capacity and ability. As things are at the moment, there is no impetus, creativity and innovations. It is business as usual.  


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