CAMPAIGN PROMISES: Between Buhari and Tinubu
By ABANIKANDA OLUMORO (UK)
The same Reverend Father Matthew Kukah, who among other Christian leaders, sabotaged the process leading to why Leah Sharibu’s rescue has remained difficult, has just taken appointment from Tinubu. It is sad that Kukah, who never saw anything good in Buhari, has suddenly found Tinubu a bride.
During Muhammadu Buhari administration, they went all about saying Buhari promised among his 2014/2015 campaigns to make Nigeria great and solve all it’s problems in six months but we stood our ground that Buhari made no such promises. We reminded them what Buhari promised:
1. To restore railways for the convenience of Nigerians: Done (Tinubu did not continue and not at Buhari’s pace of speedy performance). Thanks to Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi for being a committee patriot as Buhari’s Minister of Transport and Aviation.
2. He promised to try his best and free Chibok Girls that had been kidnapped and married over one year before his coming to power: Done (out of 244 or so, Buhari freed not only up to 190 but also)
Even the fresh over 100 kidnap of girls at Government Girls Science and Technical School in Dapchi, Yobe State,, Buhari freed them). The same Reverend Father Matthew Kukah, who among other Christian leaders, sabotaged the process leading to why Leah Sharibu’s rescue has remained difficult, has just taken appointment from Tinubu. It is sad that Kukah, who never saw anything good in Buhari, has suddenly found Tinubu a bride.
3. Buhari promised to restore refineries saying it was not possible for Nigeria to import fuel while it is owner of crude in large deposit: Done. – he started doing that with Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries from his five, eight months in office.
Note that Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) who vowed to revenge Jonathan’s defeat started bombing those oil installations of Refinery rehabilitated by Buhari costing Federal Government and it’s partners, Shelf, fortunes unbudgeted for. For each pipeline bombed, N1 billion was needed to repair. FG would contribute 60% (N600 million) and Shelf 40% (N400 million) until Buhari, seeing the complicit in both Yoruba politicians, lawyers, civil society leaders and leaders of Nigeria Delta abating those destruction, said enough. This was when they all tried to establish Human Rights abuse cases with International Community against his government when he tried to deploy soldiers to stop those destroyers and he (converted democrat) folded his arms and began to siddon look.
He then went to encouraged Dangote’s private refinery with 20% stake from NNPCL and built some modular refineries. Who would then say BUHARI didn’t fulfill his promise even when the same Tinubu that denies him has today confessed to be supplying crude to modular refineries. Who encouraged those modular refineries? Buhari. So Buhari fulfilled his refineries promise despite sabotage.
4. Buhari promised diversification of the economy: Done. He empowered the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to do ANCOR BORROWER through which local farmers became kings and manufacturers smiled. To the extent that, for his second term campaign, farmers contributed N1.1 billion. That was evidence of performance without anyone encouraged to dress like Buhari or wear his cap.
5. Also Buhari promised infrastructure development which started from his first one week in office: Done. We are in Tinubu’s second year in office. All we hear is cancellation of already awarded and ongoing Abuja-Kaduna road project that should simply be continued but re-awarded – to whom? No more infrastructure revolutionary performance that we saw in Buhari’s time and the same Fashola that Buhari rescued from destruction by Tinubu to do those wonders is one of megaphones of Tinubu’s unpopular government of today. No be juju be that?
6. Aviation? Buhari did quite a lot turning all airports across Nigeria from discouraging to encouraging.
Moreso, Buhari took over a Nigeria in recession at $25 per barrel of crude with states unable to pay salaries and baglogs of pensions unpaid e.g.bNigerian Airways staff, Biafra absolved warriors etc. Buhari rescued all the Nigerian states with bailouts and in covid, he saved the country by providing huge billions of Nairavto Tinubu’s Lagos and fed the nation from his Made-in-Nigeria food programmes.
7. Buhari ensured free, fair and credible election princesses. Tinubu should be asked how did Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour that was the most popular candidate under his Lagos lose the 2023 governorship election. Anyway, United States State Department report on that election will continue to haunt them.
FINALLY, Tinubu promised that fuel price that was N184/N185 per liter under Buhari would come down. Has he fulfilled it? No. Rather, he jumped fuel price from that rate to N500, then N800, then N1,300 before Dangote started to happen to the country and has been engaging them in a oil price war that sees us shuttle between N835 and N1,200 per liter.
Tinubu promised to remove fuel subsidy and make the country richer as money saved from subsidy removal would be diverted to developing other sectors. Did he fulfil this? No. His fuel subsidy removal not only plunge Nigeria and Nigerians into unprecedented hardship, poverty level and hunger but also high level corruption as destination of money claimed to have been saved from subsidy removal (if any) remains unknown amidst high cost of governance and living expensive lifestyle under him.
Anyway, we should give that to him as a campaign promise that he fulfilled but to whose good? Unfortunately, when he saw that the fuel subsidy policy bounced negatively back on him, he started denying it as his but Buhari’s doing. No be juju be that?
Same is Naira floating against foreign currencies. Where are we today? Dollar moved from Buhari’s N431 to (first) N2,000 and now shuttling between that and N1,600 under Tinubu. Korope bus that was N700,000 under Buhari is now N4 million under Tinubu, Keke that was N600,000 under Buhari is now N4 million under Tinubu, what about drugs? Drug of between N700 and N1,500 under Buhari now goes as higher between N5,000 and N10,000 under Tinubu, bag of rice that was N15,000/N20,000 has been shuttling between N60,000 and N105,000 under Tinubu, Abuja from Lagos by car that used to be N7,500 under Buhari is now N33,000 under Tinubu, not to talk of sir tickets. Lagos to Sokoto by air used to be N45,000 under Buhari bit now is between N200,000 and N300,000 under Tinubu, and Hajj that was N1.6 million (pre-covid) N2 million (post-covid) under Buhari with $800 BTA constant is now N8 million under Tinubu with $500/$400 BTA despite being subsided by N90 billion.
Despite all of these happening to our country, some politicians who call themselves PDP Governors and others have declared support for Tinubu to come back again in 2027 and rumours are renting the air about Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso going to join them. This shows insensitiveness on the part of Nigerian politicians who see politics from Tinubu’s lens.
Therefore, all patriotic Nigerians must rise up and take back Nigeria from them in 2027 because Nigeria us not and cannot be treated as a private assets of anyone. All that fall in this category with Tinubu should be treated as having committed treason against the country.
