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Last Updated: Jul 16, 2008 - 9:08:45 AM |
As a man who appeared unprepared to lead the world most populous black
nation, President Yar’Adua in the last one year has displayed all the
attributes of an ill-prepared leader whose actions are dictates of
sycophants and men and women whose idea and knowledge of leadership is
to loot the treasury while invoking the name of God.
We have watched in the last one year as this government carries on
without any policy focus on how to at least ameliorate the sufferings
of the Nigerian people. The business of governance has either remained
stand-still or totally collapsed in the hands of the Katsina State born
president.
>From anti-corruption war, the power sector to the economy, President
Yar’Adua has left no one in doubt that his ill-gotten presidency,
courtesy of former president Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo is yet
another sham in the political history of Nigeria.
President Yar’Adua came into office with a bogus promise to declare a
state of emergency on the power sector. Instead, he declared a state of
emergency on himself, jetting off to Germany for medical treatment and
leaving Nigerians wondering if he himself is healthy enough to tackle
the power sector that gulped over $10 Billion under former President
Olusegun Obasanjo. Up till now, Mr. President cannot explain why he has
not been able to declare the state of emergency.
Nigeria has an installed output of 3, 200 megawatts of electricity. But
this dropped to 1,200 in the first quarter of 2007 due largely to
shortage of gas and pipeline vandalization. The Power Holding Company
of Nigeria, PHCN, put it more succinctly when it revealed that power
generation went down from installed capacity of 5, 200 MW to 1,750 MW
as compared to a load demand of 6,000 MW. This was because only 19 out
of the 79 generating units were in operation.
Besides the power sector, President Yar’Adua promised to make the Niger
Delta issue a top priority. Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, a son of
Niger Delta, reechoed the administrations resolve to tackle the crisis
in the region within six months. It is one year now and the region has
metamorphosed into a zone characterized by militancy, pipeline
vandalisation and hostage-taking for ransom. Not even the Senator David
Brigidi’s committee for Peace and Reconciliation has been able to
create an impact and on the President’s list, “it is a top priority.”
Infrastructures are in total decay. No sector seems to be functioning
except the Presidency, The State Government Houses, State Assemblies
and the National Assembly where loots are shared on a daily basis. The
education sector remains in decay. The Health sector is not even in the
agenda of the government as Nigerians in their millions roam the street
with no form of health insurance or any form of coverage. And Yar’Adua
carries on like the “Baba Go Slow” that he is!
On corruption, President Yar’Adua came into power promising zero
tolerance to corruption. It is now an open knowledge that the
institution charged with prosecuting corrupt persons, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been dismembered and rendered
powerless to shield corrupt politicians and lately, Farida Waziri, a
former Assistant Inspector General of police, AIG, known to have
hobnobbed with some corrupt Governors, is now in charge of EFCC. Since
the removal of Nuhu Ribadu, the agency is now a toothless bull-dog now
mocked and laughed at by those thieving politicians of no conscience.
In the last one year, none of the former Governors whose stolen monies
have been traced to various foreign accounts have been prosecuted. They
all walk free under the protection of Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, the
Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
With a dashed hope, Nigerians have continued to live under a President
whose only achievement in office is his sing song “rule of law” which
have continuously been employed as a political tool to give legal face
to an administration that parade politicians with the highest degree of
economic crimes.
President Yar’Adua never applied the so called rule of law to himself
when he was declared winner of an election that have been adjudged the
most despicable since the history of Nigeria by simply abiding by the
same rule of law, a constitutional principles that requires government
to be conducted according to the law of the states and which forbids
election rigging, to reject the outcome of the Presidential election.
Alas! He never did. Rather, he accepted the dubious election and when
everyone cried foul, his foot soldiers came up with a solution. And
rule of law slogan was it!
President Yar’Adua’s chorused rule of law has allowed his friends and
financiers to hide under it to seek legal protection from answering
questions bothering on the act of stealing public funds that has
contributed in no small measure to cripple the state of Nigeria.
Under President Yar’Adua’s rule of law, the likes of Orji Kalu, James
Ibori, Saminu Turaki, Lucky Igbinedion and others whose legendary
stealing style can only be equated to dictators such as Mobutu
Seseseko, Sanni Abacha, Charles Taylor and a host of other maniacs roam
the streets of Nigeria as free men when they are supposed to be cooling
off in jail for plundering the resources of their various states,
leaving there people impoverished more than they met them.
However anyone sees it, for the last one year, this government has been
a photo trick, a deception and a sham that will fade away like water
vapor without any meaningful contribution to salvage the drowning ship
called Nigeria. God help Nigeria!
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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