The man who betrayed his boss’ trust -By Omojowo Ajosanmi

Although Nigeria was rated as the largest economy in Africa and the 23rd in the world by the World Bank and the IMF, with a GDP above $570 billion under Good luck Jonathan. However, the preponderance of Nigerians has seen what was obtainable in other countries of the world, demanding more from the Goodluck administration.

Some Nigerians discredited the acknowledgement of the World Bank and the IMF, saying: ‘ it is all lies’. They strongly acknowledged that the so-called economic buoyancy was only on paper; as the poverty rate stands at 53% or thereabout-a very large number of Nigerians expressed their resentment about the then unemployment rate which heightened from 12% of the working-age population in 2006 to 24% in 2011. Plus other challenges such as the porosity of our security, food insecurity, removal of subsidies, etc., accordingly the need for a better democratically elected President became pertinent. 

An election was conducted and President Buhari was declared the winner. Hopes and expectations were high; the reason for these isn’t far-fetched as Buhari through his campaign promises promised us heaven on earth. Goodluck was not doing it right, however, to some extent, there was food security; Nigerians to a large extent could afford some basic amenities, and food incremental costs were not as worse as it is. One can arguably say Nigerians were living under Jonathan, nonetheless, that can not be said of Buhari’s regime as Nigerians are only ‘existing and not living.

Buhari, in one of his interviews indirectly ratified that Nigerians are in abject poverty when he said: ‘ I will lift 100 million Nigerians out of the poverty line. That is to show us that we have more than 100 million Nigerians on the poverty line. Deliberate governmental policies bring to life a prosperous economy in any country. At the time of writing this, more than 100 million Nigerians can’t live on a dollar per day. Should Buhari be the only one to bear the blames for our economic topsy-turvy? No. Why?

Because The Economic Management Team (EMT) which is the engine room of Nigeria’s economy was Chaired by our outspoken, infallible Star boy (Vice President Yemi Osinbajo), who before being relieved of the office had already done unquantifiable damage to the economy in the country. President Buhari, just like Jonathan bestowed on his Vice President(Yemi Osinbajo), the power to coordinate and make policies at both the federal and state levels, sadly the Vice President took the country through his bad economic policies to be the world headquarters of poverty and highest out-of-school children; according to UNICEF’s Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins,‘10.5 million children are out of school in Nigeria, which is the highest rate in the world. The figure indicates that one-third of Nigerian children are not in school, and one in five out-of-school children in the world is a Nigerian’.

The economy is the superstructure(: social institutions (such as the law or politics) that are in Marxist theory erected upon the economic base), on which every other structure depends; the buoyancy of any state’s economy will determine the policy-making of such a state. A vice president betrayed the trust of his boss by wrecking the state’s economy, therefore, making them subservient to their counterpart in the world should not be trusted with power. Good governance, protecting the lives of the citizens and booming the state’s economy go beyond speaking Queen’s English. Professor Yemi Osinbajo failed his boss and by extension Nigerians by turning the Nigerian state into what it presently is. In my judgment, Professor Yemi Osinbajo can not be a better President.