Under Tinubu, Nigerians are seen as a nation under the control of terrorists, knaves, and recidivists. We are now the laughingstock among other nations. We in Diaspora know how others see us. In the last 365 days Tinubu has stayed outside the country 88 days and yet his frequent travels seem to be for sight-seeing: no effects on our image or the economy.
Performance appraisal is necessary to gauge performance in every organization. It should be done with certain regularity to help the organization to grow. It is on the basis of this that I want to join the many other concerned Nigerians to look at the performance or non-performance the current regime in Nigeria headed by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Already members of his propaganda team have gone ahead to big the drum and sound the trumpet to celebrate Tinubu’s performance. But for appraisal to be accepted as credible it should come from a neutral third party.
A cursory look at the evaluation criteria shows that Tinubu government has performed woefully in the past one year. First, the government to power through a controversial election that was validated through a compromised judicial process that kept the nation bewildered at the charade and abracadabra that played at the courts. So, the government came, a one of my colleagues would put it, with heavy legitimacy and credibility burden. Unfortunately, the government has not done anything to lift this burden. Most of the decisions and actions are not only questionable; they are objectionable. One would have expected that the government with a take step to try to unite the nation factionalized under the previous obnoxious regime by forming a government of national unity but again nobody gives what he has not. Only a thief does. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu hasn’t the patriotic zeal to unite the nation. He came with a vengeful mind set and primordial sentiments. Thus, in the past one year under the Lion of Bourdilon, Nigeria is witnessing the most sectional government in the annals of our political history. 95% strategic political appointment goes to one ethnic group – the Yoruba tribe – where Tinubu comes from in what has been described as the Yorubanization of Nigeria. The cries of marginalization and victimization have risen to the high heavens as the government has embarked on target demolition of people’s property in Lagos and Abuja in what is seen as a move to punish and victimize those that did not vote for them.
Under Tinubu, projects and policies are churned out recourse to their concomitant effects. On the day he was sworn in he announced the withdrawal of subsidy from petroleum products without plans to cushion the effects thereby throwing the Nigerian economy into disarray.
PMS now sells for #700 from #145 under Buhari, Dollar price hovers between #1500 and #2000 as against #420 in the last regime. And so are the prices of consumer products that now out if the reach of the common man. Economic growth is stagnated, and unemployment rate is over 30% shooting up crime rate and making our youths besiege foreign embassies in search of visas to jet out of the country. National debt stock is over #100trillion as Tinubu as Tinubu keeps borrowing and frittering money on frivolities.
There are obvious cases if misplaced priorities. Foreign direct investment has declined because investors have lost confidence in the Nigeria hostile business environment. Companies are divesting and moving their funds to investment-friendly countries. There is no clear-cut economic policy to lift the economy out of the doldrums. The movement of the operations of the Central Bank and some parastatals from Abuja to Lagos; a move that is questionable in all ramification has not improved the operational efficiency of those agencies.
Tinubu has not been able to tackle any of the problems that the All Progressives Congress (APC) regime to which he is part of foisted on the nation. The problem of insecurity has worsened in the last one year that Tinubu has been in the saddle. Insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and all sorts of violent crimes are commonplace. Nigerians live in fear in the Hobbesian state Of nature where life short brute and nasty. Farmers cannot go to farm for fear of bandits and those who go pay tolls to the bandits to be able to access their farms while our security operatives seem hamstrung. Our highways are now death traps as dare-devil criminals operate unhinged despite the presence of security officers.
Under Tinubu, Nigerians are seen as a nation under the control of terrorists, knaves, and recidivists. We are now the laughingstock among other nations. We in Diaspora know how others see us. In the last 365 days Tinubu has stayed outside the country 88 days and yet his frequent travels seem to be for sight-seeing: no effects on our image or the economy.
Corruption in Nigeria is worsening by day. The Tinubu government is wasting time meddling in matters of no consequence to the general interest of the nation because it is fixated on holding on to power beyond 2027.
Politics, governance, and leadership should be about the people. Public Office should be about promoting common Good and justifiable actions. What Tinubu and his team have done in the past one year is complete disservice to the nation that is down and yearning fir rescue and help. Tinubu has further compounded our woes by his vengeful and ill-thought-out policies. And from what we have seen, he has no clues or the willingness to work for our common goals.
Without gainsaying, I can pointedly say that his interest is to remain in power and reward those that will help him retain it and intimidate and oppress those that will oppose him. Despite the campaigns, the rhetoric and the propaganda in the media, the facts are glaring. Tinubu hasn’t the capacity, the zeal, the qualification, or the pedigree to lead a heterogenous entity like Nigeria. Arise O compatriots and rescue your country from the brinks.
Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
[email protected]
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK