I am not certain if the English aphorism which says, ‘it is easier said than done’ was coined with the attitude of politicians in mind. But over the years, it has become verily descriptive of the attitude of Nigerian politicians especially when it comes to the fulfillment of promises made during electioneering campaigns. In the last 16 years, I had formed a habit of gathering and keeping all campaign literature, brochure and booklets of many politicians. And when, at the end of their service years, I assess what they promised and what they achieved, there is usually a very wide yawning gap. The sad thing is that too often, the politicians get away with such electoral deficits essentially because many Nigerian electorate dwell largely on short term benefits, and have also come to pay little attention to what politicians promise because they really do not expect them to fulfill their promises. Nigerian electorate, so-to-say, prefer the paramedics and not the medical doctors to attend to their pains. Were it not so, politicians in search of votes will not promise to fix the bad roads, provide water, upgrade schools, equip hospitals, provide employment, ensure security, etc etc., and at the end of the day, fulfill none of the promises. Yet, they will come back again, four years after, facing the same audience and making the same unfulfilled promises, and still get the votes of the electorate. That is why I was excited with the question of one of the senators from Adamawa State, Senator Binta Masi Garba (alias BMG), whose focus during the ministerial screening exercise, was on how the then ministerial nominees will help the All Progressives Congress (APC) fulfill its campaign promises. Not many people paid attention to the promises made by the various parties during the campaigns. Of course, nobody reckons anymore with the promises of the party that lost the election. So the PDP is out of consideration in this case. As for the APC, it regaled the nation with the quest for change. Nigerians who were really choking from the gross misrule of the PDP quickly embraced the APC. The PDP had seemingly taken Nigerians for granted: doing as it pleases without recourse to meeting either the needs of Nigerians or even fulfilling its own warped promises. Amidst the many promises of the APC, I shall dwell on just three: the promise to pay N5,000 monthly allowance to unemployed Nigerian youths; the promise to provide a meal a day to school children and the promise to provide 3,000,000 jobs every year. On the first promise, the Buhari-led government is already struggling to work out the modalities of fulfilling the promise by next year. First, it is had contemplated paying the NYSC allowance (of N19,800) to unemployed youths, but recently settled for N5,000 per month. The Federal Government had gone further, during the week, to compute the cost of this promise by declaring that it would cost the government the sum of N125 Billion every month. Really? What figure was the FG using to compute the cost? For a country with no reliable statistics, how did the government arrive at the quoted figure? Is there any database of the unemployed in the country? Let us assume it is true, it means that the FG will be doling out N1.5tr every year to service the unemployed persons. How much would it cost the FG to establish companies and industries that can absorb these youths and make them contribute to the nation’s GDP instead of merely waiting for the Abuja manna? N1.5tr per annum…. for just one of the promises!!! On the second promise, there is yet no indication of whether the government is planning to fulfill this promise. Again, it is not certain there is a reliable school enrollment figure. And pray, how really does the government plan to fulfill this promise? It will be interesting to see how such lunch packs will get to my village folks in Emonu-Orogun, Delta State, or are they not part of the Nigerians so promised? I shudder at the complexity of the logistics associated with this scheme. This is full six months gone. The template of executing this promise is still blank. Perhaps the most troubling promise is the third: to create 3,000,000 jobs per year! In four years, the scheme should have created 12 million jobs. But this is five months gone, not a jot of a job has been created. Rather, jobs are being lost because of a crushing and shrinking economy. The PDP, I remember, had promised to also create 3 million jobs per year, and the APC adopted it pronto and their campaign machinery lapped it up sufficiently so much that it became a sub theme of the campaign mantra. No doubt, the agriculture and solid minerals sectors hold a lot of promise in absorbing many of Nigerian youths. But with the late activation of the ministries (by the recent appointment of ministers), not much can be expected from these sectors in the next six months. That technically knocks off one year (of unfulfilled promise) out of the tenure of Buhari’s first term. It is even remarkable that beside the three million jobs, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo , during the campaigns had further promised that the FG will assist the states to create 200,000 jobs per year. Here are states which are struggling to pay workers’ salaries, even with their bail out funds! Hear Osinbajo last March in Ondo: ‘If by the special grace of God we win the election we will support state governments to create 20, 000 jobs to cushion the unemployment crisis in the country”. So Mr VP, how far? Time is ticking away irretrievably. You can imagine the tons of promises across the land. How they go unfulfilled. Already, I am hearing so much of similar promises from the campaigners in Kogi and Bayelsa States. The two leading combatants in Kogi (Capt Wada and Chief Audu) have governed the state before. How much of their previous promises were fulfilled? In the same way in Bayelsa, the two leading contestants ( Seriake Dickson and Timipre Sylva) have each governed the state for four years or almost, … how much of their previous promises did they keep? All said, Nigerian politicians see campaign promises as mere political verbiages to which no seriousness should be attached. Indeed, the electorate do not consider campaign promises as political covenants and when they are broken, as they often do, they bath no eyelid. In fact, the surprise is usually when the promises are fulfilled. Sadly, the ready reason for failing to uphold campaign promises is “we met empty treasury” or as Femi Adesina, Buhari’s spokesman now puts it, “ we could not hit the ground running because we landed on very muddy ground”. These excuses, over the years, have become the river between campaign promises and their