THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE APC AND THE PDP '16 YEAR RULE' ESCAPE ROUTE

"The best way to avoid becoming a scapegoat is to find one"-Warren Eyster

The latest version of the 'PDP massive 16 year damage' song was by the Special Assistant to President Buhari on political matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu.He disclosed in a recent interview how previous administrations doled out farewell gifts of $100,000 or $50,000 at the very least, to politicians and monarchs visiting the Presidential Villa.
While I admit I was intrigued by such a revelation that went as far as disclosing even the 'standard' tip pattern: driver-$500, PA-$1,000 & girlfriend-$200, it didn't have the effect it would have had over me about 7 months ago.
The APC in calling for patience, sings in high pitch about the maladministration of the PDP over the years and as a result, have started to bore a lot of us almost to the point of death.They forget we wouldn't have kicked out the PDP if we didn't already know just how badly led we were.The APC is so buried in its self-righteousness that it fails to notice just how similar it appears to be with the previous governments.Every administration from 1999 till date has asked for 'patience' and each with its own assessment of the damage on ground.
They have all failed to make a decent lemonade out of the lemons they were thrown as each is ever willing to take the convenient 'bad hand dealt' route where excuses and more excuses reign supreme.
While I agree with President Buhari when he says Nigeria has nothing to show for 16 years of oil boom, he has however, given me cause to doubt his competence severally from a very objective perspective.Times when It would be hypocritical and unjust of me to tag along with him to the 'PDP damage' escape route.
There was so much expectation of a drastic cut in the cost of governance primarily due to PMB's promise of doing so when he was elected. As it is, much hasn't been done in that regard if you ask me.
Those who called for an absorption of the Ministry of budget and national planning into the finance ministry were vindicated when the budget padding incident occurred.The Special duties and Niger-Delta ministries are ones we can live without and at worst, should have been integrated into other ministries and not left to gulp precious taxpayers' money.
The Presidential fleet still boasts 9 aircrafts at a time when some of our african brothers with far lesser numbers are selling off all that they have.
Though one must commend the Buhari administration for setting aside a most impressive 30% of the 2016 budget for capital expenditure, the president has failed to lead by example in ensuring the menace of excessive spending on recurrent expenditure is checked by putting a stop to unnecessary appointments in these dire times.
He has not only a special adviser but also a personal assistant on new media as well in addition to his two SAs on media.In line with the thoughts of people like Sen.Ben Murray Bruce, it is better to have a bloated team of economic advisers than of media.At least one or more would advise him to not cite the unsuccesful outcome of a devaluation excercise of the naira in the 70's or 80's as his reason for not considering the option in this time and age.The popular notion is that the quality of a leadership sells it and to worry excessively about public perception technically implies that the leader isn't too confident in his abilities hence the resort to an army of spin-doctors.
A lot of us are starting to laugh hard at our ignorance for daring to think the President  might even work with as little as 19 ministers when he assumed office.
16 years of PDP misrule has nothing to do with his inability to efficiently cut down costs neither is it responsible for all the bad calls that ultimately rub off on our destiny.
I received a message from a friend sometime in March detailing PMB's 'achievements' in less than a year in as president.He listed the huge amount being saved by the removal of fuel subsidy as one of them and I remember arguing that the viability or otherwise of such a move could only be tested when our filling stations had fuel.It would only amount to a good decision when we have an unhindered and sustainable supply of fuel in abundance without the payments because it might very well turn out to be an ill-advised move that would save government a lot of money at the detriment of innocent nigerians and that won't quite add up to a wise call.
Before we got to test the decision, the government started paying N5.84 subsidy on every litre of fuel in a measure that portrayed it not only as confused but also as rash.No one can say the removal wasn't a mistake after a careful look at the whole picture and No, I won't blame the PDP for that.
Its so ironic how one would rate Buhari low on security even after seeing the commendable manner in which he is tackling the nation's number one threat-the boko haram insurgency.Under him, we have watched a reinvigorated military gradually crush the insurgents.But it is sad that a few lamentable situations exist to wipe out every point he scores from the war against insurgency.For instance atrocities of the fulani herdsmen have been allowed to linger for too long unchecked.
After the killings in Agatu and a few others in Ondo and Ibadan, they massacred about 40 people in Enugu just days ago.The herdsmen have gone on a nationwide killing spree and if something is not done fast, we would have a much bigger war to contend with.Quite regrettably, the President hasn't really done much.
The mere fact that a member of his team had to come out to 'remind' us that a statement was issued in that regard all the more confirms that.If Buhari had been consistent in his condemnations and expression of sympathy towards the families of the victims, there would be no doubt as to whether he had ever spoken on the matter or not.
A crisis that has claimed numerous lives and properties and the question was whether the President of the Federal Republic had ever issued a statement regarding it or not?.Pathethic.
The Afenifere while expressing worries over the government's seeming indifference to the wanton killings by the fulani herdsmen across Nigeria in a meeting on Tuesday 26th, called on President Buhari to speak up on the matter and take urgent action.It also went on to reject the preposterous statement credited to the Minister of information, Lai Mohammed that 'government was working silently' towards ridding the country of the problem by demanding that all actions of government be open as people weren't being killed silently.I couldn't agree any more with these assertions. 
Not a few voices condemned the disclosure by the DSS that it had discovered the bodies of five slain herdsmen in the South East because of the weighty security implications accompanying such.The Enugu massacre seems a reprisal killing for those five.
There are reports that there was prior intel of an impending attack in Enugu by about 500 herdsmen yet the DSS could do nothing to prevent it.President Buhari travelled all the way to his village to drag the current DSS boss from retirement for reasons best known to him.Its Buhari's cross to bear, the PDP has nothing to do with these shortcomings.
The current fuel scarcity and poor power supply plaguing us is being attributed to the activities of vandals.Much like the previous administrations, this government has so far failed us on the issue of pipeline security and it is also noteworthy that never have Nigerians had to suffer this much as a result of of vandalized pipelines or installations.
This government is overseeing probably the longest and most hard biting fuel scarcity in our history while our Power generation is at a pitiful 2000+mw.We set a record for ourselves by hitting 0mw power generation at about 12:58 pm on March 31st 2016.
I would have to say the PDP governments appear more skilled in crisis management for the simple reason that they didn't subject us to this much hardship.Corrupt as they may be.
Its high time the President and his gang understand that we wouldn't have voted them in if we didn't know just how bad the PDP years were.Its high time they settle down into the business of 'changing' things rather than reminding us on a daily basis why we kicked out the PDP for them.

