*By Joe Iniodu*<\/p>\n
President Muhammadu Buharis chances to be reelected in 2019 have continued
\nto shrink giving legitimate reasons to adduce that the upcoming election
\nmay not be free and fair as the APC government may recourse to the
\nillegitimate use of Federal might and brute force. The odds against PMB are
\nhigh-from those who helped him attain the office to his own people the
\nPresident seems ambushed from all fronts for the single purpose of removing
\nhim from office.<\/p>\n
PMB came to office with a change mantra. He also brandished an
\nanti-corruption banner which he deviously knitted to the change to give
\nNigerians hope for high expectations. Nigerians are actually averse to
\ncorruption. They want a corrupt free country. It is a fact that corruption
\nis an bane to our collective development. When someone whose ascetic
\nantecedent came flaunting the new order, some Nigerians were coaxed into
\nthe mendacity only to realize shortly after the elections that it was mere
\ndeceitful contraption to win election. Nigerians had fallen victim to a
\ngrand deception organized and executed by APC leveraging on Buharis
\nunverifiable public profile as an incorruptible leader. But how wrong those
\nwho backed Buhari were and how credulous Nigerians were as his ascension
\nbrought Nigeria to a pitiable state.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately those behind these shenanigans are not yet done with
\nNigeria. In their duplicitous manner, they have woven new yarns. One of
\nthem is that the Nation was buried in an Augean stable that has taken
\neternity to clear. But the same Nigeria was liveable until after May 2015
\nwhen panic statements and policies set off alarm tolls and everything went
\ncomatose. If Nigerias total collapse was as imminent post May 2015, why
\ndid GEJ, a Ph.D holder knowledgeable in global affairs seek reelection? Did
\nhe wish to come and preside over a country presumably tottering on the
\nprecipice of collapse or extinction? Why did a renown World Bank
\nEconomist, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala continue to serve in that administration
\nas the Co-ordinator of the Nations economy? Could she have staked her hard
\nearned reputation to co-ordinate the collapse of Nigerias economy? One
\ncould accuse Jonathan of everything but not the lack of knowledge. He could
\nhave been the coward to run rings around but certainly not a fool. He could
\nhave been spineless and not street smart but certainly not an idiot.<\/p>\n
The real truth is that the APC government has failed Nigerians and
\nare looking for a fall guy. It has turned itself into a government of
\nexcuses and blame game because the operators lack the management savvy and
\nskill to manage an economy with the modern dynamics obtainable within the
\nglobal space. This lack of capacity in the management of the economy has
\nbecome more and more obvious as the living conditions of Nigerians daily
\ntake turns for the worst. Many who thought that the early days of the APC
\nled government were the usual teething periods and that soon the
\nadministration would get its act together and return Nigeria again to the
\npath of prosperity can no longer bear the apparent ineptitude of the
\ngovernment. They are tired of excuses as they do not put food on their
\ntable. Some have argued that the government was elected to solve problems
\nand not to hide under any alibi to give excuses.<\/p>\n
The state of the Nation which covers all gamuts has become a source
\nof concern to many. Apart from the economy which is firmly in the woods
\nwith no light at the end of the tunnel, security as a critical concomitance
\nof government has not fared better. Nigeria has become a theatre of horrors
\nas gory pictures of slit throats, butchered and mutilated bodies daily
\nassault over visual sensibilities. Of course, other forms of criminality
\nranging from kidnapping, robbery, arson and homicides have remained on the
\nrise. It is indeed a season of anomie as hell seems to be let loose upon
\nthe Nation with the fear of anarchy as a consequence that segue times like
\nthese.<\/p>\n
Recently, matters have reached a head that even professional
\ncamaraderie cannot restrain people from speaking up in what some of them
\nclaim to be the interest of the Nation. OBJ who is reputed to have helped
\nPMB come to power has not hidden his discontent with the state of the
\nNation. In an 18 page missive to Mr. President, he advised him get ready to
\njoin them as an elderstatesman to play advisory role and not seek
\nreelection in 2019. He, however, stated that the President is not bound to
\ntake his advice but made it clear that he would not support his
\ncandidature. Anybody who takes OBJ and his views lightly does so at his own
\nperil. The old fox always knows what to do. General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), one
\ntime Head of State (1966-1975) on his part has taken a swipe at the present
\nadministration warning it to desist from making excuses and set to work to
\nimprove the wellbeing of Nigerians. From his comment, it is apparent that
\nGeneral Gowon cannot support PMB for 2019. General Theophilus Dajuma, a one
\ntime Chief of Army Staff and one time minister of defence could also not
\nhide his displeasure with the Buhari administration. He enjoined Nigerians
\nto rise up and defend themselves against Herdsmen alleging complicity on
\nthe part of the government and the military which he termed as ethnic
\ncleansing. It is also clear that Danjuma is not with the government of PMB.<\/p>\n
The above views are not far from clear appraisals of how the
\ngovernment has fared under PMB. It is the height of deceit for anyone to
\nsay that the country is doing well and extreme mendacity to argue or
\nassume that PMB has led the country in any efficient manner. Recently, one
\nof the richest men in the world, Bill Gates’ who claims that he has
\ninvested billions of dollars in Nigeria without corresponding yields had
\nnoted that the policies of the administration had put the economy on the
\nsorry state it is today. But if Bill Gates assertion does not capture the
\nmood of the Nation, recent outbursts, reactions and dispositions of
\nordinary Nigerians do. Recently the social media which has become a virtual
\nworld has been trending with videos that take swipes at the person of
\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari. One of the videos is that of young Muslim girls
\napparently protesting about the government of PMB using swear-words like
\nshege etc. There is also another one by a mammoth crowed alleged to
\nhave happened at a Mosque with the crowd chanting uncomplimentary songs
\nthat disparaging the name of Mr. President. But the most shocking sign of
\nBuharis unpopularity was the mammoth crowd that thronged the PDP rally at
\nKatsina, the home state of President Buhari.<\/p>\n
The burgeoning crowd which also witnessed the defection of over 1
\nmillion people from APC to PDP in the home of the President whom about 3
\nyears was viewed as a cult hero, is symptomatic of a drastic drop in his
\npopularity rating. And the Buhari, the cult hero that once had die-hard
\nfollowers is now an albatross to APC. The people are angry and discontented
\nwith his government. Hunger is a universal constant and reality. The fact
\nis that Mr. President name does not put food on the table of the people of
\nKatsina as compensation for their ownership of PMB. That State faces the
\nsame danger and vagaries of poor economic policies of the APC led
\nadministration. The sentiments attached to any entitlement of ownership
\nhave been eroded by the prevailing hunger that today rules the land. Other
\nstates who are facing the same peril are likely to take a cue from what
\nKatsina, the home state of Mr. President has done knowing that the first
\ninstinct of existence is self preservation. Nigerians have a chance to
\ndecide whether to continue to tread the path of impending destitution or
\nbreak free and choose the cause of prosperity.<\/p>\n
Sadly, Mr. President during APC NEC meeting in Abuja has declared
\nhis intention to take Nigerians through another 4 year round of economic
\nquagmire and woes. But thanks to democracy which enshrines the power of
\nchoice. No man can oppress another without his consent. Now is the time for
\nNigerians to rise to the challenge of self preservation by rejecting a
\ngovernment which devious policy is the promotion of mass poverty that is
\nat variance with sustainable development goal; a key index of good
\ngovernance.<\/p>\n
*Joe Iniodu is a public affairs analyst *<\/p>\n
*By Joe Iniodu* President Muhammadu Buharis chances to be reelected in 2019 have continued to shrink giving legitimate reasons to adduce that the upcoming election may not be free and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n