"Long deferred, the promise of Nigeria shall not continue to remain just a potential. It will soon be redeemed. Our season of renewal has dawned". With these fighting words, President Umaru Yar’Adua of Nigeria promises to wake up from his slumber to start tackling the myriad of problems facing Nigeria. Whether Mister Slowman, the Sloth finally wakes up from his election-fraud induced stupor is a yet to be determined occurrence, which only 2009 will prove; but Icheoku will always keep an eye on him particularly on his promise of democracy-dividend for Nigerians. President Umaru Yar'Adua pledged a renewed pace in governance and accelerated delivery of critical infrastructure to Nigerians in the coming year 2009; adding that many of his outstanding inaugural promises will also be fulfilled. Principal among which are his long anticipated power emergency plan, electoral reform and the oil and gas sector reform. President Umaru Yar'Adua also thanked Nigerians for their patience and
support for his administration to which Icheoku retorts that Nigerians were not patient but were merely confused, waiting to see if death or the Supreme court could put an end to his rudderless presidency. Now that the Supreme court has failed to act and death seem to have taken a hike (Umaru Yar'Adua appears to be recovering), Mr. President will now see the true colours of Nigerians, whose silence he misconstrued for patient and support. Icheoku says, Umaru Yar'Adua, BE PREPARED! Continuing President Umaru Yar'Adua said that the challenges facing Nigerians may seem daunting, but that these problems are not beyond Nigerians as a people. Nigerians inflexible tenacity, their incredible passion for excellence and resilient search for a better future mark them out as a people. They are part of their national heritage to which Icheoku says these can only be said of Southern Nigeria as their Northern counterpart are simply antithesis to all the above nicely encapsulated attributes. According to President Umaru Yar'Adua, this yuletide period is both a time for celebration and reflection; patronising Nigerians further he said that as Nigerians engage in this annual rite of renewal, that he wish them bountiful festive season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Further that as he joins Nigerians in celebrating God‘s wondrous gifts to them as a people and in embracing the New Year with renewed hope, he also joins them in reflection: not just on the past year, but also on his government's responsibilities to Nigerians. To the last limb of this statement, Icheoku says those responsibilities are legion and have been largely ignored; they remain mere hope. A cardinal responsibility of the government which is has almost been forgotten under President Umaru Yar'Adua, is the security of lives and properties of Nigerians which is now nearly non-existent! Hope this gives Mr. President, a head-start!
support for his administration to which Icheoku retorts that Nigerians were not patient but were merely confused, waiting to see if death or the Supreme court could put an end to his rudderless presidency. Now that the Supreme court has failed to act and death seem to have taken a hike (Umaru Yar'Adua appears to be recovering), Mr. President will now see the true colours of Nigerians, whose silence he misconstrued for patient and support. Icheoku says, Umaru Yar'Adua, BE PREPARED! Continuing President Umaru Yar'Adua said that the challenges facing Nigerians may seem daunting, but that these problems are not beyond Nigerians as a people. Nigerians inflexible tenacity, their incredible passion for excellence and resilient search for a better future mark them out as a people. They are part of their national heritage to which Icheoku says these can only be said of Southern Nigeria as their Northern counterpart are simply antithesis to all the above nicely encapsulated attributes. According to President Umaru Yar'Adua, this yuletide period is both a time for celebration and reflection; patronising Nigerians further he said that as Nigerians engage in this annual rite of renewal, that he wish them bountiful festive season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Further that as he joins Nigerians in celebrating God‘s wondrous gifts to them as a people and in embracing the New Year with renewed hope, he also joins them in reflection: not just on the past year, but also on his government's responsibilities to Nigerians. To the last limb of this statement, Icheoku says those responsibilities are legion and have been largely ignored; they remain mere hope. A cardinal responsibility of the government which is has almost been forgotten under President Umaru Yar'Adua, is the security of lives and properties of Nigerians which is now nearly non-existent! Hope this gives Mr. President, a head-start!
