THE 10 SINS OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN: WHY HE MUST NOT RETURN 1. Worsening insecurity a. Over 13,000 innocent souls lost to Boko Haram insurgency since 2009. b. Inability to fish out the sponsors of Boko Haram and wipe out the insurgents. c. Inability to curb the spread of the Boko Haram menace. Initial operating base: Adamawa, Yobe, Borno and Abuja. New target states: Gombe, Bauchi, Kano. State(s) to follow: It could just be yours. d. 276 Chibok girls yet to be rescued, 10 months and counting. e. BBC: 1.5 million people displaced on account of growing insurgency in the North-East. f. Hobnobbing with alleged sponsors of terrorism – Ali Modu Sheriff and his co-travellers. g. Loss of territories to Boko Haram. h. Kidnapping has become widespread across the federation. 2. Monumental corruption and nepotism a. Missing $20bn from the coffers of NNPC yet to be explained. b. Diezani Alison-Madueke: ₦10bn Private Jet Scandal. c. Diezani Alison-Madueke: $25mn House acquired in Austria, Vienna. d. John Yusuf: ₦27bn Pension fraud. e. Abdulrasheed Maina: ₦21bn Pension funds embezzlement. f. Farouk Lawan: $500,000 bribe. g. Stella Oduah: ₦255mn BMW salon cars. h. Pardoning of ex-convicts and dropping of charges against friends – DSP Alamieyeseigha, Bode George, Femi Fani Kayode, Mohammed Abacha, Al-Mustapha. i. Petrol subsidy scam: Nobody has been prosecuted till date. j. Continuing Kerosene subsidy fraud despite the product being fully deregulated. ₦91bn included in 2015 FGN Budget proposal. k. Creation of emergency billionaires – Asari Dokubo, Ayiri Emami, Mr Government Tompolo. l. Oritsejafor: $15mn private jet arms deal scandal. m. Continued environmental degradation of the Niger-Delta through oil spill. n. Continuing oil theft. Over 300,000 barrels of crude oil was stolen on daily basis in 2013. o. Militants now contracted to secure national waterways. p. Transparency international ranks Nigeria 136th out of 175 economies surveyed on corruption index. Put another way, Nigeria is the 39th most corrupt country in the world. q. US State Department Global Human Rights Report: ‘Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security forces… and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity’ 3. Political immaturity a. Encouraged and practiced politics of divisiveness along ethno-religious lines both personally, by his aides and political party. Doyin Okupe, Reuben Abati, Femi Fani-Kayode, Olisa Metuh and pepper seller-talking Marilyn Ogah have desecrated the Presidency. b. Completely polarized the country along same ethnic and religious lines. Most divisive President in the history of Nigeria. c. Continues to fan embers of discord in the polity through unguarded comments. 4. Crass administrative incompetence a. Inability to prioritize. 17 Million housing deficits remain yet the Ministry of Science and Technology intends sending a Man to space in 2015. To go and eat Amala there or for what purpose? b. Immigration Job scam: 23 applicants dead. c. Incessant social unrest: Fuel subsidy strike, ASUU strike, Doctors’ strike, Judiciary strike. d. Doing Business 2014, a World Bank Group publication ranks Nigeria 147th out of 189 countries surveyed on ease of doing business. By implication, Nigeria is the 42nd worst environment to do business in the world in 2014. Nigeria ranked 58th worst in 2013. e. Lack of competent hands. Most of the former and serving Ministers are touts, characterless, spendthrifts or thugs: Musiliu Obanikoro (Defence), Jelili Adesiyan (Police), Labaran Maku (Information), Nyesom Wike (Education), Stella Oduah (Aviation), Diezani (Petroleum), Onyebuchi Chukwu (Health) and so on. f. Policy somersaults now common-place (Rice, Motor Vehicles and so on) g. Supposed Harvard-trained IMF agent and financial terrorist, Okonjo-iweala’s only economic solution for Nigeria is subsidy removal with attendant negative impact on general price level and cost of living. h. Introduction of 70% import tariff on Motor Vehicles in the absence of vibrant steel sector and constant power supply. 5. Lack of vision a. Inability to articulate a clear economic vision, plan or direction. b. Awfully deficient in sincerity of purpose. c. Inability to diversify Nigeria’s economy from dependence on oil. d. Appointed economic team and kitchen cabinet that has failed to implement an effective import substitution strategy. e. Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) yet to be passed. 