CAN WE HAVE A NEW NIGERIA?
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the beacon-bearHU RI 1LJHULD QD\ $IULFD·V SHDFHIXO FRH[LVWHQFH DQG WKH ÁDJ Á\ing patriot certainly deserves sincere apologies, eight years after he graciously and peacefully left the corridors of political power, at Aso Rock, Abuja. And the apologies should in fact, come from the All Progressives Congress (APC) political party with its ‘Change’ mantra, which the millions of overtly naïve and gullible supporters swallowed line, hook and sinker. That played itself out of course, during its well- oiled, puerile propaganda-fuelled presidential campaigns back in the 2014/2015 season.
Nigerians should be wiser now, after the eight years of Buhari’s wasted years which some concerned analysts describe as that of the season of ‘Sorrows, Tears and Blood’ (STB), apologies to the late Afrobeat icon and irrepressible activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
Lest we belittle it, the key element in driving every relationship forward is Trust. Right from the family unit, through that of our educational and religious institutions to the work place DQG SROLWLFDO JRYHUQDQFH LW KROGV WUXH 2QFH WKDW VLJQLÀFDQW factor is violated, it leads to crisis, chaos and if not reined in it
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this has been the rule rather than the exception over the past fear-fuelled years of the outgoing administration of Buhari.
If in doubt, kindly consider the comparisons of the quality of life of the average Nigerian, back in May, 2015 and as at this GD\ )RU LQVWDQFH LW LV RQ UHFRUG WKDW WKH LQÁDWLRQ UDWH URVH IURP 8.06% to 24.06%, from 2014 to 2023. We recall that petrol that sold for N97 per litre back in 2014/15 has jumped up to N200 per litre. A 50 kg bag of rice that cost N10,000 has gone up to N31,000 and above, depending on which part of Nigeria one lives or plies his trade. While a 50kg of beans sold for N16,000 back then has since galloped to N60,000.
Similarly, a tuber of yam that went for N250 then has escalated to N700 and a bag of pure water that used to sell for N50 has since jerked up to N200. The naira exchange rate that was N197 to a dollar has put on a new garb of between N459 to N765. That depends of course, on whether you are dealing with the RFLDO UDWH RU ZLWK WKH VR FDOOHG ¶%ODFN 0DUNHW· ,I \RX HYHU JHW lost, ask the Aboki Bureau de Change. He will gladly put you WKURXJK %XW JRLQJ LQWR WKH VSHFLÀFV RI WKH VHQVLWLYH LVVXH RI VHcurity, which is the protection of the sanctity of precious human life, as aptly enshrined in Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), about 63, 111 defenceless fellow citizens were brutally killed and sent to their early graves in Buhari’s eight odd years! That is according to https://www.vanguardngr.com ›of May 20, 2023.
$QG DV DW WKLV GD\ WKH RQFH IHUWLOH ÀHOGV RI %HQXH VWDWH WKDW was acclaimed the Food Basket of the Nation, as well as the mineral-rich Plateau state have since been turned into Africa’s NLOOLQJ ÀHOGV XQGHU WKH ZDWFKIXO H\HV RI RXWJRLQJ 3UHVLGHQW Buhari.
Yet, the mindless murders took place, despite the government spending (or was it wasting) the humongous sum of N12 trillion in seven years, on security!
According to ‘TheCable’ online news platform of January 17, 2019 the Buhari-led administration failed in 62 out of 73 promLVHV PDGH GXULQJ KLV ÀUVW WHUP LQ RFH 7KDW ZDV ZKLOH FULWLcally assessing his performance backed by the credible information from several media houses in Nigeria, covering many important aspects of our national life.