fulfillment. Canticles... Where are the Corrupt APC Members? Did you hear that President Buhari ordered the arrest of former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd)? Yes, I heard. He was not the only one ordered (to be) arrested. And it is not for nothing. Didn’t you hear that a panel’s report that investigated the procurement of arms indicted Dasuki and co? That the sum of $2.6bn was stolen or missing? That there were fictitious contracts, failed contracts, and that some awarded contracts were not executed but payments were made? Didn’t you hear all these and more? Why are you speaking as if the entire report is true? Do you know that even Dasuki was never invited to defend his action before the panel? Is that how to do investigation? Can’t you see bias? Where is the demand of fair hearing? Can’t you see through the silhouette and give the right interpretation that this is pure persecution? Persecution? How? Look, this is a new era. The age of impunity and two set of rules: one for the rich and influential and the other for the paupers and helpless is over. The law is blind. Everybody is equal before the law. If you offend, you answer for it. QED! All those of you who want the law to respect certain individuals must either reappraise your ways or face the consequences. Nobody is persecuting anybody. A man stores a cache of arms without licence, in his private house and you don’t want him to answer for it? Large sums of hard currency are found in his house and you say if he is asked to explain, then it is persecution? Look, the country must move away from the path of perdition to the path of probity. My friend, I don’t care how much grammar you speak. If you are discerning, you will see the trend of the fight being orchestrated by the APC-led government. Can’t you see? Is it not obvious that the fight and harassment is targeted at the helmsmen of yesterday? What is wrong with that? Do you want those who had nothing to do with public treasury to be harassed? Won’t that be the persecution you are talking about? Let me ask you: do you know how many former chieftains of the PDP who were holding public offices have secretly returned stolen money? Just wait, it will all be made open soon. Those who helped to deepen the economic misery of this country must be dealt with. The age of impunity and recklessness is forever gone. Every man or woman must answer for his/her deeds, without minding whose ox is gored. That is the new operating policy. Are you saying that the so-called new operating policy is applicable only to PDP members? Why are APC members not being prosecuted as well? Or are you saying APC is a haven of angels? I know you will argue. But how do you explain that people like Godswill Akpabio, Gabriel Suswan, Sambo Dasuki, Diezani Allison-Madueke, Sule Lamido, etc,…. all PDP chieftains are the only corrupt persons that have to be haunted and hacked down? How do you justify that? Were we not in this country when a panel of enquiry also indicted former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, now Minister of Transport? What happened? Was he spared because he is an APC chieftain? And pray, do we not know how many APC chieftains have virtually amortised the entire Lagos into their own property and yet nobody is talking about it? What kind of double standard is this? Don’t mope at me. Speak! Argue and defend them! Hmmm, One thing I can assure you is that you can neither intimidate me nor successfully blackmail me. You don’t muddle up issues. Take them one after the other. As for former Governor Amaechi, even new born babies know that his successor, Mr Nyesom Wike merely wanted to wreck Amaechi’s political career for obvious reasons associated with political differences. This is the same Wike who borrowed N30 billion in 30 days. Can you imagine that? It is that same Wike that is promising to reward every goal scored by the Nigerian players at the Cup of Nations with $20,000. So if 20 goals are scored, he will dole out $400,000! And that is borrowed money! Isn’t it? And when the searchlight is beamed at such reckless persons later, you will begin to grumble. Is it for nothing that the so-called panel report did not indict Amaechi? Have you read the panel’s report? Have you asked yourself why it was only the Government’s white paper, and not the panel’s report that indicted him? Does that not tell you something? Look, do you think if Amaechi was corrupt that former President Jonathan would not have crushed him? Have you also forgotten that the EFCC also invited and investigated Amaechi and found nothing against him? Do you want him prosecuted for prosecution sake, just so it would seem that even APC members are being prosecuted, even when there are no substance to the wild and unfounded allegations? Look, leave that man alone. Those who battle him are troubling their Chi. And lest I forget, have you forgotten that the number three citizen of this country, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, an APC chieftain is being prosecuted now for alleged wrong declaration of assets? Is he not an APC man? And as for whether some persons have cornered everything in Lagos, I will advise you to send in your petitions with clear and investigatable evidence and watch whether action will not be taken. Look, I have always maintained that the question to ask is: are the accusations against the arrested people true or not? Forget whether they are members of Party A or Party B. That is the take off point in the fight against mindless roguery that had rattled the country in past years. I am not surprised at your casuistic arguments. I am not unaware that no matter how sharp a knife is, it cannot cut it’s own handle. So, that APC members are being spared is understandable. All we ask is that those being arrested are not merely framed up and that the trials are not powered by partisan considerations. And above all, let what is good fort the goose be good for the ganders. If APC members are also proven to be corrupt let them go for it. Is it for nothing that Olisah Metuh and Governor Ayo Fayose have been shouting that this fight against corruption is as one- sided as the look of the eagle on the EFCC logo? (a long hiss) How can you reduce the seriousness of this conversation to those partisan megaphones of the PDP? Don’t you see how they run their mouths like broken taps? You want to ascribe seriousness to their pronouncements? Was it not this same Fayose who quoted a certain fictitious address in London as where President Buhari has been admitted for treatment during the campaigns early in the year? Do you take such persons serious? pix: Magus.jpg





www.thisdaylive.com/articles/campaign-promises-and-the-river-between/227136/