TheCable

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is indisputably and indubitably going to have a lot of problems with Nigerians on the condition that he wins, because he daily makes promises (that he knows cannot fulfill) as general Buhari was making promises when he too was thirsty and hungry for power. There is nothing politicians cannot promise when they are thirsty for power! They can promise that the Queen of England would become a Nigerian on the condition that they are voted into power. Atiku should be cautioned by those who are being paid to manage him, because he can never deliver everything he has promised Nigerians, even in eight years!

A year ago, the Governor Nasir el-Rufai committee on True Federalism submitted its beautiful-report to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), calling for more devolution of powers to states. The committee suggested that ten (10) items be moved from the Exclusive Legislative List to the concurrent List. The items the el-Rufai led committee recommended to be moved are: Foods, Drugs, Poison, Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances; Fingerprints and Identification of Business names; Labour; Mines and Minerals, including oil fields, oil mining, geographical surveys and natural gas; Police; Prisons; Public Holidays (to be classified as National Public Holidays and State Public Holidays); Railways and ; Stamp Duties.

Receiving the report, the former National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun said that by middle of February, 2018, all structures of the party would have met, and consider the report. It is more than a year now that the former Chairman of the ruling party said that all structures of the party would have met. It shows that the APC as a political party and the arrow-head of that political party cannot be trusted.

I wonder what is delaying the report from being implemented, because John Oyegun himself said that the el-Rufai led committee on restructuring has made it so easy for the report to be put into action. Hear what he said: “what I will promises you, Mr. Chairman (el-Rufai) and members of the committee who have put in so much hard-work—you have not only provided the details, but you have gone ahead to provide the mechanism for implementation both in terms of law and necessary presidential action, is that this report is going to get the expeditious consideration of this party, the APC. I am going to promise that before the middle of February, it would have been considered and decided upon by the major structures of this party, the NEC, the caucus of the party. And whatever is thereafter agreed, will be presented to the authorities as considered views and decisions of the APC for appropriate implementation.” Till today, nothing has been done. It shows they do not respect the good people of Nigeria and anyone who does not respect us does not deserve our collective respect.

Once again, any sincere government shouldn’t find the el-Rufai’s report on restructuring hard as diamond to implement but over the years in Nigeria, I have found out that when a government does not want to get something done, it would go ahead to set up a committee for it, so that the citizenry can stop agitating for it. During the reign of Obasanjo, many committees were set up, submitting various reports, gathering dust somewhere in Aso Rock, probably because OBJ or some ‘owners’ of Nigeria were not interested in those nation-moving-forward-reports. I have said it before and I will say it again, Nigeria does not need new ideas to truly move forward, I am of the opinion that everything Nigeria needs to become great is already on some tables, gathering dust! Also, during the time of late Yar’Adua, some committees were formed and till he passed on, nothing was done about those committees. How about the administration of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan? A lot of tax-payers money was wasted as an effect of many committees he formed that he never made use of their reports. This is the culture of waste in Aso Rock and Buhari is also currently in power to maintain the status-quo.

One word that generations unborn in Nigeria will find almost impossible to define is integrity. It is one word that has been grossly abused by those in power—people whose mouths and legs do not match. When men and women of integrity promise something, they get it done, no matter how hard it is. Based on what the former Chairman of the APC said, the administration of Buhari lacks integrity and it deserves to be heavily punished by the good people of Nigeria. In nation building, it is a sin to retain in power those whose mouths and legs do not match. Nigeria and Nigerians need men and women of true honor and integrity!

Our politicians have not fulfilled their varied previous promises, but they are gallivanting all over Nigeria, promising new ones and those who are supposed to know better are cheering them on, wishing and praying for a great country. One of the major promises of the ruling party, APC is restructuring and most Nigerians voted for PMB because of it and the APC and PMB have failed to deliver it. And until Nigerians start to punish those who lack honor and integrity, we would never truly move forward as a nation.

For the umpteenth time, where exactly is the report of el-Rufai on restructuring? On whose table is it, gathering dust? Or has it been thrown into the river of forgetfulness, as other reports before it? Anyone who says that Nigeria does not need restructuring can never have my respect and that of other teeming Nigerians.