Insecurity: Those piloting affairs of Nigeria far away from reality ― Afenifere

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3 years ago

Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere chie

Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has said that situations that unfolded in Nigeria within the week have further confirmed that those piloting affairs of the country currently are far away from the reality that Nigerians are dealing with on an hourly basis, declaring that it was not surprising that steps being taken by the Federal Government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari “do not touch the problems confronting us as a nation.”

Afenifere made this declaration on Thursday in a statement by its spokesperson, Comrade Jare Ajayi, noting that three instances were clear indications of what it observed as laxity on the part of the government.

According to the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, “First was the drama at the National Assembly on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, where the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, went against the decision taken during the close-door meeting of the House’s officials to discuss the security situation in the country with a notice of impeachment to be served on President Muhammadu Buhari.”

“By coming out to prevent Senators from discussing the issue, was Lawan working towards putting an end to the menace or assisting it to fester?” the group queried.

Afenifere said the point to buttress how deceitful those around President Buhari were the disclosures by the Minister of Information, Lai Muhammed and his counterpart in Finance, Zainab Ahmed after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.

The group recalled that while the Minister of Information, Muhammed, described the threat by terrorists to kidnap Buhari and the Kaduna State governor, Nasir el- Rufai as laughable, his counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Ahmed, said that the Nigerian economy was doing very well, far better than under the previous administrations.

The group added that what further drove home the fact that Buhari was not always aware of the reality of the country’s situation was the disclosure by Governor el- Rufai that the president was not aware that terrorists threatened to kidnap both the president and himself until Governor Bello Matawalle of Nassarawa State told him.

On the claim by the Minister of Finance, Afenifere spokesperson recalled, saying that Nigeria’s inflation rate was a single digit of 9.01per cent as at the President Buhari power in 2015, but noted that inflation today was 17.71per cent, while the country’s debt revenue stood at N8.8 trillion as at 2015, as against the debt figure of N41 trillion currently.

“In 2015, a litre of petrol stood at N87 while it hovers around N190 –N200 today per litre.

“In 2015 when President Buhari assumed office, the dollar was exchanging at about N190 per US Dollar. Today the exchange rate is a little above N700 to a Dollar. When President Buhari assumed office then, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at $486 billion. The GDP as of 2021 dropped to $440 billion and it has dropped even further now.

“As of 2015, a bag of rice was around N10,000. Now it is around N33,000. The minimum wage in Nigeria today is N30,000 which is not even being paid across the board. But then, even where and when it is paid, it means that an average Nigerian worker cannot buy a bag of rice with his entire salary.

“Yet, the minister in charge of our Finance said that the economy is doing ‘very well.’” Ajayi said.

“With such briefings from his officer in charge of the economy, how would the president know that his government has failed woefully in that sector?” he queried.

Ajayi said while the Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed, described the threat of kidnap as laughable, the reality around proved otherwise, pointing out that programmes such as that of the Nigerian Law School in Abuja, were shifted or adjusted, with Unity schools shut down in places like Nasarawa where the government ordered the closure of the entire schools in the state.

According to him, Catholic Church-owned Veritas University was forced to send its people home because of the threat letter from kidnappers, asking it to pay ransoms for its students and officials not to be kidnapped

“Not only that, officials of the Presidential Guards were reportedly attacked first on the way to Daura, President Buhari’s hometown and the second in the Federal Capital Territory as confirmed by the Army authority.

“Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, on Wednesday, July 27, said the Department of State Services, DSS, shared 44 intelligence reports before the attack on Kuje Prisons. Wase said this on the floor of the green chamber during the plenary.

“Earlier in the week, an NSCDC leaked memo indicated that Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists were amassing dangerous weapons for massive attacks on Katsina, Lagos, FCT, Kaduna, and Zamfara states.

“The intelligence report titled, ‘Re: Heightened plots by terrorists to stage coordinated attacks in parts of the country,’ was signed by the Deputy Commandant-General in charge of Operations, DD Mungadi.

“It added that the Commandant-General had directed the state commandants to put up measures to avert the attacks,” Ajayi recalled.

“With all the above and several others, those in the corridors of power are dubbing those calling for effective action as wailers. Some of them, like the Senate President and Presidential spokespersons, seem to be of the view that if the matter is not talked about, it will fade away.

“But a thing of this type does not fade away in that manner. Rather, it would fester until it consumes virtually everybody, including those who ought to act at the appropriate time but failed woefully to do so,” he stated.

Afenifere, however, said it does not take the threats by the kidnappers, bandits and terrorists lightly, even as it quickly recalled another deadly attack that happened in Owo, Ondo State, on Wednesday, July 27th, barely seven weeks after the gruesome attack on St Francis Catholic Church in the same town.

It condemned the attack in strong terms, describing it as a provocation that can no longer be accepted.

Speaking further, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group stated that the impression had always been that the Chief Executive Officers at the national and state levels got daily briefings on the security situations in their respective areas, noting that had it not come from Governor El Rufai, it would have been very difficult to believe that President Buhari was not aware that he was under the radar of would-be kidnappers.

“Yet those around the president were very much aware of this fact. Why didn’t they bring it to his attention? Where is the position, indeed the role, of the National Security Adviser in all these?

“We are asking these questions because, among others, funding cannot be an excuse. For instance, the amount of money allocated to the three arms of the forces in 2016 and 2022 respectively are as follow: The Army in 2016 was given N148 billion. In 2022, it was N579 billion.

“Navy in 2016 got N86b, in 2022, it was N148b. Airforce in 2016 got N91b while in 2022, it got N180b.

“In view of the lackadaisical manner government is handling security situation, in view of seeming collaboration between some within the government and the bandits and in view of the clear refusal of the president to marshal the desired political will to deal with the security situation, it is becoming difficult not to give some ears to those insinuating that all these things are geared towards making the forthcoming 2023 General Election unfeasible. The alibi would be the insecurity in the country – an insecurity that was induced. This would not be acceptable,” Afenifere stated.

“We call on the president to wake up to the reality. Delegate powers. Summon the necessary political will. Stop the kid-glove treatment being given to kidnappers and bandits and allow states that are willing to establish their own police forces, to do so,” it concluded.

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