Icheoku says that she will be one voluntary watch-dog of President Umaru Yar'Adua 2009 promise to Nigerians. We shall keep him honest! We shall keep an eye on him! Our only regret is that Umaru Yar'Adua did not include a proviso to his 2009 firm offer to fix all that is broken in and about Nigeria. A reasonable and rational being with the chequered health-history of Umaru Yar'Adua would have included in his statement, provided my health improves and allows me to be a functioning president instead of trying to govern from various hospital beds around the world. In any event however, we shall see what changes in 2009 or will it be just another bone thrown to the dogs for distraction. Only time will tell, President Umaru Yar'Adua! Have a happy holidays.
Song rates Yar'Adua's performance low
ReplyDeleteWritten by Emeka Mamah
Friday, 26 December 2008
Kaduna— Former National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), Comrade Adamu Song, has reviewed the performance of President Umaru Yar’Adua in the last 18 months and said that the President performed abysmally low. Song also disabused the minds of those who believe that Yar’Adua will perform wonders in the years ahead, as according to him, there will be more sufferings in the land.
He spoke in an interview with Vanguard in Kaduna, yesterday.
“If I am to give Yar’Adua marks, I will give him 30 percent for his performance in the last two years. I also want to advise that Nigerians should not expect any miracle from the present government.
“I have come to this painful conclusion because of the quality of the President’s new ministers. Otherwise, how can Yar’Adua appoint people like Dr. Rilwanu Lukeman and Chief Uffot Ekaette as ministers?
“What other idea can Chief Ekaette inject towards the resolution of the problems of the Niger Delta that he has not applied as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) during the eight years of Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration?
“It is also ridiculous that Yar’Adua appointed Lukeman who is in his 80s as Minister of Petroleum. This is because the same Lukeman was Obasanjo’s adviser on Petroleum Matters and nothing improved during the period.
“I am not happy with the level that people are being recycled in this country. Why do they appoint people who have no fresh ideas to our problems into government?
“Yar’Adua is not serious with any of his seven-point agenda and I do not believe that we should expect any miracles. Rather, Nigerians will suffer more.
“Yar’Adua will be slower in the years ahead with these old people with archaic ideas in his government.
“Instead of revitalising his cabinet when he dropped some ministers, the cabinet has been injected with much more slower dose of poison with the appointment of these archaic people that have lost touch with the realities on the ground.
“It is even more disturbing when one remembers that it took the President more than three months to reconstitute his cabinet.
“Yar’Adua should not have allocated sensitive ministries like Petroleum Resources and Niger Delta, for example, to very old people who will only be sleeping in their offices most of the time.
“We have seen this even in the Senate where the old members snore while the National Assembly is in session,” he said.
Song, however, said Nigerians were losing patience with the slow pace of the Yar’Adua’s administration and warned that time had come for the government to move faster to address the issues of electricity, good roads and unemployment among others.
On the PPA’s participation in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Comrade Song said the GNU was dead as far as his party was concerned.
“The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) used PPA and the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) to stabilise and has dumped PPA. PDP is no longer interested in the participation of PPA," he said.
What We Expect From Yar'Adua In 2009, By Political Leaders, Others
ReplyDeleteBy Onyedika Agbedo, Bankole Adeshina, Jibola Amzat and Laolu Adeyemi
AS 2008 gradually draws to an end with almost nothing to show for it in terms infrastructural development at the national level, political leaders are asking for a new political direction that will fast-track the transformation of the country in 2009.
Specifically, they are demanding for a blueprint that will strengthen the nation's democracy through a free and fair electoral system, efficient and effective infrastructure, qualitative and affordable educational system and good health care delivery, among others.
Speaking with The Guardian on phone yesterday, the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh said Nigerians expect nothing from the PDP-led government in 2009 than to lay the foundation for true democracy to thrive.
"We are grateful to God that Nigeria survived the year 2008 in spite of all odds and hopefully, things will be more better in the 2009. Nigerians expect the government to lay a concrete foundation for democracy to thrive in the country. The Seven-Point-Agenda comprises the statutory normal functions of government and should be vigorously pursued.
"But in 2009, President Musa Umaru Yar' Adua should embark on aggressive political and electoral reforms that will make the country a truly democratic country. Until we can conduct free and fair elections, we will be wasting our time as a country. Ghana and South Africa have been able to lay the foundation for a true and genuine democracy and Nigeria is now trailing behind them despite the resources at our disposal just because we don't allow the people to choose their leaders. And until we are able to do that, we will be pretending. If we attain a truly democratic status, all the problems bedeviling the country will be solved. So in 2009, Yar' Adua will be doing the country a great service by laying the foundation for democracy to thrive," he said.
The National Secretary, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Lateef Adegbite decried the level of poverty in the country, noting that it posed a great challenge to the government in 2009. "There are lots to do in the year 2009. First and foremost, there has to be serious plans to fix the economy and infrastructure. But most importantly, I don't know how this government is going to achieve this because there is too much poverty in the land," he remarked.
Also, the National Chairman of Labour Party, Chief Dan Nwanyawu, who described the passing year as one of motion without movement noted that the failure of government to provide the necessary amenities has caused untold hardship on Nigerians and urged the re-direction of government policy thrusts to meet the aspirations of Nigerians.
He said: "In the past twelve months, Nigeria has not really witnessed any significant turn around. Instead of physical developments, what we have seen have been motion without movement, a state of stagnancy.
"The state of infrastructure is so poor that there are no good roads to travel on smoothly and safely. A journey that is supposed to take one hour now takes more than three hours, with some of the highways having potholes and gullies, which often lead to accidents, resulting in untimely death. There are no good public schools, there is no electricity and the public health institutions have become death traps because of lack of basic equipment and qualified personnel. A good transportation system is still a mirage.
"The government has not done anything impressive at all in terms of its constitutional obligations to the electorates and the manners and attitude with which the leaders go about the business of the country has been a source of worry for me and there is need for a change."
A PDP House of Representative candidate in the 2007 election in Lagos state, Mr. Saheed Kekere Ekun said with the Supreme Court judgment that has given the president a clean bill of health, Nigerians would expect the best from him in the coming year since he would no longer be distracted.
"Nigerians expect the best from President Yar'dua's government in 2009, since there is no distraction for him again. His case in the court has been determined now and his cabinet has been successfully reshuffled. So, he would have no further excuse by 2009.
Even if he has used this year to understand the system, 2009 should be the year to perform. He did very little this year but should perform better next year. For example, I will like to advise him that issues like the poor electricity supply and social infrastructures in the country should be adequately addressed," he noted.
For Yar'Adua, 2009 Is It
ReplyDelete08055069065 ikechukwu amaechi candourniche@independentngonline.com
As you read this, we will only be one day away from 2009. By midnight tomorrow, we will be ushering in a brand new year. The outgoing year has been a trying one for most Nigerians, but the coming year promises to be even tougher.
Ironically, 2008 need not be the nightmare it is for most of us. It is a year Nigeria earned the highest revenue ever from crude oil; a year when oil price peaked at almost $150 per barrel before the dramatic fall.
Yet, it is a year when power generation dropped to below 1,500 megawatts, thus worsening the country's already precarious electricity crisis. It is a year when the state of roads across the country went from bad to worse precipitating unprecedented carnage. This Yuletide alone, 234 people have been killed on the roads in different parts of the country. Security of lives and property finally went to the dogs, with armed robbers brazenly hawking their lethal wares, most times sacking entire cities and forcing banks to reschedule their hours of operation. It is a year when kidnapping, originally a veritable weapon of agitation, employed by militants in the Niger Delta to bring their cause to the front burner of both national and international discourse, and mainly targeted at expatriate oil workers, was hijacked by criminals. Today the fear of kidnappers is the beginning of wisdom.
Many families from the Southeast could not travel home this year for fear of being kidnapped. But staying away is not even a guarantee particularly for those with aged parents, who in the absence of their children have become targets.
Yet, as bad as things are in 2008, 2009 promises to be tougher in the sense that while the old problems are yet to be solved, the New Year is coming with its own daunting challenges. Nigeria is not an economic island, not in this era of globalisation. Therefore, the spiralling global economic crisis will catch with us sooner than later. Unfortunately, while other countries are up and doing in pulling their nations and people out of the financial quagmire, we are, as usual, in denial, claiming that Nigeria has nothing to worry about.
How can the country be immune to an economic crisis that has already occasioned investment capital flight? The consequence is the liquidity crunch for Nigerian banks in international trade. Hardly can anybody access a loan facility from any bank in Nigeria now. Today, oil sells below the budget benchmark of $45 per barrel. With industry pundits predicting that the price could crash to as low as $25, the 2009 budget will no doubt be thrown into a tailspin. Again, with the deliberate devaluation of the Naira, prices of goods and services are bound to rise since ours is essentially an import oriented economy. Countries devalue their currencies to enhance exports and since we have little else to export other than oil, which is bought and sold in dollars, the step is bound to create a new wave of inflation. With the vaunted foreign reserves being depleted and with the life savings of most families almost wiped out in the sliding Stock Market, your guess is as good as mine as to what the incoming year has in stock for both country and citizens.
Yet, despite these stark realities, 2009 remains Yar'Adua's year of redemption. It is a year he will either confirm what most Nigerians take as the truth he has not got what it takes to be the country's President or prove his critics wrong. I wish he will prove his critics wrong because if he does, Nigeria will be the better for it.
But it is hard to see how he will do this. Do I pity him? Not necessarily. Yes, it is tough luck for expectation to be at its peak for a government when all the odds seem to be against it. But the President has himself to blame. For almost two years, he sleep walked, acting as if his is not a four year term.
His apologists claim that the man has used the last two years to plan; to lay the foundation of the miracle he is bound to perform. Having "successfully" done that, so they claim, now is the time to execute the plans. Should we give a round of applause? Methinks no! I am not impressed because, again, that is one of the fundamental flaws of our system.
It is not for nothing that the question of preparedness or lack of it became an important issue during the presidential campaigns in the U.S. Which candidate will hit the ground running? Who is prepared to be president on day one? If Barack Obama, the President-elect, were to lose that election, it would have been over the issue of preparedness. Fortunately, the man was prepared as he has amply demonstrated since November 4 when he was elected. He made sure that governance started long before January 20, 2009, when he would be sworn in.
Obama dare not use two years of his term to plan. Again, Yar'Adua apologists say his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo, left a huge mess that needed time to clean up. Yes! But so did Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush. In fact, the fact that Obasanjo left behind a prostrate country is the more reason why he should be in a hurry to play the catch up game.
The difference now is that Obama wanted to be president, worked for it and had a ready blueprint more than two years before Americans cast their ballot. In fact, it was on the basis of his programmes that his countrymen and women preferred him to the other equally capable candidates. All he has to do is to add and remove from the template based on the exigencies of the office and the prevailing socio-economic and political climate.
Here, Yar'Adua had no intention of contesting for the presidency. He was plucked, as it were, from his rustic Katsina State and forced willy-nilly to run for the presidency, with no blueprint. And having been elected, he has used two of his four-year term to do what he ought to have done long before even aspiring to be President. These are the little details that make all the difference between one nation and another.
But we must all pray that the President succeeds. Fortunately, he appreciates the significance of 2009. He seems to understand that it is the only year left for any meaningful governance since two years have already been wasted and the fourth year will be taken over by partisan politics. In his Christmas message, he spoke of "our season of renewal", emphasising that with the "systematic planning process" he has put in place, the government will "forge ahead with its agenda for rapid improvements in critical areas with greater vigour and total dedication". We are waiting.