BAN ON BLACK MARKET: BETWEEN GOATS AND VAMPIRES

The Kaduna state government has recently banned the roadside selling of fuel in jerry cans popularly refered to as 'black market' in all the 23 local government areas of the state.This is coming on the heels of the ban in Plateau state as well and just before any more states jump on the bandwagon, it is imperative they give it a very hard thought.
If the governments cite legal,environmental or security reasons for doing so at a time when we are experiencing a most scathing fuel scarcity, the common man is ready to cite convenience,accessibility and the indispensability of the commodity in everyday living as his grounds for opposition. Such a move will do the average nigerian more harm than good.
I am talking about the nigerian who has to be at work early in the morning and can't afford a driver to queue up for days waiting to buy fuel.The nigerian who closes late from work and needs to fuel his generator for some respite this hot season.The nigerian who was already finding it difficult to transport himself to work before the already high fares doubled.No government with the best interests of its people at heart,would choose such a time to remember just how illegal or hazardous black market is.
The El Rufai government in particular has even before now displayed a total disregard for the plight of the down trodden by banning street begging for the one reason it seems to love so much-Security.
It was a move that highlighted the plutocratic tendencies of a government that seemed disconnected from the reality on ground.No beggar would choose to be on the streets if he could avoid it and their presence there serves more or less as an emblematization of the deplorable state we are in.El Rufai can appoint as many Special Advisers on persons with disability as he chooses but the one truth remains adequate provision for shelter and food must at least be made before they are taken off the streets.
While criticizing this policy at a time when the issue was still fresh, I ended with the words-"What if it was you and I?.It could be us some day".
And the world has spun to a point where the 'Yous and Is' are now the victims of El Rufai's anti-people policies and I hope to God no other governor subjects his people to this much suffering.
I had cause to be in Kaduna over the weekend and like every other place, most petrol stations in the metropolis don't have fuel while the few that do, barely have enough to sell to half the people waiting.The ban on black market has driven the price of a gallon of fuel to N2500 (at the time of writing this) and that is if you are lucky enough to find an operator willing to sell.
There are a lot lesser number of cars on the roads than i am used to seeing and it wouldn't surprise me if the state chapter of the NLC called a strike soon as workers are bound to find it difficult to resume at work because of the high cost of transportation.
The winds of change have indeed blown as things have changed for the worse.We now generate less than half the amount of electricity we were able to manage under Goodluck Jonathan and a tier of rice costs N750 at the moment.Nigerians are patient with the government more out of a sense of helplessness and than because it has earned it.
The conduct of some key members of the government has no doubt demonstrated a total lack of sincere remorse on their end.From Buhari's deafening silence at a time he needed to address us on the challenges we were facing to Kachikwu's broken promises and 'I am not a magician' declaration.
Not to forget Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on media telling those crying over poor power supply to 'go and fight the vandals' like we didn't vote his boss to do that for us.
It is the responsibility of the government to secure our installations and we deserve a lot of apologies for our present predicament.There wasn't a firmer believer in Buhari than El Rufai and by virtue of flocking with him, he earned the toga of a pro-people politician and shed the hypocritical activist perception people had of him.The people come first and as things stand, we seem to have chased goats out of our barns and allowed vampires into our bedrooms.
Black market may be illegal but you can't ban them when fuel is scarce.It is only right to do so when fuel has been made readily available to those who have no filling station managers to call when they need it.The common man has to admit today that he was living much better under the goats than he is doing presently under the vampires.Parents find it hard to get their kids to school and the retailers just bumped up the prices of goods.
It is very hot down north at this time of the year and with the entire country living on a meagre 2000MW, you couldn't appreciate your generator more.But that just became a luxury as well.The amount it takes to fuel an average family size generator for 4 hours use daily for a whole week is just a few hundreds shy of the minimum wage.
The Kaduna and Plateau state governments must reverse the ban on black market to ease the high cost of living for its people.I am sure Plateau's Operation Safe Haven and Kaduna's security Council wouldn't have recommended such to their state governments if they had fully considered the consequences of doing so.Such an ungodly policy is only justifiable in the three north
eastern states where perhaps it could serve as a strategy aimed at further incapacitating the insurgents.
President Buhari must move fast to ensure innocent nigerians aren't made to suffer more than they already have.He stands to gain a lot personally from doing so as I'm sure he understands just how well public discontent thrives in such places.The frustration ends at his table.
Only a few people complained when he banned the importation of small generator sets popularly refered to as 'I better pass my neighbour' because he seemed to be tackling the power problem head-on at that point in time and soon people will grow tired of the whole 'Patience' vibe and start to ask why our Commander-In-Chief didn't ensure our installations were protected from vandals in the first place.
It always wasn't going to be easy to fix our system, that we understand. But the president must ensure nigerians don't suffer any more than they already have to.