One year in office: How Tinubu has failed Nigerians – Analysts

The 2015 presidential candi­date of the National Con­science Party (NPC), Chief Martin Onovo, has described President Bola Tinu­bu’s government as an ad hoc re­gime, noting that its performance after one year in office has been completely catastrophic, reports Sunday Independent.

Onovo, currently, the Head, Policy Positions, Movement for Fundamental Change (MFC), stated: “They have failed woeful­ly on all counts.

“They have failed to improve national security. More citizens are being kidnapped and killed by Islamic terrorists across the entire country, from the North­east to the North central to the Southeast and to the Northwest.

“Even the Nigerian Army has gone rogue, destroying the homes of innocent citizens in Enugu State and in Delta State.

“With the sectional appoint­ments and contract awards, they have divided the country further.

“On the economy, they have completely ruined the economy. Nigeria, formerly the largest economy in Africa, is now sliding to fourth largest.

“Our GDP has dropped drasti­cally, inflation is unprecedented, unemployment is unprecedent­ed, national debt is unprecedent­ed and the Naira has been deval­ued by about 70% in just one year, compared with Gen. Abacha re­gime that maintained the Naira value stable for five years.

“Corruption is now the pri­mary purpose of the govern­ment. Using the AfDB median rate for road construction, the Lagos Coastal road is over-in­flated thirty times the value.

“This is the most corrupt con­tract in the history of Nigeria. Nigeria is collapsing.

“That contract violates the Appropriation Act. It violates the National Procurement Act. It violates the Oath of Office and it violates the prohibition of corruption in the Nigerian Constitution. It is a celebration of lawlessness and impunity.

“Jagaban Tinubu must use this anniversary to confess his catastrophic failure and move to restart Nigeria by sending a bill to the National Assembly to restructure Nigeria using the template of the 1963 Constitution. Nigeria is collapsing. Clearly.”

Hon. Charles Anike, the National President of Eastern Union (EU), a political pressure group of the Old Eastern Region, stated: “The truth is that there is nothing to assess Tinubu’s one year in Presidential office, ex­cept if one is asked to point out the monumental errors in his ill-fated leadership.

“So far, we have only seen a government whose focus is just to change guards (it has been appointed galore), changing Fu­lanis with the emerging Yoruba elites. Another is the alarming rate of foreign loans.

“Our economy is already in tatters and rags, with helpless citizens dying of hunger.”

Dr Kalu Ofon Emmanuel, Lagos State Chapter President, lnternational Human Rights Pro­tection Service, Naples, Florida, USA, stated: “Yes, soon it will be one year after Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was inaugurated as the country’s president.

“I would not emphatically state that his Renewed Hope Agenda is really fulfilling the hope of Nigerians for a better Nigeria.

“To himself, he is trying his very best, but his best is abso­lutely underscored by over 200 million Nigerians.

“His best is not good enough to call for celebration. People who are living in abject poverty, “suf­fering and smiling”, those whose buildings and businesses were demolished, people his govern­ment has mercilessly hit below the belt, the destitute, those who cannot afford a square meal a day.

“The orphans, those in Cor­rectional Centres, beggars…are not happy with the governance.

“I am yet to see the Renewed Hope Agenda has positive effect and impact on the lives of Nige­rians.

“Renewed Hope Agenda should not just be a policy framework, rather, it should be a statement of commitment, a covenant between the govern­ment and the people.

“Any government policies that cannot put food on the table of Nigerians is not a favourable policy.

“Insecurity is still on the rise on a daily basis and economic backwardness has affected the four walls of the country which has seen our youths migrating to other countries and many of them are regretting such deci­sions consequently we have bad economy, bad government, bad policies, and unfavourable deci­sion making government.

“It is one thing to seize power at all cost and another thing to surprise the people by having a good delivery agenda to trans­form the economy and have their accolades and leave the stage when the ovation is high.

“The president should face re­alities. Celebration of one year in the office is good. But, what is the substantial evidence, tangi­ble infrastructural developments to showcase?

“Importers cannot import be­cause of high foreign exchange rates and devaluation of Naira. If Mr President only has sy­cophants around him, he may think that his government is doing pretty well. But, of course not.

“My candidate advice to Mr President is: After the celebra­tion of one year in office and protection of life, let him go back to the drawing board and design how to move the country forward for better economic ver­tical growth.

“He should save Nigerians from starvation and proffering hope to the hopeless. We don’t have any other country called our own than Nigeria, which we cannot run away from.

“Let Mr. President fix the economy well, if he truly meant well for the country and the peo­ple.”

However, Prof. John Eb­homien, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and economist, noted that “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu adminis­tration came into office when the nation’s economy was going through so many challenges of high inflation, high exchange rates, high interest rates, inse­curity and other socio-econom­ic problems that require urgent fixing.

Prof. Ebhomien, a former World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) expert, stressed: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be commended for taking bold policies that would help to overcome the myriads of problems confronting the economy.

“The removal of the oil subsi­dy, though painful, is good policy, but other measures needs to be taken to alleviate the effects of the subsidy removal on oil.

“The CBN policy to combat inflation, high foreign exchange rates and price stability for sus­tainable development are com­mendable.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinu­bu has done well in the securi­ty of lives and properties, road construction, healthcare deliv­ery, investment drive, aviation, foreign affairs, communications, defence, interior, finance, infor­mation to name just a few.

“My general assessment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is good. My ad­vice to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is to re-jig his cabinet for effective service delivery.

“Nigerians should be patient with Mr. President to fix the economy.”