The candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Mr Adewole Adebayo and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) have attacked the administration of President Bola Tinubu for visiting economic woes on Nigerians.
Speaking separately, Adebayo and the ACF said the president had failed in all governance indices.
The SDP stalwart said part of the president’s failures is his refusal to speak to Nigerians or even consult before taking major policy decisions that affect Nigerians.
He said the president’s attitude was responsible for the appointment of ministers who do not add any value to his administration.
“The only thing many of the ministers know about is the route to their offices; to engage an issue on their mandate is difficult. Apart from going to the weekly executive council meeting and somebody is asked to address the media, try to track decisions they make in the federal executive council, and you will see that the majority of it are mere approvals, not policy. They are like a tender’s board. They have turned themselves into a tender’s board, where contracts are taken to them,” he said.
He also said matter-of-factly that the government had failed to secure the lives and property of Nigerians.
“When life and property are safe, governance is taking place even if the president doesn’t talk. If the civil servants are delivering on services and they are meeting their targets; if people have better electricity and better healthcare; if the rule of law is working through the judiciary; if the industry is working, and industry this time, is in two branches — professionals like lawyers, nurses — and productive industry like manufacturing, agriculture and extractive industry; if those ones are working, whether people like your face or not, the evidence will be clear that governance is taking place. But, these are not there at present,” he added.
Commenting on the recent spat between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Tinubu about the current government gradually making Nigeria become a failed state, Adebayo said Obasanjo might not have got most of the things right during his time, he was not afraid to bring in talented Nigerians into his government.
“The difference is that Obasanjo had efficiency, but he knew how to govern even when he had bad policy. He had the presence of mind to govern, compared to those who are there now who don’t have the presence of mind to govern. Obasanjo has the time to consult. He has the ability to explain; he was not too afraid of bringing talents to his government.
“That doesn’t mean you will agree with him on all his policies. After all, if he was successful, many of the problems the subsequent administrations met on ground wouldn’t have been met. But, that doesn’t disqualify him from pointing out what is wrong. More so, he has been in that office a number of times. Even if you are doing what he has done before, that is not an excuse,” he submitted.
For its part, the ACF condemned the president’s policies saying they had worsened the already poor condition of the northerners.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its national executive council meeting held yesterday in Kaduna and signed by its spokesman, Mr Tukur Muhammed-Baba, the forum said Tinubu’s economic policies programmes were insensitive to the precarious existential conditions of the north.
It advised the president to review his economic reforms and give them a human face, insisting that north’s interests are best served by northerners.
“Livelihoods are currently dependent on micro activities. The region faces acute and chronic food insecurity; its youths lack education and skills training. Daunting as these may be, they can be reversed. The time to think big is now.
“Notwithstanding the parlous state of Arewa’s glaring challenging economic conditions, the policies of the current federal government have continued to make matters much worse, with little indications of needed sensitivity to the precarious existential conditions of Arewa people.
“Succinctly stated, economic reforms, while, indeed, desirable, should not impoverish the same people that they are meant to serve; the people may not be alive to reap the putative benefits,” the ACF said.
The group lamented the food crisis and poor power supply in the country saying: “People should take responsibility about our fast growing population. Public policy and the law should be adopted to achieve a balance.
“Poor electricity supply will continue to hamper efforts to ameliorate poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment in the region. These have to be addressed with utmost urgency.”
Like Adebayo, the ACF decried the leadership recruitment process, saying: “Leadership selection appears flawed, which allows so many people without competence and/or experience to rise to positions of power and authority.
“This has to be addressed. There is also a tendency to base politics on personalities, not issues, and this has compounded the sorry state of affairs.”
The forum called on the president to review, reassess, re-evaluate and re-order the direction of his economic policies with a view to giving it the needed human face.
It also called on the governors of the 19 northern states to adopt a strong and coordinated approach to policy planning and implementation in the areas of security, education, skills acquisition, agricultural production, and health.
Besides, the ACF urged the federal government to be receptive to criticism and suggestions, “not only in line with the principles of democracy but also because they improve, not retard, the policy process for the ultimately benefit of the people”.
It further tasked the northern elites in all spheres of life to take it as a point of duty to counter the negative narratives about the region, and also imbibe the spirit of community service, individually and collectively.
