It is not too late to begin to ask these questions: How does democracy protect itself against a ruling party that has almost ruined the country and destroyed lives and livelihoods of those it was elected to provide for their security and welfare and, yet is asking for their mandate for another tenure? Does that political party deserve your vote? Are you better off today than you were seven and a half years ago? Should you allow the same snake bite you twice? These questions should not be ducked. They are not rhetorical questions. At a time like this, what we need is truth simply spoken. That is why the forthcoming elections, beginning with the Presidential poll, are of critical importance.
Truth is, Nigeria has been in stormy waters for so long. It needs a new direction. Any political party in power can only infuse democracy with a new intensity of participation if it can show competence and performance in the issues that call for its attention. In the absence of these key indices, nothing will work. I believe that is the point former President Goodluck Jonathan noted in his memoir, My Transition Hours, that “democracy is not just about fulfilling all righteousness by treating the people to the ballot box that you bring out on Election Day. Democracy boils down to legitimacy and ensuring that the people have the necessary dividends. Elections must offer valid choices”. I agree. At a minimum, the people expect that a candidate for president must have a programme that will address the central problems that concern the people. Second, that the winning candidate and his party will then proceed to accomplish this programme captured in the party manifesto and give the people a sense of progress toward the goals that were projected in the campaign. These are issues that define national priorities. As 2023 elections draw nearer, there is frustration everywhere. How can the APC wage a winning national campaign and convince Nigerians to give it another four years after squandering eight years? No doubt, the stakes are much higher this time round than they were in 2015 and 2019. Under APC administrstion in almost 8 years, Nigeria has become the World’s Poverty Capital. Currently, Nigeria is ranked the “2nd most terrorised country in the world” after Afghanistan. It has 22 million out-of-school children. At 21.09 percent inflation rate, this is the highest in over 17 years. Under President Buhari’s leadership, Nigeria has recorded the highest National Debt stock since independence at N46trn, and N24trn Ways & Means(a loan facility from the Central Bank through which it finances government’s budget shortfalls). According to the CBN, Nigeria has earned zero foreign exchange( FX) in 2022.
Two days ago, Sunday PUNCH reported that aircraft in the presidential Air fleet are at the risk of being impounded by foreign creditors over accumulated debts. The fear is that the aircraft could be denied permits by foreign countries, according to the fleet commander. This is how horrible things have become under the watch of APC administration. By any measure, Nigeria is far worse off today than in 2015. Still, APC is desperate to hold on to power next year. Of course, questions will be asked: how have we faired as a people under this government? Insecurity has squeezed everyone to a corner. Nigerians are divided down the middle, more polarised than ever before. The economy is wobbling. It’s like a company under receivership. Records show that the national grid has collapsed more than 130 times since APC came to power. It’s time to talk about leadership and character of our country and the vision of the future. If you think insecurity is one area this government has the worst record of performance, you may not be wrong. But, on the economy, the record is abysmal too.
Unemployment, inflation, poverty are surging. Check out the facts: Last week, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its report on Multidimensional Poverty Index which showed that 133 million Nigerians are in extreme poverty. This represents about 63 percent of our population. It is a detailed report that cuts across every state, and all the geopolitical zones of the country. It is perhaps the harshest verdict on the APC. It simply not how to govern a country. Everything the APC inherited in 2015, it has made worse, not better. For instance, according to data on the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on May 29, 2015, President Buhari inherited a foreign reserve of $28.6bn as well as $5.6bn NLGN dividend. Jonathan administration also left a total of $2.2bn in the Excess Crude Account (ECA). President Buhari inherited an economy, which the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) once described as the preferred destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa. It stood at $35.25bn. What has happened now? Today, it has declined to less than $11.55bn. Figures from the CBN indicate that Nigeria’s external reserves continue to drop sharply. In May this year, it dropped by $1.1billion to $38.5bn. In August, it declined by $706 million, down from $39bn as of September 2022. As of December 2021, the external reserves was $40.520bn, a decrease of 5.45 percent.
Data from the NBS showed that the Buhari government could only manage to attract $698.7 million of FDI last year, the lowest in ten years. Exchange rate is currently about N800/$1. It was N199/$1 in 2015. Unemployment rate is now over 35 percent. Where is the foundation the President promised to take “100 million Nigerians out of mass poverty in the next 10 years”? External debt stood at $7.73bn in 2015. It is projected to reach $50bn in 2023. Over 48 percent of these debts are bilateral and commercial loans. Domestic debt servicing has risen to over N3.5trn from N1.53trn recorded in the same period of 2020. Default on repayment is looming with its unpleasant consequences. Recall that in July this year, while on vacation in his home town, Daura, Katsina state, President Buhari said, “I am very eager to go”… It was a mirror to look at the soul of a leader in despair, an admission of being overwhelmed by the challenges and his underwhelming performance as President and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces.
The truth is that Buhari’s ambition to be President was not anchored on any serious preparation for the office. He was only interested in the prize. And once that had been achieved, nothing else matters. The fatal accident Buhari has inflicted on Nigerians could happen again if par chance, Bola Tinubu became President. The signs are snapping at us. Over the past few weeks, several video clips have emerged detailing disturbing fluffs of Tinubu at Town Hall meetings organised by the party to save him from himself. In Jos, Owerri, Abakaliki, Bauchi, and last Saturday, at Teslim Balogun stadium, Lagos, many sat transfixed, stunned, watching Tinubu commit unpardonable gaffes. What is going on? Is Nigeria cursed, or are we the cause(to borrow one of Peter Obi’s famous quotes)? Will this man have the capacity to govern, or is this an accident waiting to happen? I have tried to research on this.
This is what I found. According to Morgan Chamberlain, a digital media consultant at Mindbody Green, what we are seeing from the ‘strange’ behaviour of the APC presidential candidate are worrying signs of cognitive decline which should not be ignored. I am not talking politics here but the health of a potential material for the highest office in the land. Chamberlain says it has to do with brain aging and possible dementia that begins with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Physicians say this is a present danger that can progress into full dementia at an annual rate of between 8 percent and 15 percent. The following are the serious signs: Forgetting to remember recent events, repetitive questioning, lack of capacity to appreciate facts and difficulty in problem solving. Could that be the reason why Tinubu is at a loss to appreciate the statistics often used by Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential candidate? Other disturbing symptoms include: confusing times and places lack of virtual and spatial awareness, mixing up or struggling to remember common words. In his speech in Bauchi, last week, Tinubu said, “Federal Republic of the Country (Instead of Federal Republic of Nigeria). In many instances, we have seen him misplacing items and finding them in random places. Has dementia symptoms set in?
Must life ambition to be President take precedence over one’s health? Other signs of cognitive impairment include poor judgement or discernment, withdrawal from social activities, getting lost in familiar places, and distinct changes in mood or personality. Go through this list and make up your mind what is wrong with the Jagaban . Keep this in view: The problem here is that Nigeria could be careening towards a worse moment than we went through under Yar’adua and Buhari presidencies combined. We will have APC to blame for this double whammy.