“My struggle to deliver Nigeria from the power of darkness has, many a times, earned me the wrath and vengeance of crooks and thieves. What I want to assure everyone in this room and across the length and breadth of this vast country is that I will do my best for you.”
These were the words of the Presidential candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari when he addressed the Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) today in Abuja.
He reminded Nigerians once again of the great crisis the country is going through in various sectors which he summarised into three: security, the state of the economy and corruption.
General Buhari made it clear that these three which have formed a terrible troika, “must be tackled all at once before we can achieve any meaningful progress.”
The APC Presidential flag bearer regretted that despite the federal government’s defence budget that has gulped over $32.88 billion in the past five years, the security situation in this country has remained ever dire.
“Today, Nigerians have to endure, not just terrorist attacks in the North, but militancy in the Niger Delta, communal violence in the Middle Belt, cult wars in the South, and kidnappings, armed robberies, and common acts of thuggery throughout the country. Most are left to fend for themselves. Those who turn to the police, the army or any other state security agencies usually have the means and personal connections to buy help and protection. Those who don’t, simply move on, resigned. The bitter ones may form vigilante groups, others join mobs that dispense jungle justice on suspects and scapegoats alike. Too many believe they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, and the most alienated are easy prey for terrorists, militants, and thugs.”
On economy, General Buhari recalled that a few weeks ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took monetary actions to reduce the pressure on the Naira by devaluing the currency and increasing interests rates – both directly and indirectly, by raising interest rates and restricting the amount banks can lend from their available cash.
These actions, he admitted, is necessary to reduce the slide in the currency, but that they have reduced the amount of goods the ordinary Nigerian can purchase with the money he or she has.
“We are likely to experience a rise in the prices of all goods, especially fuel, bread and foodstuff. The hard times ahead will affect Nigerians in every part of our country, 67 percent of whom already live on less than N200 per day.
“Other challenges facing Nigerians today include youth unemployment, a lack of social services, corruption and poor governance. Nigeria needs a group of people who know what to do about these problems. They must have the competence, the experience, the know-how, the leadership capacity and, most especially, the courage to move Nigeria forward. APC is that group.
“An APC government at the centre will treat Labour as a partner in moving the nation forward. Our plan to restore good governance, efficient and effective public sector stands to benefit the country’s labour force perhaps more than any other subgroup.”
Buhari said that in line with APC’s manifesto, “we will identify and promote growth of industries and give incentives for the use of local content. An APC government will protect and respect labourer’s right to organize, guaranteeing the rights to collective bargaining in good faith in law. We will promote new skills; equip youth for a modern economy through a network of local technology institutions to provide free training in courses for the unemployed.
“But we cannot do any of any of these things alone. We need your support. That is my purpose of being here in your midst today. As you all know I am aspiring for the office of president of Nigeria, not just to hold an office, but to join you in securing and rebuilding a nation, our nation.
“I pray that you will support me in this quest. I hope that you will give me a chance. Together, you and I can start to build a peaceful, secure and prosperous Nigeria of our dreams.”
Full text of the speech is reproduced here:
Let me begin by saying thank you to all of you for giving me the opportunity to address this year’s delegates congress of the Nigeria Labour Congress. I want to also congratulate you who have travelled from near and far, braving bad roads, traffic jams and delayed airlines to be here for the congress.
I know you made this journey for a good reason. You came here because you believe in what this country can be. That is to say, you all believe in CHANGE.
You believe that the labour of our heroes past and present shall never be in vain. You believe that our hopes and dreams can become reality. You believe in a nation bound in freedom, peace and unity. You believe that we can rebuild the broken walls. You believe that our great country can set a standard for all of Africa to see. I pray that you will give me the opportunity to play a part in bringing about this CHANGE that the All Progressives Congress, the APC, so strongly desires for our country, Nigeria.
As most of you know, I am not a novice when it comes to participating in the struggle to deliver Nigeria from the power of darkness. Many times, my efforts have earned me the wrath and vengeance of crooks and thieves. What I want to assure everyone in this room and across the length and breadth of this vast country is that I will do my best for you.
Once again, Nigeria is in crisis. Our country is facing grievous challenges in numerous sectors. In the light of recent events, the three most pertinent at this time are security, the state of the economy and corruption forming a terrible troika that must be tackled all at once before we can achieve any meaningful progress.
In August 2011, a vehicle smashed through two security barriers at the United Nations headquarters in Abuja just after 11am. Its driver crashed the car into the reception area of the building which housed 26 different UN agencies, and then detonated a bomb. Twenty-five people were killed; around 60, wounded. The then little-known extremist group, Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the gruesome attack.
Since then, Boko Haram has gained international notoriety and become a major national menace – kidnapping girls from their schools and women from their homes; slaughtering boys in their dormitories and men in their farms; exploding bombs in public and private venues; and taking town after town in the northeast of Nigeria. And, for some reason, our defence forces are unable to cope and unable to defend. Despite the federal government’s defence budget that has gulped over$32.88 billion in the past five years.
Our security situation in this country has never been so dire. Today, Nigerians have to endure, not just terrorist attacks in the North, but militancy in the Niger Delta, communal violence in the Middle Belt, cult wars in the South, and kidnappings, armed robberies, and common acts of thuggery throughout the country. Most are left to fend for themselves. Those who turn to the police, the army or any other state security agencies usually have the means and personal connections to buy help and protection. Those who don’t simply move on, resigned. The bitter ones may form vigilante groups, others join mobs that dispense jungle justice on suspects and scapegoats alike. Too many believe they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, and the most alienated are easy prey for terrorists, militants, and thugs. This must CHANGE!
