Ever since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office, he has received a plethora of criticisms especially at this point when Nigeria is heading towards an impending collapse. No doubt, almost all the positive indexes have gone missing but Nigerians must start looking at things from a different perspective.
The hard truth is that the President has little or no time to effectively monitor the activities of his ministers. Even though President Buhari hasn’t given maximum respect to the principle of rule of law, however, the narrative would have been different if only his ministers were performing and mean well for Nigerians. This also includes his advisers, lawmakers, Vice President, etc., they all deserve the biggest part of the criticisms, not the President. Yes, one would say they are all working under his administration therefore he should know everything. Alas, he doesn’t.
Buhari’s cabinet currently oversees 24 federal ministries and each responsible for some aspect of providing government services, as well as a number of parastatals (government-owned corporations). I can vehemently state that all his ministers only cook up updates and give to Buhari as reports. There are certain details of operations which he is absolutely ignorant of.
This same unpleasant situation can also be traced to those heads of departments and parastatals who are also reporting to the ministers. As usual, they also cook up their own updates as reports and send them to ministers. This is how the damning circle continues to go. No country would develop when you have corruptible individuals at the helm of affairs.
One good thing Buhari has recorded is that for the past few years, the price of fuel has been stable and there has been no scarcity or any form of hoarding. Then you ask yourself, why are transporters incessantly increasingly fares? This is common in Lagos. You cannot say Buhari is the reason for that. Nigerians feel the impact of these situations and it also constitutes the bad names the present administration has received.
This Yuletide season, the likes of God is Good Motors, The Young Shall Grow Motors, Libra Motors, etc. are all exploiting Nigerians in the name of doing business. Now, ask yourself – what would have happened if there was fuel scarcity or the prices of fuel increased? This kind of situation adds to the negatives we already have in Nigeria.
Again, Buhari was not the one who announced that drones and CCTV cameras would be deployed to monitor the 2020 University and Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME). That foolishness was exhibited by one so-called Professor who heads the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Without a deep thought on this subject, you may foolishly think it’s a good idea. Trust me, this is another ploy to rip off Nigeria of its limited financial resources.
I have always tried to ascertain the role and the impact of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Nigeria’s educational system, unfortunately, I have found nothing. If JAMB as a board is totally wiped off today from the educational sector what do you think would happen? Its never going to have any negative on the educational system. Anybody who has graduated from secondary school and feels he or she needs a tertiary education should apply to the school directly.
In 2018, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), approved N133 million for the purchase of infrastructure and equipment for JAMB. First, they succeeded in taking advantage of the funds provided for their so-called CBT (Computers). Now, they need another fund for drones and cameras. JAMB is offering nothing and I expect the federal government to start thinking of how to scrap it. Not the examination itself but the entire board.
Again, it was reported a few weeks ago that one of Buhari’s ministers said Nigeria needs N14 billion for the upcoming Olympics games. His words: “To prepare for the Olympics, we need about ₦14 billion and what we have in our budget is less than ₦2 billion. This is why we want the corporate world to come in and support our quest to do well at the Olympics. The government cannot do it alone.”
Yes, partaking in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Japan is good but Nigeria must prioritise to avoid profligacy. If you asked me, I would say Nigeria does not need Olympics. It is even better to use a lesser amount of money and invest in our sporting facilities. The proposed fund would be squandered and nothing measurable in terms of returns. No right-thinking minister should ever mention that Nigeria needs such an amount of money for the competition. Again, Buhari didn’t come up with that silly idea.
Importantly, the lawmakers cannot be exonerated from the plights of Nigerians. It’s just appalling that the legislature under the leadership of Senator Ahmad Lawan is a complete fiasco. He seems to be a toothless bulldog who lacks ideas and only interested in the 2020 budget. Is that what being a lawmaker is all about? At this critical time, you are requesting for N34 billion just for the renovation of the National Assembly building. No serious issue that will impact the livelihood of Nigerians has been discussed under his leadership. How about other lawmakers, which of them have come out openly to heavily campaign against and criticise this nonsense?
How about the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo? He is also a big problem, a right-thinking leader should be courageous enough to kick against policies that are not in the interest of the citizens. It is better for him as the Vice President to fight for Nigerians and kicked out than to be a puppet. What is his gain? What is he afraid of? What is he protecting?
At this juncture, you would realise that the principles of checks and balances are completely dead. The ministers, lawmakers, special advisers, aides, heads of parastatals have all failed Nigerians not just Buhari.
