State of the Nation: Fr Mbaka absolves Buhari, blames Jonathan



Fiery Enugu Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has predicted bleak future for the country, saying that many Nigerians would die in the present economic meltdown.


Mbaka-Buhari
He, however, said that President Muhammadu Buhari was not responsible for the hunger in the country, blaming his predecessor, Dr.  Goodluck Jonathan, for the situation.

Mbaka, who was reacting to media reports about his scathing remarks on the high level of hunger in the country as well as the implications for Buhari’s second term election, said Jonathan’s administration was responsible for the myriads of problems facing the country.

In a statement entitled, “Fr. Mbaka’s assertion `There is hunger in Nigeria’: Not an attack on President Buhari”, Mbaka, yesterday, denied ever bashing Buhari for the country’s economic problems or the level of suffering in the country.

The cleric had been quoted in a sermon on Wednesday as saying Nigerians were hungry as a result of Buhari’s economic policies, saying the President would lose the 2019 polls if the situation persisted.  The statement came against the backdrop of Mbaka’s position ahead of the 2015 polls in favour of Buhari.

The statement, yesterday, signed by Mbaka’s spokesman, Maximus Ike Ugwuoke, said he observed with keen concern the news trending in some sections of the media that he “attacked” Buhari.

“The news headline is not only sensational but also a censorious media colouration and hype of the message of the cleric titled, “Bless and Be Blessed” for whatever ends”, the statement said.

The statement explained that although Mbaka lamented the high level of hunger and suffering in the country, it was followed by another  message where he said Buhari was not responsible for the situation but the previous administration.

It pointed out that the controversial message was followed by another one entitled, “Mega Change of Conditions” , saying the second message absolved Buhari of blames about the economy and hunger in the country.

“There is sword that is moving about in the country. People are dying like flies. The sword of Hunger is eating the land. And as I have told you, this is just the beginning. If anybody is telling you it is going to be well very soon that person is deceiving you. This is because many of us were among those that were alive during the years of the past government. The past PDP government was like the grasshoppers and locusts (regimes to Nigerian). The past government was a disaster to the land of Nigeria; the past government was cancer to this country. There is no need trying to cover their incalculable and iniquitous mess. If you don’t feel it now, you will feel it later”, the statement said.

Hunger is everywhere; the hunger was created before this new government came in. Buhari is not the maker of the hunger.

“The hunger was created during the Jonathan’s PDP administration but Buhari should abate the long procrastination, bureaucracy and slow methods in tackling it.

“That is why I have been saying and I keep on saying that the past administration should publicly come to apologize to Nigerians. “He, therefore maintained that  contrary to media reports, Fr. Mbaka merely reiterated the obvious sufferings that Nigerian are facing (which even the president himself had at points acknowledged and sued for patience and perseverance) and advised the president on the ways to tackle it, that is, by engaging economic gurus and listening to good advisers.

Message background

“In the background of the message, Fr. Mbaka encouraged the gallant warrior, President Buhari, to continue his battle against corruption and insurgency asserting that if not a man like President Buhari, by now people may have stopped going to church and mosques. Boko Haram might have wrecked this country. People might have equally stopped going to schools, markets etc. kudos to Buhari.

“Fr. Mbaka revealed that corruption, insurgency and poor governance by past governments gave birth to three horrible children (1) Hunger (2) Anger (3) Danger”.

The idiosyncrasies of Mbaka... Always on fumigated weed

#observing