Re-Electing Buhari & The APC In 2019 Will Be A Disaster For Nigeria, Here Is Why -By Dalo Bamshak M

Looking by the skin of ones teeth at the antecedents that haul the All Progressive Party APC and the President Mohammed Buhari led administration into power in 2015, one would have an inclination to catechize and query whether or not he has lived up to the promises and commitments he made to Nigerians in his 2015 campaign manifesto.

It is however, not modish that Nigeria has, for donkey years now, been plough with corruption and unethical deportment in it’s political terrain. Most commonly amongst politicians, public office holders and bureaucrats since post-independence. In an effort for a way out, Nigerians dethroned the People’s Democratic Party PDP in what i called a “Protest vote” in favour of the APC in the 2015 General Election.

The Emergence of the APC and President Mohammadu Buhari, a campaign most Nigerians called “corrupt free and hope for a better future”, was accompanied by a mode come and some measures of the fear of prosecution amongst corrupt politicians and other government agencies, as Buhari was perceived to be the principled, strict man of integrity, with zero tolerance for corruption he is known for.

Permit me to take you back to Buhari’s commitments to Nigerians in his manifesto, in a bid to win the Presidency of Nigeria, he made clear to the public.

President Muhammadu Buhari

“I Mohammadu Buhari, believes that our politics is broken. Our nation urgently needs fundamental political reforms and improvement in governance, more transparency and accountability. If you vote me, my administration will;

“Prevent the abuse and misuse of executive, legislative and other offices, through greater accountability, transparency, strict and implementable anti-corruption laws, through sanitizing the EFCC & ICPC as independent entities”.

For a government built on such promises, as ” strong war on corruption, Strong Economy and National security “, one would assume the country would be transformed in no time.

The Buhari administration, in May 2015, however, kicked off governance with a complete opposite of all it has promised in its manifesto, the same reason I think Nigerians voted him into office.

First, it took him a whopping 6 months to appoint his cabinet member’s in what he called a “careful selection”, an action that further deepened the state of our economy.

With high unemployment, exorbitant inflation rate, high-interest rate, policy conflict, high taxation and poor economic planning, the Nigerian economy plugged into recession in the second quota of 2016. Although we exited recession in 2017, the Governor of the CBN Godwin Emefiele made it known at the end of the two days meeting of the monitory policy committee in Abuja on Sept 2018 that, the economy has again started showing signs of weaknesses and may again slip into recession as the economy recorded growth rate of 1.9% and 1.5% during its first and second quarter this year. Blaming the slow down in the oil sector with strong linkage to unemployment and growth.

With little or no attention paid to the National security sector, the very much around terrorist group Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen has claimed lives of thousands of Nigerians and has displaced a vast majority from their original habitats, particularly in the Northern and Middle belt region of the country.

With the 2019 general election approaching, much fears await Nigerians.

It will be fair to say, without fear or favour, that the present administration is the worst so far in the fight for corruption and the administration of justice. Corruption cases are on the rise, with little or no steps taken to curb the exorbitant rate of embezzlement and looting of public funds and ethical violations by politicians which have had a negative impact on the economy and the people respectively. President Buhari’s fight against corruption seems one-sided, the thieves seem to be on the other side of the coin, the EFCC & ICPC seems to have lost their independence, the judiciary has been pocketed. Yet, all we keep hearing is “I’m a man of Integrity”. Who your integrity help?

Mr President, can you explain to Nigerians how your administration claims to be fighting corruption, while, Abdulkareem Maina, a convicted felon and a fugitive, who stole N2B meant for pensioners who have served the Nation and are at their declining ages, was reinstated and promoted to the position of a director by your Minister of Interior Alh. A. Dan Bazau under your watch.

Mr President sir, a few weeks ago, you presented Nigerian’s with a “fabricated” WAEC result that has no certificate number. Your Minister of Information, Hon Lai Mohammed, publicly declared to the world how your government feeds a detainee El- ZakZaky with N3.8M in a month. Tell us Mr President, what disciplinary action has your administration taken on your Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo, a SAN and a Professor of Law contravened S.80(4) of the 1999 Constitution (amended) by unilaterally pulling a sum of N5.8B from the consolidated revenue account of the Federation purportedly for emergency intervention on food in the Northeast while he was acting President in 2017.

Be that as it may be, I urge Nigerians to stay clear from any political party or Individual like the All Progressive Congress, APC, who only makes empty promises and commitments with Zero efforts whatsoever to keep such promises, and to further remind Nigerian’s that Four years is a long time.

Dalo Bamshak Matthew

Int’l Lawyer/ Research & Policy Expert.