•President’s campaign men lash out at Obasanjo
The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), yesterday, slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s claim that his ex-deputy and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was better than President Muhammadu Buhari.
BMO, in a statement signed by the Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke in Abuja, said the comment of the former President was a crude joke, ridiculous and contemptible.
The group said: “We are completely taken aback that someone who, ordinarily should be seen as an elder statesman, has continued to use his position to try to derail the country from the path of progress.
“We note that while President Muhammadu Buhari has used his four years in office to lay a solid foundation for Nigeria’s sustainable growth, Obasanjo, as Nigeria’s President for eight years created instability by removing Senate presidents and state governors at will.
“It should be restated that throughout Buhari’s four years in office we have not witnessed a state of emergency in any state, and neither has the administration masterminded the unceremonious removal of any Senate president or state governor.
“We also recall that Obasanjo’s era was characterised by unbridled corruption with the introduction of Ghana-must-go bags at the National Assembly. Similarly, Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the monumental sleaze that surrounded the power sector contracts under former President Obasanjo, nor the unethical use of his position to build a multi-billion naira presidential library.”
The group recalled that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had said corruption under former President Obasanjo was worse than the era of the late General Sani Abacha.
It said: “Many Nigerians are also aware that Obasanjo is responsible for the myriad of problems facing the country today, and rather than make recompense for his sins, he continues to arrogate unmerited knowledge and wisdom to himself.
“We consider it totally unwarranted for Obasanjo to deride the person of President Muhammudu Buhari who Nigerians have freely given their mandate for another four years. Former President Obasanjo’s outbursts are, therefore, a distraction, which must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerians are yet to recover from the corruption that Obasanjo bequeathed to the country, and President Buhari is presently cleaning the Augean Stable. The least Nigerians expect of the former President is to join hands in rebuilding the country from the ruins of PDP’s pillaging over a period of 16 years, eight of which were under Obasanjo.
“We, therefore, consider the remarks of the former President as a face-saving tactic following the defeat of his preferred candidate, Atiku Abubakar at the presidential poll”.
The group described as fallacious, despicable and of no consequence, the ranking of Nigeria as the sixth miserable country in the world, saying the ranking was not a true reflection of the situation on the ground, and data for the survey must have been collated from old, archaic sources.
The group said Steve Hanke and other individuals behind the index did not take into proper account innovation introduced by the Buhari-led Federal Government into governance before arriving at their position.
They said: “A cursory look at the explanatory note by Steve Hanke in the Forbes magazine in which he revealed that the index was calculated using economic indices, such as unemployment, inflation and interest rates banks charge on loans, show how wrong his conclusion was.
“The index is said to be that of 2018 but the country recorded a number of positives in the same year on the economic front. It was the year that Nigeria had a major decline in inflation figure so much so that the rate is now 11.37 per cent. It was the culmination of a landmark 18-month consecutive decline to a level that is one of the lowest in Africa.
“We also know that a lower inflation rate has a way of impacting positively on banks’ lending rates and that’s exactly what has happened with the recent reduction in Monetary Policy Rate, yet the index scored Nigeria lower than some countries ravaged by war!”
BMO, insisted the misery index was neither a true nor accurate reflection of the situation on ground in the country.
“The authors of the index claimed they pinned their rating of Nigeria largely on the employment figure and while we concede that the number in the public domain has not been flattering, we are convinced that it is not a fair reflection of the job situation.
“Nigeria’s unemployment data put together by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are not known to cover jobs created in the informal sector and this is an area that the Buhari administration has excelled in the last three and half years.
“Aside from the rice revolution that has created about 12 million new farmers in recent years, the Buhari administration has introduced one of the continent’s largest social welfare schemes that has impacted the lives of millions of farmers and traders through Farmer Moni and Trader Moni.
“About nine million jobs have been created by the Home Grown Feeding Programme … These are not figures plucked out of the air…’’ They are real people reaping the benefits of initiatives that were hitherto unknown in the country,” it said.
“Inspite of what opposition elements and their supporters would want less discerning Nigerians to believe, the economy has continued to show signs of recovery from the 2016 recession. GDP growth rate in 2018 was 1.93% up from 0.8% in 2017. It has now been projected to rise to 3% in 2019.
BMO also noted that it was not surprised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) latched on the misery index to again take potshots at the Buhari administration so soon after local media published it.
“Although we at BMO were not surprised, we were certainly amused to see yet another thoughtless statement from the party that is yet to come to terms with its overwhelming rejection by Nigerians.
“We know that in its quest to remain on the front pages, PDP and its leaders are prepared to celebrate and solicit response to any news item that has the slightest hint of negativity about Nigeria.
“But there is no way their brusque style can erase the fact that President Buhari spent a large part of his first term in office cleaning up the mess that characterised 16 years of PDP misrule.” (The Nation)
