Re: #Changebeginswithme; Mr President, Why Have You Refused To Change?

Mr. President Sir,

I want to at first register my apology ahead, if at any time in the course of this write up I sound offensive with my statements and assertions. For me you remain the GCFR of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to that seat all Nigerians owe a lot of respect. Besides, it is not my words alone, but voices from the Streets and Slums where I and most Nigerians belong.

Your Excellency Sir, your Pride, Dictatorship tendencies and vendetta mission coupled with your lack of economic blue prints and vision destroyed our economy. Your recent campaign of #changebeginswithme is a confirmation of the fact that; firstly, you are clearly not in touch with the current realities, secondly it is an unambiguous demonstration of the fact that you lack clue and economic vision cum direction to solving Nigerian problems.

I do not expect that you fill the pangs of this recession; neither do you ‘enjoy’ the pains Nigerians go through. You sleep and live in a posh house, in the most decent and secure environment in Nigeria. You wake up to meals of your choice, retinues of aides attend to your daily activities. So Sir, like many other past Nigerian leaders you don’t buy anything but get everything - courtesy, Nigerian tax payers’ money.
On your #Changebeginswithme campaign, I want to affirmatively tell you that Nigerians have changed; you are the one who have refused to change. You won your last election not because you were the most qualified Nigerian but because Jonathan had lost his re-election since Jan 1st 2012 when he remove PMS subsidy. Nigerians in their ignorance of the scam that abound in the process by the Cabals took to streets and vow not to return home until the pump price is returned, after then GEJ lost his good will. This same subsidy you flagrantly removed without prior notice and Nigerians did not object. What Change, Love and Support do you want again?

You came on board with your team, increased electricity tariff despite not having adequate of it; Nigerians did not complain. The worst of it all, you technically devalued the Naira which has led to double digits inflation, in the hit of this recession with goods and food items skyrocketing to an all time high. Yet Nigerians, still believing in you, have not taking to street. Sir, what manner of #changebeginswithme do you expect from us again?

Your Honor Sir, you are the one who have refused to change! You refused to change from your old ways of Pride, Tribalism, Nepotism, Religious bigotry, and Vendetta Mission. This has been driving your sense of judgment. You started, by making the most tribalistic, nepotistic, religious and ethnic driven appointments in the history of Nigerian as you assumed office. You know what? This first action of yours divided the country across tribal and ethnic lines and most unfortunately destroyed the party that brought you into power on the platter of gold. APC is dead!!! Hard truth to believe. What we have now is CPC, ACN, ANPP, nPDP. Can four parties control one government? Anybody might want to ask me how party issue affects the economy, then I will tell you that one of the reasons we have poor governance now is because there is no cooperation between those at the helms of affairs. CPC has the Executive, nPDP controls the Legislature; tell me the way forward? Party’s ideology should GREATLY influence governance just like other advance countries; the US and UK.

Your pride made you to make VERY reckless statements at some particular points in time which are not good and healthy for our economy. One of such is the 5% statement at the US Institute of Peace. That those that gave you 5% vote will also get 5% treatment. Mr. President, you goofed!!! Why that kind of statement after elections? Were you still campaigning? This statement is responsible for the renewed and increased agitations for self rule in the South East and South-South regions, for they are the ones who gave you 5% because of their Kinsman Jonathan. They cannot watch you treat them as second class citizens in the very country they claim to belong. You also forgot that one of these 5% people gave you Power voluntarily without recourse to force.

Imagine if you had extended a hand of friendship, and you disappoint them by making someone from either SS/SE your CoS/SGF and mirror the difference it would have made. Experiences have shown that the persons you can trust most is when turn your enemy to your friend and imagine the level of loyalty. But your refusal to #change is responsible for the lack of cooperation from these regions to move Nigeria forward with you, which has led to the destruction of oil facilities and installations. This has severely dealt with our economy after Billion of Dollars revenue shortfall, besides you spend more and over stretch the military personnel in trying to destabilize the so called Niger Delta Avengers and IPOB agitators, coupled with putting the Boko Haram in check.

Still on your refusal to #change and your erroneous believe that you are a saint, you made other reckless statements at your trip to the UN Summit last year, such as; Nigerians are very corrupt and that Nigerian Economy has being destroyed by PDP 16 years of misrule. One of the most unfortunate is the embarrassment you gave Elumelu and Co. in one of your visits. If you care to know Sir, you cannot develop the economy alone. You need the business community more than they need you. Your UN summit statements discouraged investors from coming into Nigeria. And the embarrassment you gave Tony Elumelu and Co. made other domestic investors run from you. The result Sir, is reduced Foreign Direct Investment, worst still investors withdrew their money from the economy. If you care to know, the Stock Market lost #1.732 trillions in your one year in office. Unfortunately and most embarrassing for us, the same Elumelu you treated with disdain, afterwards gave a lecture on Investments in Nairobi, Kenya with the US President Barack Obama present. Your duty as the Father of all include mobilizing all sections of the Country and all Sectors Of the economy for an inclusive economic growth and developments, above all portray your people and the economy in good light whether good or bad - Yorubas will say; eni ti o ba ta ara ile e lopo ko le rira lowon. Meaning if you despised your family members in public, others will join suit. They will also say; a ki n gbo buburu lenu abore. – if the great Seer says he sees doom what will the followers see?

Your lack of economic blue prints and unpreparedness made you to waist six months of our precious time looking for your ‘saint’ ministers. At the very time will needed brains to come together to faction out ways to improve the economy, you were there junketeering around the globe. All we hear from you again is another reckless statement that ministers are noise makers. And these noise makers you now expect them to bring good results after you have portrayed them as useless. A leader does no work other than to ‘mobilize and encourage’. He charismatically leads his followers and they gladly do the thinking for him. Now the so called ministers are afraid to give you ideas for unnecessary fears.

Your war against corruption has being that of vindictive mission and more of media trial to discredit your opponents than sincerity of purpose. Incredibly the economy bleeds for it. Obasanjo toed same path you are now but achieve nothing, only to have corruption fight back. No country across the globe can boast of totally exterminating corruption through your ‘crude’ means. What you don’t know is that abuse of office is part of human nature. So corruption will continue to live as long as human beings liveth. The best way to fight corruption is correcting the system by putting up institutional measures to curb the menace. Instead you run after your opponents and enemies, harass them, even to the extent of flouting court orders – your dictatorial tendencies. Yet you shield your associates alleged of corruption. #buratai saga, Danbazau, job racketeering by CBN, FIRS and budget padding among others have all being swept under the carpet. The most recent is the dollar racketeering by your ministers and top shots in the Presidency being alleged by a formal CBN Governor, the Emir of Kano Lamido Sanusi – no minister or Official has being fired yet. What we heard next was that FG wants to probe formal CBN Governors. The energy and vigor you are suppose to put in reviving the economy, you dissipate it on trivialities.

Your non- being receptive, a product of yet your pride is responsible for utter disregard of warnings and pieces of advice given to you on policy formulations by patriotic Nigerians such as Pat Utomi, Rewane, Charles Soludo among others. For example is the TSA issue. TSA is a good policy, but her implementation is bad. Why allow cash to ‘waste’ away in the CBN vault while the economy needs productive spending to move out of recession. Another one is the forex ban and restrictions on 41 items and the almighty devaluation of naira. Charles Soludo one of Nigerian finest brains in terms of Finance and Economy rebuked all of the above at a lecture in Lagos for Realnewsmagazine.net 3rd Anniversary in Nov. 2015. He said it categorically that these steps will implode the economy, worsening unemployment and poverty level. All theses prophesy are now very much with us today in less than a year. Instead of inviting him….. No I’m sorry, he is from the 5%.
Finally, I will say recession is a normal thing. What goes up must come down. That’s law of nature. When will have boom, we should also expect doom. Doom leads back to boom. Sir congratulations then! Just same way a bad Case makes a good Lawyer, a critical condition makes a good Doctor and that smooth Sea does not make a skilled Sailor, so does turbulent times makes historic presidents. Use this opportunity to ride to victory by imbibing the #changebeginswithme mantra.

Ben Afolami.
Wrote in from Ibadan, Oyo State.

Rubbish! This is a futile attempt by a foot soldier of the corrupt and unpatriotic lot that nearly destroyed this country. This country is being rescued and some fool is writing nonsense.

Lobish, after PDP has looted the con3.
Sai BuBu.....
Dnt mind dem jare
bad belle people Keep flyin to jupiter.... #Chanjibegins with u