Recently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote a scathing open letter to President Muhammad Buhari. Apart from portraying the vices of the government, the former president went on to advice the incumbent president against contesting in the upcoming elections.
One of the things I find disturbing about the lengthy letter from the former president is how he lambasted this government as though his close to 4 years as a military head of state and the 8 years as a democratically elected president left Nigeria as a paradise. Obasanjo speaks with such audacity as if he is a saint whose hand isn’t soaked with the sins of damaging Nigeria. The oratory skills he adopts in painting this government black leaves one wondering whether after his stints as a president, Nigeria was rid of corruption, had steady electricity, pipe borne water, efficient rail system and functioning National couriers.
The way and manner some Nigerian are critical of this government surprises me. So many Nigerian are quick to forget the level of insecurity reached in the country to the point where the Nigeria Police headquarters in Abuja was targeted in a bomb attack, United Nations office was bombed, military barracks and police stations where not left out in the spate of attacks, the nation’s savings was dinned on with impunity, almost all state were owing salaries, bribery was no longer corruption and the economy was bleeding until it ended up in a recession that would have been averted if we had saved. All these we went through and more, Nigerians seemed to have forgotten within a short span of just 3 years.
So much has happened since the present government came into power. Even the blind will attest to the fact that things are gradually and slowly changing in Nigeria. After all, change is inherently a slow process. Nigerians will be unfair to this government if they actually voted them to mend all damages done to the country for decades and turn Nigeria to another Dubai within a span of 4 years. The damage done to Nigeria requires a gradual and sustained approach and not magic. Moreover, we should at least allow the regime to exhaust its 4 years before we start talking of re-election or not.
Reviewing the 3 years of this government, one will notice that in the areas of security, there is much improvement from where we were. Recent indices have shown a promising economy. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) has been put in place to block leakages. The country’s foreign reserve is at record high of $40 billion even with staggering oil price. Inflation has been dropping for the past 11 months. Nigeria has risen in the ease of doing business. Revenue generating agencies such as Customs and others have remitted trillions to the treasury, Unemployed graduates have been provided with funds through Npower and other programs, the school feeding program has being going on, road that have been damaged for decades are been repaired, and contracts for more rail lines have been awarded and many more wonderful things going on.
With all these astonishing feet reached by this government in Just three years, the likes of Obasanjo who surprisingly said he was impressed by Buhari’s performance just 4 months ago, and other Nigerian calling for a change of government owe us explanation as to whether they want the country to be ruled by a government that performs magic or a government that will gradually take us to the promise land.
Yahya Idris,
Kaduna
