By: Emmanuel Nicholas Okokon
As democracy day draws near Nigerians are slowly taking stock as they rate the second coming of Buhari an abysmal low as his second year in office has bred more pains than gains.
Today's statistics of migration released by Lagos state Government cements the failure of a regime that promised much but offers little.
More children have been left abandoned and forgotten by their parents on the streets of Lagos as the number trebled to a record high .
This is not unconnected with the deep poverty and recession Buhari has inflicted on Nigerians.
Many families cannot feed their children hence in desperation abandon their children en masse on the streets of major cities.
In the North the record numbers of destitute street children left without an education or a future is a testimony of how well Buhari has ruled without a plan or direction.
And Lagos State Government is perplexed. Record number of beggars from Northern Nigeria have flooded Lagos in a mass exodus from the North.
Despite all the rosy tales of defeating Boko Haram in official circles, the truth is hard to endure. Boko Haram is still devastating the North with suicide bombers.
24 Million Northerners are faced with starvation having been displaced from their homes and left to pestilence and strife in decrepit IDP camps.
Fleeing certain death they troop to the only oasis in the desert, Lagos State.
Meanwhile across Nigeria the suicide rate has increased astronomically as Nigeria's chose death over the continued sufferings inflicted by the regime.
Buhari came to pòwer promising enhanced security of lives and property however, his score card is very poor. His vision to crush Boko Haram in record time is left largely unfulfilled.
Even the ever present Abubakar Shekau who like as a cat with 9 lives remains alive and well by the regime's admission despite many tales of death ascribed to him by the military high command.
Fulani herdsmen and cattle rustlers have made the North one of the most dangerous regions of the world.
Kidnapping in the South has driven many into fortified embattlements to escape this scourge.
Even the threat of a death sentence has not deterred these criminals from their diabolical enterprise.
His policy of croonyism and nepotism has made life unbearable for Nigerians who have seen their income dwindle to the barest minimum.
Contrary to what the regime wants Nigerians to believe, it was not Jonathan that devaluated our Naira to near toilet paper status nor increased the price of fuel to record levels.
Only Buhari can hoodwink Nigerians into accepting more horsewhips with a smile on their face. Instead of investing in modular refineries or legalising and regulating local refining technology he has thrown his lot with Dangote and his albatross of a refinery whose date for launch still remains unknown.
Creating another monopoly for his kinsman is the best he has to offer.
The down side of all this is a nation battling with a rising cost of living and a deep suffocating recession.
Even his greatest achievement, the so called anticorruption war remains a charade to deceive the unwise.
From wielding the big stick against perceived political enemies to the show panel to exonerate loyalists the substance of the anti-corruption war remains unclear.
Less than a handful of persons have been convicted for corruption as a whistleblower policy only encourages media sensationalism while reducing the intellect of the apparachik towards diligent investigation.
And this belies why most cases fall flat once subjected to the heat of a trial judge. Until the punishment is commiserate with the crime the anti-corruption war is D.O.A: Dead On arrival.
Showing Nigerians piles of money only adds to the media frenzy but without a well spelt out account on how this money is spent, the prospect of relooting is quite high. Hence to score the anti-corruption war 40% is a very high appropriate score for a regime built on tokenism. For the health sector Buhari scores 0%.
He has embarked on multiple medical vacations and has taken medical tourism to new heights renegading on his campaign promise to end this unwholesome practice.
He has failed to implement the National health act designed to bring improved healthcare to all Nigerians.
The Nigerian Medical association have sued him in a court of competent jurisdiction for this faux pas.
Two years into his rule and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria remains rudderless without a constituted board.
This explains the high level of quackery in Nigeria and the dwindling health indices of the nation. Under buhari the pandora box was opened and the pestilence is unprecedented.
Polio that was eradicated under Jonathan has made a healthy unexpected return. Lassa has killed record numbers. Now cerebrospinal meningitis is killing the masses enmasse in his backyard.
This is totally unacceptable in sane climes. Heads ought to have rolled at this height of decadence but to the army of sychopants this is the best thing to have happened to Nigeria since sliced bread.
The sick and dying in the nation's hospitals might dare to have a different opinion.
Education is another utter failure with a healthy 0% as his unenviable score. Never in the history of Nigeria have there been more children out of school than presently .
Girl child education has even plummeted further especially with the protracted closure of Queens College Lagos, the nation's number one girl child educational facility.
Not even a whimper of concern has been voiced by a moribund presidency at the tragedy in Queens College.
But what can one expect from someone whose warped sense of humour sees women's duties relegated to the kitchen, living room and the other room.
It is with heavy hearts one watches the perpetual tinkering going on in JAMB. From candidates fainting on long queues to criminal agencies setting up phantom JAMB registration platforms designed to dupe unsuspecting candidates, the whole landscape appears confused and disjointed.
The question remains why the constant experimentation with the minds of our children.
This does not make any sense at all.
Not a single new federal educational facility has been built or refurbished under Buhari. This pales in comparison with his predecessors drive to further tertiary education with 12 new Universities across the nation.
The nation appears to be floating without a plan to reverse the colossal brain drain as professionals leave en masse in digust, perplexed at the falling standard of education offered their children.
The power sector also enjoys a healthy 0% as his score card. The nation has an installed capacity of 12,000 Mega watts yet the Federal Government owned Transmisssion company of Nigeria can only evacuate an unhealthy 4000 megawatts from the Gencos to the Discos.
Thus the common lie told Nigerians that the reason they remain in darkness is because Jonathan sold power companies to his cronies holds no water.
Truth be told there has only been lipservice offered the vital problem of expanding the national grid since Buhari came on board.
The billions promised only exists in the minds of the regime as the transmission network of the nation built 20 years ago buckles under the strain of years of wear and tear.
Power sector reforms are stagnated as Nigerians wonder where is the famous body language that was once described as the panacea to all ills.
For his Treasury Single Account and its knock on effect on the economy another healthy 0% is allocated. Raising 7 Trillion Naira in the vaults of the Government as internally generated revenue might seem hair raising but when juxtaposed with accountability and putting this money to genuine use the tale changes.
When asked how this money is utilized there is a muted silence. This is the economic folly of a regime that lacks direction and strategic planning.
For religion and spirituality Buhari gets a healthy 100% or more. The sufferings his regime has inflicted on Nigerians is a blessing in disguise for the pestilence at hand has made many draw closer to God in theses days of famine.
Churches and mosques have seen attendances swell like never before as Nigerians flock to the throne of grace for deliverance.
The genuflection in supplication to the Most High is the only solace for many who see God 's hand as the only route to redemption.
Hence if one's spiritual life has not received a boost in these trying times then one must be either a politician with hidden loot at hand or a regime faithful.
The truth is Buhari has lost his mystic and mojo.
The endless cover up surrounding his ill health has robbed Nigeria of genuine progress. And in truth how does one issue a score card of failure to a student who sat for the exam in ill health? This can never be a true picture of his abilities.
Hence in truth Buhari has no score card after 2years of stumbling in the dark.
Thus his record is blighted by ill health. But his own words shall judge him for he said that Yar Adua should resign than continue in power with his health challenges.
Karma has comeback to haunt him as it laughs at the propensity of man to dish out sound advice which one won't heed when the tables are turned. This is the bane of Buhari's second coming laced in failure and sickness.
The lesson is clear for all to see as we muse over a scorecard that reads like a litany of failure.
No man is greater than God
No comments: