NOTE: In the name of God, please read this as a patriotic Nigerian and a stakeholder – irrespective of your region, ethnic group, religion, gender, age or income level. Everybody is now at risk. Buhari/APC Federal Government has placed us on the knife-edge of disaster. More years of APC will only make things worse for us, for our children and grand-children – for a long time to come.

Food First

“Burn down the cities and leave our farms; and our cities will spring up again as if by magic. But, destroy our farms; and grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.” William Jennings Bryan, 1860-1925.

The Northern region has always been economically disadvantaged compared to the South. But, it had the comparative advantage for a prosperous future as the national food basket. With the Age of Oil drawing gradually to a close, most people with foresight realise that agriculture was vital to our survival as a nation. Obviously, that meant our farms should not be burnt down.

That is precisely what happened under Buhari/ APC government.

Millions of Nigeria’s farms have been destroyed– primarily, by herdsmen led by MiyettiAllah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN. President Buhari is a Life Long Patron of the destroyers of our farms.

By allowing these armed terrorists to roam around with impunity, it never occurred to Buhari/APC that the great famine and massive malnutrition would occur on account of pervasive food scarcity – which we are now experiencing. Furthermore, every farmer driven off the land increases the number of jobless Nigerians.

There are now an estimated 4 million former farmers unable to go to farm – thanks to short-sightedness of the Buhari/APC government. Who wants that disaster to continue?

Instead of finding a lasting solution, the Buhari/ APC government has taken two approaches to Nigeria’s need for sustainable food security.

First, they launched the Anchor Borrowers Programme, ABP – which is now turning out to be another massive scam.

ABP, which has gulped hundreds of billions, is now such an embarrassment to the Federal Government, that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, which financed the programme, for political reasons, no longer talks about it.

Millions of the recipients of loans, under ABP, are now running for their lives.

Second, they deployed cheap propaganda. As someone deeply involved in the rice sub-sector, I knew that the pyramid of rice which was on display in Abuja, was mot probably imported rice.

I challenge all those standing in front of the pyramid to prove me wrong.

At any rate, the truth is there in Nigerian markets; where the price of rice keeps escalating. ABP has become money down the drain pipe of incompetence and corruption.

Education

“Numerous are the streams that lead to social prosperity; but, all spring from the same source; and that is public education.” Gaspar Jovellanos. 1744-1811. Vanguard Book Of Quotations, Vbq P 46.

Education constitutes the second pillar of any prosperous society. Without it, any country continuously lags behind in the global race for economic advantage and progress.

Buhari inherited less than 5 million out-of-school children, mostly Northerners. By the time he departs next year, the number would have soared to over 13 million.

One million would have been added for every year Buhari/APC governed. Add to that the destruction of public universities; and, it should be clear that Buhari/ APC has damaged the pillar of the Nigerian society almost beyond repairs.

The least we can do is to ensure that the demolition does not continue after 2023 by sending the vandals home.

Investments

“32 states fail to attract investment in Q2. September 1, 2022.

“Low appetite slashes Nigerian investments by 23%.” September 2, 2022.

“Why foreign capital importation will persist – Expert. August 31, 2022”

Economic growth and development result from huge and increasing investments. Countries blessed with good leaders, well-educated, and who read a lot, have one thing in common, apart from strong economies – they aggressively seek foreign direct investments in their economies.

Meanwhile, the Presidents and Prime Ministers take the same attitude as late Lee Kuan Yew who said: “The world does not owe us a living. We cannot live by the begging bowl.”

So, under him, Singapore developed sound macro-economic policies which induced lots of foreign direct investment.

Thus, when Singapore wanted to build the world’s most advanced airport, the country did not go around begging for loans to build it.

The project was turned to the private sector. Today, Singapore is not indebted on account of its airport. By contrast, Buhari/APC took Chinese loans to expand our own airports. We are in debt.

That in short summarises the difference between a government led by people who understand economics and those who don’t.

The latter, Buhari/APC go round the world with begging bowls in hand.

No self-pride and utterly ruinous of the economy. Nobody wants to invest in Nigeria because we don’t have a responsible government here. All we have are beggarsin government.

Crude Oil Theft and Revenue Decline.

“Massive oil theft threatening external reserve, revenue MPC March 2022.

“Nigeria’s oil production drops to 1.24mbpd this year. April 13, 2022.

“Nigeria’s crude oil production rigs drop by 37.5% , says OPEC, April 24, 2022.

“SCANDALOUS OIL THEFT: Nigeria loses N3.038trn in one year. May 15, 2022.

“Highly-placed Nigerians involved in crude oil theft – NNPC BOSS, KYARI, AUGUST 31, 2021.

“Crude oil earnings drop by 29% to N790bn – CBN.” September 2022.

For more than four years the Buhari/APC government has been telling Nigerians bundles of lies to cover up its ineptness in managing the Nigerian oil sector.

They got away with it because most Nigerians don’t read and don’t bother to find out what is happening to their country under these destroyers called Buhari/ APC government. So, early this year, my colleagues and I at our research unit decided to focus sharply on the oil sector.

The first four reports retrieved from the archive should be sufficient to damn any group calling itself a government anywhere.

But, the statement credited to Kyari, the GMD/ NNPC should provide all the evidence we need to know that Buhari/APC must go. By that statement, the only conclusion any reasonable person can reach is that this government actually knows those who stole N3trn oil in one year; and forced Nigeria to borrow that amount.

Obviously, the only way we are ever going to know who the highly-placed thieves are is to remove those covering them up.

Buhari/APC has told us that they are not interested in catching those sabotaging our economy and driving millions of Nigerians into poverty every year.

Readers should please understand that I am not finished yet with the revelations on the oil sector. Just for now wrap your minds around the fact that a Nigerian President allowed N3trn worth of crude to be stolen; and instead of catching the thieves and forcing them to vomit their ill-gotten wealth, is making the rest of us pay for it by borrowing. (Daily Independent)

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