Be frank and dispassionate, are Nigerians better off now?

By Isaac Asabor

According to him: ’’Please in the name of God, be patient with us and forgive us. Tell your friends, brothers, sisters, and children to continue to vote for APC, Tinubu will continue from where we stop.

There is no denying the fact that Nigerians are all the time, more than ever before being inundated with headlines that suggest that the ongoing government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is not doing well. Some of the headlines that can be found through Google Search engine cut across “Nigeria worst under Buhari – PDP governors”, “Buhari Government, Worst In The History Of Nigeria”, “Nigeria’s economy under Buhari worse than 10 years”, “Unemployment rate under Buhari worst in Nigeria’s history” “FACTCHECK: How true is Buhari’s claim that Nigeria is better …”

Besides the foregoing verdicts of condemnation given by the leadership of the opposition party to the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), reputable civil organizations such as the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), and even the World Bank have at one time or the other condemn the government been led by Buhari.

Unashamedly, rather than admit its failure to “Change”

Nigeria’s economy for the benefit of every Nigerian, the leadership of the APC has continued to put a boldface as it defensively keepsexplaining that it has committed more resources to diversify the economy than past Governments. How true the claim remains hazy to comprehend as the dividends therefrom are not in any way reflecting on the general wellbeing of the people.

As often heard from most affiliates of the ruling party, “No past government had invested as much resources, particularly in agriculture as the Buhari government has done.”

Without resorting to denigrating anyone in this context, it is expedient to say in this context that virtually everyone that is affiliated with the ruling party has refused to accept the fact that Nigerians were better off under the PDPled government under the leadership of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. It is obvious that they have refused to acknowledge the stark realities presently being witnessed in ongoing fuel scarcity and the Naira crunch among other anti-people policies that were generated by the ongoing APCled government.

To worsen the fears of not a few Nigerians, the presidential flagbearer of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been campaigning that he will consolidate President Muhammadu Buhari’s achievements if elected to become president, come February 25, 2023, when the presidential election will hold. The presidential aspirant has been buttressing his stand that president Buhari has laid a good foundation for the nation’s prosperity.

In fact, the flagbearer during his campaign in Jos, the Plateau State capital, credited President Muhammadu Buhari for saving Nigeria from “sinking”, and promised to build on the successes of the Buhari administration while he listed infrastructure, agriculture, and the war against terrorists as some areas of achievements.

Ostensibly not done, he said the country was insecure pre-2015, and that Buhari’s intervention was sought.

He said, “We turned to retired Gen. Buhari and he embarked on rehabilitation, recovery, and redeeming of Nigeria. “Nigeria was sinking but Buhari pulled us out and said that Nigeria will not sink in his time and in the time of the APC.”

The former Lagos governor added that terrorists’ flags are no longer visible in local governments and communities.

Despite the adulation showered on Buhari by Tinubu and other stalwarts of the APC, Buhari on Monday, February 6, pleaded to Nigerians to forgive political leaders affiliated with his party who played or are playing key roles in his administration and said that Tinubu will continue where we stop. Buhari made the appeal on Monday while addressing a huge crowd at the Dikko Stadium Katsina for the presidential campaign rally of APC.

He pleaded with Nigerians to forgive and endure the shortcomings of his administration, and assured the next administration of the presidential candidate of the APC, Tinubu will not only correct those shortcomings but continue from wherever he stops.

He blamed the economic downturn in Nigeria on the COVID-19 pandemic and several other challenges, insisting though that his administration made some modest achievements.

According to him: ’’Please in the name of God, be patient with us and forgive us. Tell your friends, brothers, sisters, and children to continue to vote for APC, Tinubu will continue from where we stop.

‘’Ensure your votes go to Tinubu for President and Dikko Radda for Governor of katsina state and to other candidates of the party also.’’

However, without being partisan, not a few Nigerians currently believe that President, Goodluck Jonathan’s government is much better or more enjoyable than the current President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The reason why most Nigerians think so cannot be farfetched as prices of virtually all essential items needed to survive on daily basis have continued to skyrocket in the past 7 years amid soaring rates of unemployment and insecurity.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to urge every Nigerian to be frank and dispassionate in their judgment, and answer the question, “Are Nigerians better off now under Buhari than under Jonathan?

Isaac Asabor is a Public Policy Analyst.