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Fani-Kayode blasts Jonathan; says President is leaving legacy of “destruction and disaster”
Femi Fani-Kayode
A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, said President Goodluck Jonathan by his misrule is leaving a legacy of “destruction and disaster” in Nigeria.
Speaking at a book launch in Lagos on Wednesday, Mr. Fani-Kayode, in a speech titled ”A Date with Destiny,” said the administration of Mr. Jonathan has plunged the country into financial recklessness, bloodbath (apart from during the civil war) and total misrule never before experienced in the country.
On the planned amnesty for the violent insurgent group, Boko Haram, the former minister said it is an “inglorious endeavour” and an “exercise in futility” that will “set a dangerous precedent.”
“4, 400 precious souls cut short and slaughtered like chicken by Boko Haram in the last two years. How can our government sleep well at night with all that innocent blood that has flowed whilst they are at the helm of affairs of our nation?” the former minister said.
“More innocent souls have been killed in the last 2 years by terrorists than at any other time in the history of Nigeria outside the civil war. How does President Jonathan and his”today’s men” feel about winning such a dubious and dishonourable title? Does he still regard Boko Haram as “his siblings” who he “cannot hurt”?
“Why did the President refuse to visit the good people of the northeast for so long despite the fact that hundreds of people are still being slaughtered there by Boko Haram every day?” he added.
He said the government has proved it does not “give a damn” to the suffering of the people and the loss of lives by not visiting the troubled region until politicians from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) did; and the president’s lukewarm and delayed response to the recent massacre of 185 people in Baga.
“He did not visit the place until the APC governors took the initiative, did the right thing, went there boldly and paved the way? It was only after that initiative was taken by the opposition that our President woke up from his deep slumber, remembered that he was the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces and saw fit to go to the north-east. Why did he take so long before doing so?”
“Does the fact that it took our Government two days to even acknowledge that the Baga massacres ever took place and that when they finally did all they said was that they would ”investigate it” not seem rather insensitive? This was after the Sec. Gen. of the U.N. and numerous other world leaders had not only condemned the massacre but had also expressed their condolences to our President, to the Nigerian people and to those that lost their loved ones. Yet to the best of my knowledge not one word of condolence or regret was offered by our President or our Government. Since when have we degenerated to such a point that when our people are killed in such a brazen manner and in such large numbers we don’t even seem to ”give a damn”? Since when have we become a nation of sociopaths that have no feeling and that do not value human life?” he said.
Mr. Fani-Kayode said the Jonathan administration has refused to tackle corruption and therefore has plunged the economy into deeper mire by its wanton display of financial impudence.
“When will our President and his ”today’s men” answer David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom’s, question and tell him what they did with the 100 billion USD that they made from oil sales in the last two years? When will they answer Obi Ezekwesili’s question about how they squandered 67 billion USD of our foreign reserves? When will they answer the question that Nasir El Rufai asked sometime back about how they spent over 350 billion naira on security vote in one year alone? When will they answer the many questions that Pat Utomi and many other distinguished and courageous leaders and ”yesterday’s men” have raised about the trillions of naira that have been supposedly spent on oil subsidy payments in the last two years?” he asked.
“When will they implement the findings and recommendations of the Nuhu Ribadu report on the thievery that has gone on in the oil sector? When will they cultivate the guts and find the courage to respond to a call for a public debate to defend their abysmal record? When will these ”today’s men” stop being so reckless with our money? Why would our ”today’s man” FCT Minister budget 5 billion for the ”rehabilitation of prostitutes in the Abuja”? Why would he budget 7.5 billion naira for a new ”FCT city gate”? Why would he budget 4 billion naira for some kind of building or centre for the First Lady? Why would the Federal Government of ”todays men” budget 1 billion naira for food in the Villa? Are these the priorities of ”today’s men”? And all this when Nigeria is back in foreign debt to the tune of 9 billion USD and is still borrowing, when local debt has hit almost 50 billion USD, when 40 per cent of Nigerians are unemployed, when graduate unemployment has hit 80 per cent, when 40 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to good food and are described by the U.N.D.P as being ”hungry” and when 70 per cent of Nigerians are living below the poverty line? Is this the vision of ”today’s men?”
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