6. Financial recklessness a. Plundered fiscal buffers. Mid-2008, External Reserves (EXRV):$40bn Excess Crude Account (ECA):$22bn. Total buffer: $62bn. Fast Forward end-2014: EXRV:$32bn ECA:$1bn, SWF:$1bn New total buffer: $34bn b. Piled debt on the Nation with nothing to show for it. $47.4bn (214%) growth in total public debt between 2007 and 2014 According to Debt Management Office: End-2007 Debt levels (Foreign:$3.7bn, Domestic:$18.5bn. Total:$22.2bn). As of end-Sep 2014sadForeign:$9.5bn, Domestic:$60.1bn. Total:$69.6bn) c. Has 10 aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF). An eleventh one already included in the 2015 FGN Budget Proposal. UK Prime Minister, David Cameron flies commercial on British Airways. South African President has 6. Egypt has 1. Israel has none. d. ₦7.5bn spent on reconstruction of Abuja city gate. 7. Impoverishment of the masses a. 2012 New Year ignoble gift of pump price increase of 117% to ₦141 per litre. b. Naira devaluation with attendant impact on businesses and standard of living of the citizenry. c. Incessant increase in electricity tariff. d. 70% import duty on Motor Vehicles. e. Increase in pump price of petrol leading to general increase in price level and cost of living. f. Complete detachment from the socio-macro economic realities of Nigerians. g. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS): Unemployment rate at 24%. Unemployment rate in selected oil producing economies: Venezuela: 5.9%, Saudi Arabia: 5.5%, UAE: 4.2% 8. Flagrant disregard for rule of law and intolerable impunity a. 16 > 19: Nigerian Governors Forum elections. b. 7 > 19: Ekiti State House of Assembly impeachment saga. c. 5 > 27: Rivers State House of Assembly impeachment saga. d. Police-National Assembly Saga. e. Militarization of the electoral process and intimidation of the opposition. f. Nigerian Police and DSS now effectively Military wing of the PDP. g. Number of jail breaks in the current administration is unprecedented (Kogi, Niger, Ekiti and DSS Headquarters in Abuja). 9. Litany of failed 2011 campaign promises a. Constant power supply- still a pipe dream 6 years in the saddle and 16 year of PDP rule. b. Completion of Second Niger Bridge - where will this happen? c. Transformation of the economy – optical illusion. d. Creation of 1.5million jobs in 2 years – imaginary vision. e. Fertilizer Blending plants in the Niger Delta – mere fantasy. f. Ilesa water scheme – complete delusion. g. Ife/Ijesa Dam – ignis fatuus. h. Promise to make solid minerals key export earner for Nigeria – phantasm. i. Resuscitation of collapsed industries in Kano – hallucination. j. Exploration of coal deposits in Benue and Kogi – mirage. k. Establishment of petrochemical plant in Koko FTZ in Delta State – chimera. l. Revival of mining activities in Plateau State – yet to happen. m. Rehabilitation of ailing industries in Aba – when? n. Dualization of Enugu-Abakaliki Federal High-Way – Mirage? o. Exploitation of bitumen deposits in Ondo State. p. Completion of Shonga irrigation project in Kwara State – which year? q. Dredging of River Niger – which decade? r. Dualization of Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja High-way – which century? s. Government refineries yet to be sold as promised in the aftermath of fuel strike in 2012 – which millennium? 10. Catalogue of Presidential blunders: a. Question: Where is the missing $20bn? Jonathan: America will Know, it is their money. b. Question: Corruption in Nigeria. Jonathan: There is no corruption but mere stealing in Nigeria. c. Question: Assets declaration. Jonathan: I don’t give a damn d. October 2011: ‘We are responsible for Independence Day bombing’ – MEND. ‘MEND is not responsible for the Abuja bombing; I know my people’ – Jonathan. Fast-forward January 2015: ‘MEND was paid to assassinate me during Independence Day bombing’ – Jonathan. e. World Bank Report: Nigeria is among the 5 poorest nations in the world. Jonathan: “If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10 countries, yet they are saying that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries…Nigeria’s problem is not poverty but redistribution of wealth. f. 7-January-2015: 11 people killed in France, the whole nation is thrown into mourning. 14-April-2014: over 100 killed in Nyanya Bomb Blast. GEJ goes dancing at Kano campaign rally a day after. g. Presidency’s first reaction to Chibok girls’ abduction: ‘It is a propaganda’. Took the President three weeks to believe the abduction happened. P.S. What Nigerians need is GOOD GOVERNANCE which entails social security, adequate infrastructure, job creation, food availability, affordable healthcare, socio-political harmony etc. What has ethnicity or faith got to do with it? All that matters is the competence to do the job and nothing more. If you have a private business, will you hire an incompetent salesman from your hometown or of same faith and run the risk of going bankrupt? Please vote wisely come February 2015. We need a change. Nigeria cannot continue like this. Long live Nigeria.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 00:09:29 +0000
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