WILL YOU VOTE A LIAR AS PRESIDENT?
ANTI-CORRUPTION
This is an area where the GEJ administration has failed woefully. There is presently no political, institutional and, perhaps, public will to fight corruption. Under GEJ, the two (2) main anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have been demystified and stripped of their independence thereby rendering them ineffective.
This is not in any way surprising owing to the President's perspective and perception of corruption.
On May 5, 2014, while responding - on national television - to allegations that he was not doing enough to curb corruption among his ministers, GEJ had claimed that most of what is referred to as corruption is not really corruption at all. According to him, “Over 70% of what are called corruption (cases), even by EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies, is not corruption, but common stealing”.
The President - whose wife, Dame Patience Jonathan was in September, 2006 accused of money laundering by the then vibrant EFCC - is not alone in this ludicrous assessment.
Less than two (2) weeks after the President's display of warped logic, Ekpo Nta, the Chairman of the ICPC, told a delegation of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) that visited the commission in Abuja that “Stealing is erroneously reported as corruption. We must go back to what we were taught at school to show that there are educated people in Nigeria.”
The ICPC boss also went further to liken the Nigerian penchant to regard theft as corruption to be as erroneous as calling a roadside mechanic an engineer.
Little wonder then that today, GEJ's most trusted allies - Diepreye Alamiesiegha, Bode George, Buruji Kashamu, Ayo Fayose, Mohammed Abacha, Femi Fani-Kayode, Ali Modu Sheriff - are all men who have benefited greatly from his benevolent view of corruption.
Little wonder then that under GEJ's watch, it is now 'normal' for billions of dollars to "develop wings and disappear".
Little wonder then that despite overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence, no single Fuel Subsidy thief has been prosecuted.
Little wonder then that under GEJ, arms and ammunition are purchased with millions of dollars of undisclosed and undeclared cash loaded in suitcases aboard private aircraft.
Little wonder then that, few days ago, IBB declared that compared to GEJ's administration, his (IBB's) corruption-ridden administration was 'saintly'.
And, little wonder then that richlifestyle.com and Forbes Magazine have ranked GEJ as one of the most stupendously rich (and corrupt?) leaders in the world.
INSECURITY
Despite having spent over $6 billion per year on the military sector for four years, the GEJ administration has not recorded any remarkable success in dealing with Nigeria's security challenges as posed primarily by Boko Haram on a daily basis.
POWER SECTOR
Having spent billions of dollars on reforms in the Power Sector, the tale still remains "Plenty motion, no movement". And in spite of government propaganda to the contrary, most Nigerians still lack access to regular supply of electricity.
Can Mr President tell Nigerians the amount of Power generated, distributed and transmitted? the amount his government met before 2011 and how much Megawatt he added to it?
Can Mr President explain to us why Petroleum products prices have not come down since He said we are buying at international price.
ELECTORAL REFORMS
This is perhaps the only area where the GEJ administration can be permitted to beat its chest and claim some level of success. It must however be remembered that credit for the noticed improvements must go to the civil society for massive voters' education.
And, quite ironically, the electoral reforms will face the sternest test so far, on Saturday, February 14, 2015 when GEJ and General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) go head-to-head in the Presidential Election.
Personally, in spite of his many inadequacies, my greatest problem with GEJ has to do with his penchant for telling barefaced LIES.
Space constraint will not allow me to exhaust all of GEJ's brazen mendacious statements but a few instances will suffice to buttress my position.
1. In 2010, while drumming up support for his bid to contest in the 2011 Presidential Election, GEJ had promised that if voted into Office, he was not going to seek re-election. He later did a volte-face and claimed that he never gave such a commitment - even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. LIE!
2. On Wednesday, January 23, 2013, GEJ - while responding to a question about whether Nigerians now had access to regular power supply - told Christiane Amanpour, CNN's Chief International Correspondent that most Nigerians now enjoyed regular power supply. LIE!!
