Other presidential candidates of the APC had been swindled and they don’t even know it. Mr Adams Oshiomhole, the new Chairman, who rose up from the ranks of the masses had just pulled the rug from under the feet of labourers – none of them can contest for the presidency on the ticket of the party headed by their former Comrade. Where you stand determines what you see. Adams is now firmly a member of the billionaire class. The masses can go and hang or “go and die” – as he told the woman in Benin years ago. Few aspirants for any office will be able to pay for forms – leaving mostly the incumbents or money-bags to go unopposed at every level. That is another change coming from the APC who we thought were for the poor people three years ago.
Every economist knows that price is an instrument for crowd control. By pitching the form for presidential candidates at N45 million, APC had already slammed the door in the face of poor or even middle class contestants. There was no doubt in their minds that Buhari, who four years ago had to sell property to pay N5 million, would not need to sweat. Favour-seekers were already on hand to help him pay for it. Nigerians should get ready to be told that “it was donation made for a good cause”. That was Obasanjo’s explanation after receiving money in 1998-9 from people who later got multi-billion naira contracts and Duty Waivers. The major problem with APC in government is their collective lack of originality or creativity. They have only exceeded the records established by their predecessors in the frequency of falsehood they release to the public and their ridiculous excuses for failures and disasters. That too will continue if we don’t vote wisely in 2019. Buhari has nothing to offer; not even the tattered image of incorruptibility and integrity.
Money defines honesty; power is the measure of integrity. Corruption is not only a matter of not stealing money. Abuse of Executive power to subvert the nation’s constitution is an even greater form of corruption than grand larceny. And, Buhari has already told us that he intends to continue to disrespect the constitution which made him president by being the sole determinant of what is in the national interest. When the issue was raised in 2013 and again in 2014, candidate Buhari had promised to govern within the ambits of the rule of law – without qualifications about national interest. If he had many people remembering his dictatorship would not have voted for him. I certainly would not; because I know how terrible the government he ran in 1984-5 was with respect to disregard for fundamental human rights. Now, we all know that a leopard never changes its spots – even if some political adventurers white-washed it for the 2015 elections!! Buhari simply does not believe in democracy. Incidentally, Buhari continues to complain about being put in detention by Babangida even when it was done in the national interest. That exposes the man’s hypocrisy. He should have sent a Thank you card to IBB for acting in the national interest.
Funny, my old grandmother, Onikepo Olukolu, used to tell me the same thing as she rocked me to sleep in the 1950s. Every nation on earth has its own have-nots. But, while other countries have been working hard to reduce the number, Nigerian governments ignored the problem. Poverty meanwhile is a monster problem because it is invariably associated with many other social maladies – prostitution, robbery, violence, disease, children out of school, unwanted pregnancies and thuggery among others. Lately, in Nigeria it has taken new dimensions including child and women trafficking, “baby factories”, illegal immigrants, cultism and pervasive drug abuse. Granted, Buhari did not start it. The situation in which we find ourselves had been building up for over forty years mostly under military regimes – some of which included him.
But, today, Nigeria has risen to the top in virtually all aspects of manifestations of poverty in any country. A few will be sufficient to illustrate the point. Our country now has the largest number of people living in abject poverty – an estimated 87 million of them and by 2019 there will be 92 million. We are also the parents of the largest number of kids out of school – almost 12 million of them and by 2019 that figure will rise to 13.5 million. At the moment, according to the European Union, 800,000 Nigerians in the Northeast are at risk of starvation because they are completely cut off from help by the Boko Haram conflict. Youth unemployment is over 40 million and some of the kids are fleeing to Libya to board boats for Europe only to be fed to fishes in the Mediterranean Sea.
What has been the response of the Buhari/APC government to all these and other disasters waiting to ruin us? The first approach is denial. Each time an unfavourable report is released government spokesmen reject it without providing their own data. If not 87 million, then how many does the FG reckon are in dire need of rescue from the scourges of destitution? If not 10 million children, how many should we searching for to help gain some education? Ultimately, nothing happens because the Buhari government has no idea how to run a normal programme; it is absolutely at a loss regarding tackling disasters. That is why IDPs already rendered homeless and hopeless by terrorists are further exploited by government officials. Education Emergency was pronounced last year. That was the last anybody heard of it. Meanwhile, the kids in schools fall farther behind global standards.
The second approach is lying. Invariably, someone will start by asserting that the FG had embarked on a project which is still only on paper or that so much had been spent when the Ministry of Finance has not released the funds. For instance N1.35o trillion was budgeted for Social Intervention Programme, SIP. But, so far only about N300 billion had been released and close to seventy per cent was spent on administration and only thirty per cent reached the poor who are the intended beneficiaries of the scheme. The poor are getting poorer; FG staffs are feeding fat. If Nigeria is ever going to reverse the trend towards hopelessness and despair, Osinbajo must stop being the head of the Economic Management Team. Which also means Buhari must go.
However, I have developed a short-hand for all the shortcomings of the APC government which is symptomatic of the rest – getting Leah back. This is one matter that cannot be denied if achieved or not achieved. At any rate it is only just to ask for it. That is why all well-meaning Nigerians must issue an ultimatum to Buhari/APC – no Leah; no vote in 2019. And, it is not only in the Presidential elections that we must insist on having her back. Governors, Senators, Representatives should also be told the same thing – no Leah; no vote.
I vote in Lagos State and no APC candidate will receive my vote if that girl is not brought back. None. Please pass the message to others.
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