BY PAUL AMUNEGA
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Sunday continued their war of attrition over the current health status of Nigeria.
The opposition party urged the APC to accept the tragic descent of the country into a comatose state that is in dire need of urgent blood transfusion to survive.
The party dismissed as arrogant APC’s trivialization of the nation’s tragic descent to a failed state further confirms that the country is on autopilot with nobody in charge.
The Secretary, Caretaker Convention Planning Committee of APC, Mr. John Akpanudoedehe, in a reaction, through a statement made available to Extraordinairepeople News Online, on Sunday averred, that Nigeria is nowhere close to becoming a failed state.
According to him, the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration is not oblivious to the country’s challenges and is visibly and frontally addressing them.
His argument: “From the economy to security, it is easy to sum up Nigeria with some recent recorded security incidents and the economic downturn.
However, this government has displayed the political will and capacity to contain any criminal/terrorist activity and return the economy to growth.
“President Buhari’s administration which sees the urgent need to have a better policing system for the country and is embarking on sweeping police reforms and supporting community policing, is definitely not governing a country close to becoming a failed state.”
However, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, who in sweeping objection to APC’s defence, said: “They should advise President Buhari to take a back seat and allow competent hands to manage critical sectors of our national life before it is too late.”
He asserted that the presidency’s conceited response to the Financial Times editorial on the sorry state of affairs in our nation under President Buhari also further confirms the position of PDP that there is complete leadership failure in Nigeria.”
Ologbodiyan, averred that the Financial Times had in a December 22, 2020 stated, among others, “The definition of a failed state is one where the government is no longer in control. By this yardstick, Africa’s most populous country is teetering on the brink.”
He expressed sadness “that the Buhari Presidency prefers to rebuff wise counsel and continue to drive our nation to the precipice instead of seeking help for the sake of millions of traumatized Nigerians.”
“Indeed, the editorial by Financial Times is only stating the obvious, as our nation under President Buhari has presented all the trappings of a failed state including having a rudderless government with a dysfunctional command structure that cannot guarantee security, manage our economy or even perform very simple tasks of governance.
“Our great nation now tends towards a leaderless society where terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, marauders and vandals have taken the lead, running riotous across our land while those who promised to protect lives and property have gone into hiding in Aso Presidential Villa.
“Under President Buhari life is fast tilting towards Hobbesian state of nature; driven by the combined negatives of an incompetent and unconcerned Presidency and a reckless, kleptomaniac and dysfunctional ruling party that is more interested in power-grabbing instead of governance.
“President Buhari has badly failed in governance to the extent that over 600 students could be kidnapped by bandits in his home state, Katsina, a few hours after his security machinery took over the state, where he had gone to holiday.
“Under Buhari’s watch, our command structure has become extremely weak that government officials now patronize bandits and rationalize acts of terrorism to the extent of blaming victims for not obtaining permission before living their normal lives as was the case in the 43 farmers beheaded by terrorists in Borno state.
“Under this failed administration, outlaws who had been pushed to the fringes by previous administration have resurged and taken control of some parts of our nation where they reportedly have to give their consent to residents before they can conduct weddings, naming ceremonies or operate their markets.
“It now takes Presidents of neighboring countries like Chadian President Idris Derby to personally lead his troops into our territories to rout out insurgents and free Nigerian communities and our soldiers held captive by terrorists.
“On the economy front, the Buhari administration has wrecked our once robust economy, destroyed the value of our naira and turned our nation into world poverty capital, where life has become so unbearable that compatriots now resort to suicide and slavery mission abroad as options.
It therefore called on the officials of the government to advise President Buhari to take a back seat and allow competent hands to manage critical sectors of our national life before it is too late.
Akpanudoedehe, maintained however, that the Buhari government is not oblivious to the country’s challenges and is visibly and frontally addressing them.
The statement added: “From the economy to security, it is easy to sum up Nigeria with some recent recorded security incidents and the economic downturn. However, this government has displayed the political will and capacity to contain any criminal/terrorist activity and return the economy to growth.
“Buhari’s administration which sees the urgent need to have a better policing system for the country and is embarking on sweeping police reforms and supporting community policing, is definitely not governing a country close to becoming a failed state.
Amid the COVID-19 induced economic slowdown, President Buhari’s administration which is stimulating the economy by preventing business collapse; supporting labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture; creating jobs through infrastructural investments in roads, rails, bridges; promoting manufacturing and local production at all levels to attain self-sufficiency in critical sectors of the economy, is definitely not governing a country close to becoming a failed state.
According to him, the Buhari’s administration which is implementing one of the world’s largest and far-reaching social investment programmes targeting the very poor and other vulnerable groups, including women and persons living with disabilities through pro-poor spending, is definitely not governing a country close to becoming a failed state.
He said Nigerians will recall the ignoble pastime of past administrations which will rather bury its head in sand and spin conspiracies in the face of insecurity and engage in voodoo economics to hoodwink Nigerians while national resources were stolen and diverted to political cronies. Those days are gone.
While PDP and their hirelings engage in their unfortunate and apparently orchestrated attacks on the Armed Forces and other security services, the APC will rather support their efforts and charge them to do more to further degrade the capacity of terrorists and other criminal elements to attack soft targets.
