In a bid to garner public support ahead of the 2019 general elections, some opposition elements have descended to the level of peddling lies against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. While it appears that the reason for denigrating the office of the President is to win the support of voters during elections, yet it is outright irresponsibility for the opposition to heap the blame of some happenings in Nigeria on President Muhammadu Buhari.
A typical example is the narrative that Fulani herdsmen have been wreaking havoc on some Benue/Plateau communities on the simplistic reason that their kinsman is now the president of the country. Contrary to this view, we now know that those who sponsored militias in the past and peddled notorious lies on the attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen are now using insecurity as a political campaign mantra.
Nigerians will not also forget in a hurry that some armed robbers were provided with vehicular logistics which led to the loss of several lives in one single day, and some politicians are hiding under the cloak of insecurity to campaign. Similarly unscrupulous politicians that are infamous for preaching and practicing hatred and bigotry over the last five years are now saying that the country has never been so divided.
The litany of lies and deceit by some opposition elements will not be complete if we recall that the same cabal had in the past blocked moves for greater autonomy of the federating units like states and local governments. Restructuring has become their sing-song.
A case in point is that of a former Senate president who was on the saddle for eight years and had all the opportunities to start the process of restructuring but abdicated the responsibility. Today he is making a political capital with the issue of restructuring.
As President Muhammadu Buhari intensifies efforts to eradicate corruption in the country, some unpatriotic Nigerians who looted the country’s resources and short-changed the country in the remittance of national revenues are claiming to have turned a new leaf overnight.
Before our very eyes, those who collapsed banks and other financial institutions thereby hurting the lives of millions of Nigerians are now telling Nigerians that they have a magic wand to turn things around.
The failure of the opposition, and indeed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to come to terms with the present realities in Nigeria where corruption is detested will be their greatest undoing in 2019 as Nigerians have aligned with the vison of President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption to a standstill.
Therefore the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s election will help to consolidate on the gains already made over the last three and half years in the fight against corruption.
The Buhari administration should be credited for laying the necessary foundation for the country to bounce back to its pride of place in the comity of nations. Its achievements in the various sectors like agriculture, economy, security, infrastructure and anti-corruption will definitely appeal to the sensibilities of Nigerians in choosing leaders in the forthcoming elections. The singular act of eliminating and reducing corruption in our public life has gone a long way to redirect our focus to development-oriented issues.
The bottom line of this discourse is that government is all about providing development and good governance to the citizenry, and this is essentially the focus of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. On the face value, the direct benefit of the fight against corruption is that more resources are made available for the delivery of democracy dividends to Nigerians.
The federal government recently rolled out its Social Investment Programme (SIP) which is targeted at empowering Nigerians in various fields of endeavour, and at the last count over 500,000 Nigerians have directly benefitted from the programme. The programme is being implemented through the N-Power, Anchor Borrowers Programme, Tradermoni, Home Grown school feeding programme Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfer and Farmer Money.
All these programmes are already impacting positively on Nigerians, especially the poor, and yielding expected results. It must be noted that before President Muhammadu Buhari came to office, there was a disconnect between the government and the people, rich and poor and the only discernible effect of different government policies was the rising number of sports utility vehicles ‘jeeps’ on our highways.
As we approach the 2019 general elections, it is desirable that politicians focus more on issues that will revive the country’s economy, stabilise the country and redirect Nigeria to the path of accelerated human and infrastructural development. This is the only way Nigerians can be rescued from the pangs of poverty and privation. Luckily, President Muhammadu Buhari is already delivering on his promises to Nigerians.
Lest we forget, the three major planks of his campaign promises are security, economy and anti-graft war, and he has not deviated from these self-imposed tasks. Since all Nigerians desire good life which translates into roads, water, railways, robust economy, good healthcare, access to education and other essentials of life, it behoves leaders across the political divide to concentrate on seeking practical ways of solving the myriad of socio-economic problems confronting Nigeria.
While taking his oath of office President Muhammadu Buhari swore to protect the rights of all Nigerians and uphold the country’s constitution, and it beats one’s imagination when some people try to malign the President by accusing him of tacitly supporting some misguided herdsmen in attacking some communities in the Benue/Plateau axis.
*Chukwudi Enekwechi, an Abuja-based journalist, can be reached via [email protected]
