02 Jun 2008 |
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He was in office for eight years and for eight years he performed abysmally, yes I agree. And so were all the governors and all the local government chairmen. He promised us good roads but left us with potholes and gullies and so did all the governors and local government chairmen less Chris Ngige. He promised us hygienic and constant running water but left us with typhoid-infected sachets of pure water and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised us 21st century education but left us with 13th century education and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He swore by his life to give us constant electricity but left us with constant darkness and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. For what stopped some oil rich governors like Ibori, Odili, Attah, etc from providing that for their citizenry. He promised us full employment but left us will full unemployment and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to make our streets safe so that our children can once again dance the moonlight dance but left us with our streets unsafe and our children trapped indoors and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to make our economy the best in Africa and self-sufficient but left us with one of the worst economies in Africa and the largest importer of everything in Africa and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to make our hospitals a place for getting treated when ill but rather exchanged our hospitals for mortuaries and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to make our skies safe but rather left us with one of the dangerous skies on earth and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to rid us of the HIV epidemic but rather left us with HIV pandemic and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to uphold the rule of the law and swore to respect the constitution but turned the law upside down and bastardised the constitution and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to reduce infant mortality but left us with infant fatality and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised to reverse brain drain but rather accelerated brain drain and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. He promised loads more and delivered nil and so did all the governors and local government chairmen. Whilst in office, he was everybody’s darling now he is out of office he is everybody’s enemy. Public enemy number one. What about all the governors and local government chairmen who equally played a role in the last eight years? Which state is better than Nigeria? Which local government is better than Nigeria? They all had enormous resources at their disposal just like Abuja. But hate him, love him, thrash him. He has a good side to him and we shall applaud him for that. He is a detribalised Nigerian. His constituency was the whole country: North, South, East and West. His people hated him for he did not have an Oduduwa agenda. The North hated him for he did not have an Islamic agenda. The East hated him for he did not have a MASSOB agenda. The South-South hated him for he believes (and rightly so) that the resources of Nigeria are for Nigerians as a whole. The Igbo’s occupied the highest offices in the land under him – think of the Soludo’s, the Okonjo-Iweala’s, the Oby Ezekwesili’s, the Aguiyi-Ironsi’s, the Irene Chigbue’s, the Andy Uba’s, the Osita Ogbu’s. Yet they hated him because he banned frivolous importation of goods like biscuits, tooth picks, etc based on the advice giving to him by his Igbo economic team. The South-South enjoyed the largest share of the federation revenue for he allowed them 13% derivation but like Oliver Twist, they wanted more at the expense of their Nigerian brethrens and so they hated him for not giving them that more. He allowed Sharia to thrive in the Islamic North but they wanted to dip the Koran in the Niger and they hated him for not allowing that. He prospered the children of Oduduwa by banning frivolous importation of goods thereby making their comatose factories thrive and yet they hated him because he moved them away from parochial politics to mainstream politics. Yet it is in their own interest for Nigerian politics cannot be played from Ibadan or Esa Oke. Yes, he failed us in a lot of ways just like all the governors and local government chairmen. But he is a true nationalist and let us all applaud him for that. For Nigeria was truly his constituency. To God be the glory.
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