And then, the economy. A few weeks ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took monetary actions to reduce the pressure on the Naira by devaluing the currency and increasing interests rates – both directly and indirectly, by raising interest rates and restricting the amount banks can lend from their available cash. These actions, while necessary to reduce the slide in our currency, have reduced the amount of goods the ordinary Nigerian can purchase with the money he or she has. We are likely to experience a rise in the prices of all goods, especially fuel, bread and foodstuff. The hard times ahead will affect Nigerians in every part of our country, 67 percent of whom already live on less than N200 per day.
Other challenges facing Nigerians today include youth unemployment, a lack of social services, corruption and poor governance.
Nigeria needs a group of people who knows what to do about these problems. They must have the competence, the experience, the know-how, the leadership capacity and, most especially, the courage to move Nigeria forward. APC is that group. An APC government at the centre will treat Labour as a partner in moving the nation forward.
Our plan to restore good governance, efficient and effective public sector stands to benefit the country’s labour force perhaps more than any other subgroup.
In line with our party’s manifesto, we will identify and promote growth of industries and give incentives for the use of local content.
An APC government will protect and respect labourer’s right to organize, guaranteeing the rights to collective bargaining in good faith in law. We will promote new skills, equip youth for a modern economy through a network of local technology institutions to provide free training in courses for the unemployed.
But we cannot do any of any of these things alone. We need your support. That is my purpose of being here in your midst today. As you all know I am aspiring for the office of president of Nigeria, not just to hold an office, but to join you in securing and rebuilding a nation, our nation.
I pray that you will support me in this quest. I hope that you will give me a chance. Together, you and I can start to build a peaceful, secure and prosperous Nigeria of our dreams.
Thank you and God bless. [myad]
Mandela Did It, Jonathan Ruined It, By Adeyemi Suleman
Prior to the formal announcement of President Goodluck Jonathan to contest for another term in office, Nigerians were daily inundated with the messages sponsored by the Transformation Agenda of Nigeria. Our sensibilities were regularly assaulted by the propaganda of how some revolutionary leaders in the world had done great sacrifices to rescue and reform their respective countries, and how Jonathan too is ‘doing’ same in Nigeria.
The promo usually opens with how Martin Luther King (Jnr.) did it in the US, fighting for the human rights of the Americans, especially the blacks; how Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore turned around the fortunes of his country to become a first-world nation; how legendary Nelson Mandela helped South Africa to tackle apartheid and how President Barack Obama is doing ‘it’ in the US at the moment. In the message, TAN informed Nigerians of how President Goodluck Jonathan is ‘doing it’ here in Nigeria and urged him to ‘keep doing it.’
Certainly, those leaders being compared to President Jonathan sacrificed immensely and achieved remarkable strides for their respective countries and their popularity and feats endeared them to their people. They became enigmatic with their feats and instantly became heroes even before their demise. They never asked their countrymen to like them, yet they were worshipped.
To many Nigerians, Jonathan’s record since he became President, when placed side by side with those leaders, cannot match them. In my estimation of the majority, the comparison is a joke taken too far. Except for unrepentant tribalists, religious bigots, chronic pessimists and sycophants, including those ignorant of history and or with low intellectual capacity to comprehend the issue at hand, the TAN submissions are laughable. Of specific interest here is Nigeria’s recent let-down of the Palestinian people through its infamous and callous abstention from the UN vote on a draft resolution for Palestinian statehood. History has shown how the late anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela stood solidly behind the Palestinians in their quest for freedom from Israeli occupation which has been characterised by killings, settlement activities and all sorts of inhumanities. In the face of Western criticism and despite being labelled a terrorist, Mandela remained undaunted. In 1999, the anti-Apartheid hero toured the Middle East, visiting Palestine. In Gaza, he closely identified the South African struggle for freedom with the Palestinian struggle. However, unlike Mandela who did it for Palestine till his death, President Goodluck Jonathan bungled it on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at the most crucial time.
The Palestinians only needed a vote at the UN from Nigeria to attain statehood. Rather than ride on the same pedestal with Mandela, Jonathan decided to align with the forces in Israel and the US. He simply equated abstention to neutrality. Jonathan’s action marked a pivotal shift in Nigeria’s foreign policy, where the country always voted in favour of Palestine and had always thrown its weight behind a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even before the recent realisation and support of the EU and all other Super Powers except US. Nigeria’s vote would have ended Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip by 2017. The UN resolution, sponsored by Jordan, had called for fresh talks based on territorial lines that existed before Israel’s occupation of the territories in 1967, and was the culmination of three months of campaigning by the Palestinians at the UN and had the backing of Arab states. The Palestinians required nine votes from 15 permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The US and Australia voted against the resolution, while Russia, China, France,
Luxembourg, Jordan, Argentina, Chile and Chad voted in favour. Nigeria, Britain, South Korea, Rwanda and Lithuania abstained. Nigeria’s abstention did the damage. The position to say the least was a disappointment to the Palestinians who had banked on the robust historic foreign policy of Nigeria that never queued behind iniquity, support injustice and identified with the aspiration of the oppressed peoples and nations of the South-South, Asia and Pacific nations. The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Nigeria, Dr. Montaser Abu-Zeid who could not hide his shock, told the media that he received the assurances of Nigeria’s foreign ministry officials and had transmitted same to the Palestinian president and foreign minister. While the anguish continued in Palestine and the rest of the world, the Israelis and their US backers were raining praises on Jonathan. The scenario presented by this event is that Mandela did it, but it seemed rather than doing it, President Jonathan bungled it. [myad]