A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, Nde Alexander Molwus, has carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari over his recent claim that he inherited no enablement from the 16 years of the political grouping’s leadership of the country.
Molwus said it was time for Buhari to admit that he was bereft of ideas on how to run the country.
But a group, Global Excellence Foundation (GEF), has tasked Nigerians to make the best of the ‘Change begins with me’ campaign by setting direction for government at all levels.
In a statement issued by its country director, Prof. Yemi Ola yesterday in Abuja, the body noted that Buhari has returned the key to good governance back to Nigerians who must now leverage it to demand accountability from the current and subsequent governments.
It said: “We must now as conscientious Nigerians improve on the way we do things so that those in office have no option than to follow the dominant mindset and prevailing national attitude that would arise from such.
“The less than optimistic reception to this campaign from a few quarters is understandable considering that many Nigerians have never known of a well-articulated national ethos for their entire lifetime. Those who have such mindset must however realise that this is an opportunity they must snap up as there may not be another government that would leave citizens with the initiative for change in the immediate future.
“By cashing in on this invitation to drive the change Nigeria needs, we would be able to set standards for those in public office in accordance with the personal benchmarks we are willing to impose on ourselves in our individual capacities. The major task therefore is for us to do critical stocktaking that will ensure we upgrade our national psyche to beat even the best of global standards.”
In a chat with journalists in Jos, Molwus said: “It is most uncharitable for Buhari to make such a claim, and it appears whenever the President speaks, he does not rely on truth or verifiable information in the public domain.
“How would any person agree that in 16 years, there is no one or single positive thing that happened to enrich the profile of legacies in this country? Why is he limiting the socio-economic stagnation to the past 16years and overlooking his coup constituency that took over from him in 1985?”
Molwus said it was regrettable that a whole President will lie to the nation and misinform the citizenry, “even when he has not been able to come up with any intervention programme as workable and effective as the SURE-P programme which he inherited from the Goodluck Jonathan administration.”
Molwus went on: “Besides, Buhari is talking of bumper agricultural harvest this year because of the brilliant turn around articulated and implemented in that sub-sector by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, and he has been commissioning projects in other sub-sectors as railway transportation which were neither conceived nor initiated by his administration. So, what is Buhari really talking about?”
He advised Buhari not to “continue to bore the citizenry already disgusted with his dismal performance by attempting to hold past administrations responsible for his ineptitude, but should rise to the occasion by exhibiting some pragmatism in governance such as arresting the outbreak of Kwashiokor epidemic in the North East region caused by the fraudulent diversion of relief materials by a corrupt All Progressives Party (APC) leadership.”
Molwus alleged that Buhari’s mismanagement of the war against corruption has led to investor fright and investment flight with negative implications for the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He warned that the economic recession would worsen in the days ahead because the Buhari administration has not known how to go about reversing the trend.
