What do you think of former President Olusegun Obasanjo's letter blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for the country's hardship?
Nigeria's economic crisis affects Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa, the UK, and other wealthy nations. I urge Nigerians to ignore politicians who campaign and say the Buhari government created the suffering. People will claim I'll defend the government because I'm in it when I speak.
Because I'm inside, I must protect the government. As the cost of living rises, low and middle class agitation, especially among the working class, is global. Not only Nigeria. So ignore politicians who argue the Buhari regime caused your pain and poverty. The regular national letter writer wrote a letter recently. He claimed Buhari lowered Nigeria to 1999. What? The same individual ruled 1999–2007.
How did he make Eldorado? Criticize easily. Spectators can easily declare they would have scored a goal if they were playing. When the ball is in the penalty box, spectators move like players. You find out the game is man-to-man when they throw you in. Man-on-man for 90 minutes. No more talking for clapping from the sidelines. When politicians, especially our elder leaders, write like this, you wonder if they desire peace or war. Dislike it. After reading his letter again, I disagreed with his criticism of a government working hard to end well. Obasanjo's assertion disgraces him.
He also said that Nigeria had declined since his 1999 presidency. Your response?
He's wrong about Nigeria's decline since 1999. While I was governor of Anambra State, President Olusegun Obasanjo said he would build the Second Niger Bridge and sent the late Chairman of Gitto Lodziani to meet me and the governor of Delta State with proposals, including that the two states would pay for it, but he failed to do so due to lack of commitment. After they removed me from the governorship, Obasanjo took Delta State Governor James Ibori, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Peter Obi, and Andy Uba, his 2007 anointed successor for Obi, to turn the sword of the Second Niger Bridge. The bridge was never built during the 2007 PDP presidential campaign.Federal governments didn't. How did you implement the projects?
I introduced President Buhari to South-Easters in 2015. As South-East Zonal Coordinator, I told the General that the bridge was crucial to our people and the entire South up to North Central as we were drafting our campaign manifesto. I answered, "Why not?" when the General asked whether we could. He posed the same question at the Ziks Mausoleum completion and informed me and the late Chuma Azikiwe that if God made him President, he would build the Bridge and finish the abandoned Mausoleum for our people. In our South-East campaign, I highlighted the Second Niger Bridge, Enugu-Onitsha road, and Enugu Airport rehabilitation and remodeling—for which the Federal Government provided the Minister of Aviation N10 billion—as vital infrastructural projects for the zone.
Today the tarmac was repaired and the runway expanded from one to three km with modern night illumination and navigational aids. I took Umuahia-Aba-Enugu-Port Harcourt road. Nearly completed there. The previous government lied about these initiatives. Thus, do you believe the remarks? Look, President Buhari deserves appreciation, but they will say people are starving. Hunger is global. White folks protest hunger and high living costs in Europe and worldwide on the news.
Russia-Ukraine war has caused economic turmoil and hardship worldwide. COVID-19 shut down the planet beforehand. No business occurred. Indoors. This government provided palliatives to informal workers at home. The Igbo adage "Smearing the reputation of a wealthy man is worse than killing him" So Buhari should be left alone and not criticized for anything. Our government is working hard to finish strong and needs Nigerians' support in its last days.
(Source: independent.ng)
