WEDNESDAY COLUMN BY USSIJU MEDANER
info@medaner.com, justme4justice@yahoo.com
The kind of politics we play on this side of the globe is quite unfortunate; particularly the extent we are willing to go to fetch political points even at the expense of desirable national wellness, development and goodness. It is even more unfortunate for Nigeria with regard to the caliber of people and institutions that present themselves as ready-made tools in playing this unhealthy game of Nigerian styled-democratic politicking. Imagining a huge project as the Second Niger Bridge which was finally completed and opened for commuters and an uneasy silence across the country that follows. PDP and its sister party, LP have not considered it necessary to comment on the lofty achievement; radio stations across the country who enjoy patronages on discussing daily events in vogue would not raise it as topic of the day; critics of the APC Administration have kept their social media handles and pubic discussions away from this monumental achievement. Why? The Second Niger Bridge has the signature of the APC-led Muhammadu Buhari all over it, and so, it is a taboo talking about it. Those who could not absolutely keep quiet about the hurt they feel about great things coming from the party they want down by all means, insist it was a PDP-birthed project that was completed by APC!
Was there any feat greater than the opening of the bridge in Nigeria this period? No. Then how come the deafening silence? Even when the print media could not totally avoid ignoring it, anchors of newspaper reviews and the regular callers of the opposition stocks prefer to talk about the former Accountant-General’s loots and other negatives that would hurt the government rather than a monumental project completion that would do the opposite. But then, I blame the ruling party, APC for failing to erect a formidable platform to sing its own praises and propagate its achievements which are quite many and grand like the just completed Second Niger Bridge. The opposition tritely goes round brandishing insecurity and inflation before the people as the only things coming from the APC government and the ruling party chooses the silent response assuming the people would know better. That is not working; better is to sing your praises, trumpet it, let it be known and seen at all corners of the country: the good and the laudable works the APC-led Buhari Administration have done with regards to security infrastructure, the transportation infrastructure, power infrastructure, social programs and a lot of others. You cannot afford to keep quiet when the opposition is busy running down your chances at the polls in the face of negatives that are bound to always present themselves amidst positives.
No one is talking about the N-POWER program, no one is talking about the railway revolution; but instead of talking about the rice revolution they tactically shift the narrative to the current high cost of staple foods and blind the people’s understanding of the implication of gaining local production at a substantial capacity. We are not talking about road networks getting facelifts across the country, the nation airports gaining international recognition through standard building, and the real massive direct government intervention in addressing insecurity that has considerably lowered the capacity of the insurgents to operate within our enclaves. The present APC handlers should take the blame for failing to project the party to the public and to suppress opposition propaganda. Period.
On so many occasions, I have vehemently presented the presidential candidate of PDP, the major opposition party, Atiku Abubakar to Nigerians for who he is; not to create emotional biases for my preferred candidate. Leadership selection is a critical national and patriotic assignment for all citizens. It is one assignment that must be devoid of emotional bias and attachments for the sake of the country. Picking the best from the lot on the strength of proven capacity is sacrosanct to the responsibility on our shoulders; and for the future of our great nation. We cannot afford to judge these politicians by what they say, or by promises they make, rather with what they have done when they have the chance to prove themselves. It begs our reasoning, our rationality to distance ourselves from inducements that blind us to their failures in the past and to grant them once again our support. We have to ask very simple questions such as: what and what did they do with our trust the last time they had it? That answer is enough basis for our current support.
Arguments of underdevelopment of Nigeria have always been hinged overtime on perpetual unfaithful implementation of development plans stemming from lack of commitment on the part of the leaders, institutional bastardisation and the enshrined corruption in our body polity. It is a fact that a nation grows into her anticipated developmental level when constituted leadership takes the position of articulating its priorities and that of its followership to draw on the energies of its people, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting leadership and partnerships throughout society as the centerpiece of its growth strategy. This is not limited to economic growth because national growth will not begin with economic development but first and foremost self-development.
The national interest of a state is rooted in the social consciousness and in the cultural identity of a people. In other words, the national interest of a state is a product of social values which the people have and hold dear. In practice, the national interest of a country is created and patterned by leaders and others in authority. To this extent, our interest as a nation is a function of what our policy makers say it is because the interest of a country is the interest of its leaders. No country will attain a state of maturity (intended national development) without the desire of its leaders.
At a time in the past, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of PDP was in the position to effectively contribute to the building of the developmental and social identity that is capable of restructuring Nigeria on all front, but he rather chose the route of seeing the nation and its wealth as an opportunity for personal enrichment; both for himself and his cronies. Of course, evidence abound of these atrocities, though, very unfortunately, he was not legally apprehended for this disservice to the nation.
The recorded atrocities against the person of Atiku Abubakar are on their own more than enough to discredit him from appearing on the ballot in more saner polities if not cooling his feet in jail somewhere; but unfortunately, this is Nigeria, where corruption thrives and corrupt people overtly flex their corruption; for instance, a nation where 200 million naira corruption incident only earned Doyin Okupe 13 million naira in lieu of a two year jail term. How else do we explain that Atiku is still on the ballot and Nigerians are behind him? The same Atiku Abubakar, who as head of the National Council on Privatisation from 1999, took the country decades backward in poverty and unemployment when he sold off in droves, hundreds of national assets to incompetent persons and companies and for his personal advantage.
The same Atiku Abubakar, who brazenly sold off Nigeria’s prized assets in ALSCON that was built by the Abacha government at the sum of $3.2 billion naira at a paltry $120 million and still released $120 million to the company to dredge Imo River. As of today, the country has totally lost ALSCON; the Imo River was never dredged. It was not $3,2 billion that we lost, but more seriously the capacity of the company to redefine the nation’s Aluminum smelting capacity, gross employment of Nigerians and increased business opportunities across the Ikot Ekpene area.
It was the same Atiku Abubakar that sold Eleme Petrochemical off to Indorama, the owners of Indomie without any consideration for the Nigeria federal Government $27 million worth of 5 percent. This means he sold off the company without presenting for consideration Nigeria’s 5 percent stake in the company. Why? Personal interest; of course, he would not make that mistake if it were to be his personal enterprise because he is a businessman to the core. Summarily, Atiku Abubakar supervised the destruction of federal assets that would have defined the employment capacity of the country today and robbed the country of huge productive capacity as the assets were mostly laid moribund thereafter.
No wonder, his principal at the time, would not stand to see him become the president of the country. In his world, Obasanjo said “if after what I know about Atiku Abubakar, I still support him to become anything in Nigeria, God would not forgive me.” The pages of the then president’s famous book, My Watch, said it all about the person of Atiku Abubakar. We cannot forget that. Can we?
Now, the game is on again, but we know for sure where it would end again; another defeat for an Atiku candidacy. The past would always remain a part of our future. Nigerians do not forget. Until Atiku boldly confronts Obasanjo to expunge the pages that perhaps “lie” against him in “My Watch,” and he should also explain how an asset worth $2.3 billion could be sold off for $130 million. Otherwise, Nigerians and the electorate will accept every word to be truth and facts.
GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA !
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