who is fooling who? fani kayode. Fani-Kayode blasts Jonathan; says President
is leaving legacy of “destruction and disaster”
Femi Fani-Kayode
The former minister questioned the competence
of President Goodluck Jonathan.
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?”