Pan Yoruba socio-political organisation Afenifere has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to utilise the remaining one year of his administration to bring Nigeria out of the doldrums into which it has fallen under his watch over the last seven years.
National Publicity Secretary of the group, Jare Ajayi, in a statement which was obtained by Africa Today News, New York on Wednesday also charged Buhari to match his words that the end of insecurity is in sight with action.
‘Since it is the government of President Muhammadu Buhari that took us into this asphyxiating condition, history may still be kind on him if he can use the remaining time he has in office to reverse the ugly situation. The permanent way to achieve this is to institute restructuring without any further ado.’
Recall that Buhari had in his Eid El Fitri message on Sunday, released by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, promised Nigerians that the end to terrorism in Nigeria is in sight as the ‘battle waged against terrorists who falsely masquerade under the name of Islam is approaching its conclusion.’
However, Ajayi asserted that the Buhari’s assertion ‘fly against the reality on ground’ even as quite a good number of Nigerians are not convinced that the ‘final victory is within sight.’
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He went on to add that, ‘Rather than looking at the immediate future with hope, Nigerians are living and moving around in fear and despondence because of the insecurity they face at home, at work and even more so when travelling on highways. How then can one be hopeful in that kind of situation?’
He said Buhari should endeavour to come to terms with the reality on ground ‘as the spectres coming from Aso Rock often indicate a distance between those in government and the people they govern.’
Afenifere also called on Buhari to recall the promises he made to Nigerians on assumption of office, particularly in the areas of fighting insecurity, tackling corruption and boosting the economy.
‘Unfortunately, the change we have seen in these reas are in the reverse. In reverse in the sense that insecurity is now at an unprecedented level, corruption is an all-time high while the economy is now so down that hardly are majority of Nigerians able to eat twice in 24 hours’, Ajayi stated.
He pointed out that the only way Nigeria will see marked improvement in security is if the Federal Government allow the establishment of state policing, honour agreements his government has with various labour unions, drastically reduce the cost of governance and ensure that the cost of social services and essential commodities like petrol and electricity come down considerably.
He also went on to urge Buhari to direct the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cut down the cost of participating in the electioneering process ahead of the primary election of the party.