By Clement T. Ofuani
TUE, JANUARY 2 2018-theG&BJournal-I am stupefied that some people are praising this PMB’s New year speech. Well, to be fair, they say that it is his best since he became President. That just about sums up how inept his leadership has been, if his admirers tout this particular speech as his best.
To begin with, it is largely a rehash of the same failed promises he campaigned on in 2015. But let’s take a closer look at the speech. While acknowledging the hardship that his ineptitude as both President and Minister of Petroleum Resources inflicted on Nigerians this Yuletide, PMB in his trademark manner refuses to accept responsibility but would rather blame the bogeyman -unpatriotic elements and saboteurs. Yet, it is well known that the failure to budget for subsidy or remove subsidy and deregulate the market meant that NNPC had to illegally dip its hands into the national revenue without appropriation to attempt to fill the supply gap created by the non-importation of products by the private marketers. Even at that, the limited NNPC supply could not reach the consumers because of logistics bottlenecks without the market access of the private marketers. So, it is a gratuitous insult on our intelligence for the President to attempt to blame innocent economic agents here for his ineptitude.
Next, the President lists the determination of this APC government to revamp the rail sector. But a close look at their plan will reveal that it is no plan at all. It is as unworkable as their 2015 campaign promises. He states that he has “approved and negotiations will be concluded in the first part of this year for the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri line covering Aba, Owerri,Umuahia, Enugu, Awka, Abakaliki …”. Has the President looked at the map of Nigeria in recent times? How will this line be built and what is the grand plan for its sustainability even if there was just a remote possibility that it can be built? At any rate, is it in the 2018 national budget which is effectively his last?
He continues, that the ” Abuja to Itakpe line will go through Baro and terminate in Warri with construction of a new seaport at Warri.” Again, I ask, is Mr. President making this promise on the basis of a feasibility study or just another fairy wish? There is no Abuja to Itakpe line. What we have is Itakpe to Aladja line which could be extended to Abuja, but the existing line has never been put to use since construction stopped over 30 years ago. Before embarking on a new Warri seaport, Mr. President may wish to be informed that the existing port has been operating at under 10 percent capacity.
He continues, “negotiations are also advanced for the construction of other railway lines, firstly from Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic…” Mr. President, what economic activity supports this railway line to ensure sustainability and payback and is it in the budget? He then remembers the 5% and adds “secondly, Lagos to Calabar the “Coastal Rail” through Ore, Benin, Agbor, Asaba, Onitsha, Sapele, Ughelli, Warri, Yenagoa, Otuoke, Port Harcourt, Aba, Uyo and Calabar” wiil be built to ensure that “in the next few years, all these Nigerian cities will be linked by functional modern rail systems…”. Really? Mr President, please request for a copy of the map of Nigeria and trace out your “Coastal Rail” and you will realise that like your 2015 campaign promises, this is with all due respect, a proposition founded on numbing ignorance.
So much for the best speech of his presidency, I weep for Nigeria.