3. In June 2014, while campaigning for Ayo Fayose in Ekiti State, GEJ had told the Ekiti people that if they voted for Fayose, immediately after Fayose's victory, he (GEJ) would begin to pay attention to Ekiti State's development through Federal Government projects. But few weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved Four Hundred and Thirty Billion Naira (N430 billion) to construct roads and bridges across the Federation in 2015 and Ekiti State was conspicuously missing on the list. LIE!!!
4. About a month ago, GEJ paid a visit to IBB at his Hilltop Mansion in Minna. After the visit, GEJ and his media team told journalists that IBB had declared his support for GEJ's re-election bid.
However, a couple of days later, an embarrassed IBB came out to denounce the report, explaining that he NEVER endorsed GEJ's second term bid but only advised him on how to tackle the insecurity challenges in the North. LIE!!!!
5. Last week, during the flag off of his presidential campaign in Lagos, GEJ had told his audience that the October 1, 2010 bomb blast at the Eagle Square had been orchestrated by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which had been contracted by "some politicians" to assassinate him. This was coming from a president who - even after MEND claimed responsibility for the attack - had insisted to the whole world that intelligence reports clearly indicated that MEND was NOT responsible for the attack. Chai! LIE!!!!!
6. During the same Lagos Rally, GEJ had equally told his audience that during the entirety of GMB's reign as military head of state (December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985), he (GMB) did not purchase "a single rifle" for the Nigerian military. However, facts and figures have now emerged that show that as the then head of state, GMB did procure sophisticated arms and ammunition for the Nigerian military armoury. LIE!!!!!!
The Yorubas do have a saying that "Eni ba n paro maa j'ale (meaning, "a liar ultimately becomes a thief").
In essence, a vote for a liar, is a vote for a thief! And nothing can be more perilous - and more stupid - than trusting a thief to run the affairs of a country.
Against this backdrop, it is instructive for the Nigerian electorate to ruminate before casting their votes on Saturday, February 14, 2015.
Do not vote for somebody who couldn't offer much when he had something to lose, but is now promising you heaven and earth when he no longer has anything to lose.
As for me and my house, come Saturday, FEBUHARI 14, 2015, we will NOT vote for a thief ... we will cast our votes for GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI (Rtd) - a man you can at least, hold to his word!
ANTI-CORRUPTION
This is an area where the GEJ administration has failed woefully. There is presently no political, institutional and, perhaps, public will to fight corruption. Under GEJ, the two (2) main anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have been demystified and stripped of their independence thereby rendering them ineffective.
This is not in any way surprising owing to the President's perspective and perception of corruption.
On May 5, 2014, while responding - on national television - to allegations that he was not doing enough to curb corruption among his ministers, GEJ had claimed that most of what is referred to as corruption is not really corruption at all. According to him, “Over 70% of what are called corruption (cases), even by EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies, is not corruption, but common stealing”.
The President - whose wife, Dame Patience Jonathan was in September, 2006 accused of money laundering by the then vibrant EFCC - is not alone in this ludicrous assessment.
Less than two (2) weeks after the President's display of warped logic, Ekpo Nta, the Chairman of the ICPC, told a delegation of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) that visited the commission in Abuja that “Stealing is erroneously reported as corruption. We must go back to what we were taught at school to show that there are educated people in Nigeria.”
The ICPC boss also went further to liken the Nigerian penchant to regard theft as corruption to be as erroneous as calling a roadside mechanic an engineer.
Little wonder then that today, GEJ's most trusted allies - Diepreye Alamiesiegha, Bode George, Buruji Kashamu, Ayo Fayose, Mohammed Abacha, Femi Fani-Kayode, Ali Modu Sheriff - are all men who have benefited greatly from his benevolent view of corruption.
Little wonder then that under GEJ's watch, it is now 'normal' for billions of dollars to "develop wings and disappear".
Little wonder then that despite overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence, no single Fuel Subsidy thief has been prosecuted.
Little wonder then that under GEJ, arms and ammunition are purchased with millions of dollars of undisclosed and undeclared cash loaded in suitcases aboard private aircraft.
Little wonder then that, few days ago, IBB declared that compared to GEJ's administration, his (IBB's) corruption-ridden administration was 'saintly'.
And, little wonder then that richlifestyle.com and Forbes Magazine have ranked GEJ as one of the most stupendously rich (and corrupt?) leaders in the world.
INSECURITY
Despite having spent over $6 billion per year on the military sector for four years, the GEJ administration has not recorded any remarkable success in dealing with Nigeria's security challenges as posed primarily by Boko Haram on a daily basis.
POWER SECTOR
Having spent billions of dollars on reforms in the Power Sector, the tale still remains "Plenty motion, no movement". And in spite of government propaganda to the contrary, most Nigerians still lack access to regular supply of electricity.
Can Mr President tell Nigerians the amount of Power generated, distributed and transmitted? the amount his government met before 2011 and how much Megawatt he added to it?
Can Mr President explain to us why Petroleum products prices have not come down since He said we are buying at international price.
ELECTORAL REFORMS
This is perhaps the only area where the GEJ administration can be permitted to beat its chest and claim some level of success. It must however be remembered that credit for the noticed improvements must go to the civil society for massive voters' education.
And, quite ironically, the electoral reforms will face the sternest test so far, on Saturday, February 14, 2015 when GEJ and General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) go head-to-head in the Presidential Election.
Personally, in spite of his many inadequacies, my greatest problem with GEJ has to do with his penchant for telling barefaced LIES.
Space constraint will not allow me to exhaust all of GEJ's brazen mendacious statements but a few instances will suffice to buttress my position.
1. In 2010, while drumming up support for his bid to contest in the 2011 Presidential Election, GEJ had promised that if voted into Office, he was not going to seek re-election. He later did a volte-face and claimed that he never gave such a commitment - even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. LIE!
2. On Wednesday, January 23, 2013, GEJ - while responding to a question about whether Nigerians now had access to regular power supply - told Christiane Amanpour, CNN's Chief International Correspondent that most Nigerians now enjoyed regular power supply. LIE!!
3. In June 2014, while campaigning for Ayo Fayose in Ekiti State, GEJ had told the Ekiti people that if they voted for Fayose, immediately after Fayose's victory, he (GEJ) would begin to pay attention to Ekiti State's development through Federal Government projects. But few weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved Four Hundred and Thirty Billion Naira (N430 billion) to construct roads and bridges across the Federation in 2015 and Ekiti State was conspicuously missing on the list. LIE!!!
4. About a month ago, GEJ paid a visit to IBB at his Hilltop Mansion in Minna. After the visit, GEJ and his media team told journalists that IBB had declared his support for GEJ's re-election bid.
However, a couple of days later, an embarrassed IBB came out to denounce the report, explaining that he NEVER endorsed GEJ's second term bid but only advised him on how to tackle the insecurity challenges in the North. LIE!!!!
5. Last week, during the flag off of his presidential campaign in Lagos, GEJ had told his audience that the October 1, 2010 bomb blast at the Eagle Square had been orchestrated by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which had been contracted by "some politicians" to assassinate him. This was coming from a president who - even after MEND claimed responsibility for the attack - had insisted to the whole world that intelligence reports clearly indicated that MEND was NOT responsible for the attack. Chai! LIE!!!!!
6. During the same Lagos Rally, GEJ had equally told his audience that during the entirety of GMB's reign as military head of state (December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985), he (GMB) did not purchase "a single rifle" for the Nigerian military. However, facts and figures have now emerged that show that as the then head of state, GMB did procure sophisticated arms and ammunition for the Nigerian military armoury. LIE!!!!!!
The Yorubas do have a saying that "Eni ba n paro maa j'ale (meaning, "a liar ultimately becomes a thief").
In essence, a vote for a liar, is a vote for a thief! And nothing can be more perilous - and more stupid - than trusting a thief to run the affairs of a country.
Against this backdrop, it is instructive for the Nigerian electorate to ruminate before casting their votes on Saturday, February 14, 2015.
Do not vote for somebody who couldn't offer much when he had something to lose, but is now promising you heaven and earth when he no longer has anything to lose.
As for me and my house, come Saturday, FEBUHARI 14, 2015, we will NOT vote for a thief ... we will cast our votes for GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI (Rtd) - a man you can at least, hold to his word!
No comments:
Post a Comment