Third anniversary: Afenifere lambasts Tinubu, scores Adminstration low
By Ndukaku Ihe
The pan-Yoruba socio -cultural and political organisation, Afenifere has lambasted President Bola Tinubu’s administration, alleging that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has left Nigeria worst than it met it three years ago when he assumed office.
In a statement titled, Tinubu’s Third year Report: Summum Malum or Summum Bonum and signed by its leader, His Royal Highness, Oba Oladipo Olaitan and National Publicity Secretary, Prince Justice Faloye, Afenifere accused the Tinubu administration of breeding poverty, unemployment and insecurity.
“Afenifere is fearful of the current course of our democracy, and commiserates with Nigerian citizens following three years of the inauguration of this maladministration that has bred poverty, unemployment, mass killings and kidnappings, tampering with democratic Federalism, subjugation of other arms of government etc.
“According to Chapter Two Section 14 of the Nigerian Constitution, the primary purpose of governance is welfare and security. Across the world, Citizens are motivated by their governments either with Summum Malum – fear of Ultimate Evil – violent death, poverty, tyranny, or Summum Bonum – promise of Ultimate Good – homes, prosperity, security etc” the group said in the statement.
According to Afenifere, for an administration that came to power on a mantra of renewed hope, one can only dare to hope that the country’s electoral system could do the right thing by the next Inauguration Day.
The apex Yoruba socio- cultural and political organisation lamented the insecurity in the country, corruption and economic stagnation accusing the present administration of drawing Nigeria backwards.
“The nightmare of ultimate evil has become a reality under the APC administration with teachers being beheaded, children being kidnapped and villages ransacked and displaced. The ongoing kidnapping of students and teachers and gruesome murders in Kwara, Oyo and other states is a painful reminder of the Tinubu government’s culpable wilful negligence of not restructuring our security architecture, especially the failure to create State and Community Police.
“Nigerians can’t but question whether there is an unholy pact between the APC and terrorists following the admittance by some APC stalwarts that they imported terrorists to embarrass President Jonathan out of office in 2015, after which insecurity moved wholesale to President Buhari’s Northwest region, and now to President Tinubu’s Southwest region.
“Previously, we heard of politicians sleeping in coffins for political pacts with their godfathers, now our whole democracy is wearing coffin shoes under APC governance”, the group said.
On the state of Nigeria’s economy, the group stressed that “the ultimate evil is also being witnessed economically, as a result of President Tinubu’s neo-liberal economics that has resulted in the poverty rate increasing to 63% and debt of N65.9 trillion for cost of governance and tokenist development projects.
Despite the concerted efforts and propaganda to cover the true state of the economy, the unimplemented budgets, false revenue and employment statistics, two out of three Nigerians are facing dire circumstances of lack of food and secured shelter.
“Nigeria ranks as the world’s second-largest extreme poor population after India. We also have the highest homelessness in the world with 30 million homeless people. Also, Nigeria now has the world’s lowest life expectancy rate at 54.6 years, 20 years lower than the global average. Nigeria also has one of the world’s highest infant mortality rate.
Therefore, Nigerians feel threatened by the replacement of a finance minister that oversaw the drastic fall in living standards with an undertaker tax man bent on sapping blood from our anemic economy.
Afenifere has insisted from the first day in office that the ideological position of neoliberal economic policies being adopted can never yield good fruits. It is known to breed poverty, great income inequalities, prebendalist governance and ethnic conflicts”
Afenifere rued that “while the government appeals to the people to make economic sacrifices for the unworkable reforms, government corruption and cost of governance increases”
It cited the recent N800b campaign finance allegedly deducted from federal allocations to states by APC governors and allegedly deposited with one of the governors as how corruption has eaten deep into Nigeria’s fabric, describing the situation as immoral, illegal and a threat to democratic institutions.
“This administration has thrown all caution to wind from allocating contracts without due to process to companies belonging to friends and family, to corrupting all arms of government.
Corrupt governors currently standing trial for embezzlement are unashamedly being given tickets by party concensus shows the administration is irredeemably corrupt”, Afenifere said.
It described the country’s electoral system as “electoral deformities” and alleging that the continued institutional bullying of opposition parties, labour and student unions is a defiant march towards fascism.
“The independence of our electoral and judicial institutions are being compromised. Instead of our electoral system evolving to a higher state, new reforms have actually degraded its moral compass.
“Summarily, in this last year of the administration, Afenifere and other well meaning Nigerians can only have the audacity of hope of a free and fair elections. Afenifere hereby implores the Tinubu administration to change its course towards a One Man rule by allowing credible opposition parties and voices to exist, in order to allow a free and fair election, and to prevent unsavory change and total derailment of our democracy”, the group added.
