By Isyaka Laminu Badamasi
During the build-up to the 2019 general elections, former President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign slogan was “Next Level”—a misleading slogan intended to make people believe that the 2015–2019 administration had anything to write home about.
Public affairs commentators throughout most of the campaign period cautioned Nigerians not to accept this slogan and to vote the system out. Those who survived Buhari’s second coming have many stories to tell the next generation.
This administration’s re-election campaign slogan, “Renewed Hope,” relies on similar gimmicks. What kind of hope is the Tinubu administration renewing? Is it the hope of addressing lingering insecurity, such as banditry and kidnapping, or the hope of reversing poor economic policies and programmes that have plunged the common man into avoidable hardship?
This administration, deceitfully designed, introduced several palliative programs to cushion the negative effects of subsidy removal, such as promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles, as well as establishing social safety nets. Tinubu administration halted the N-Power scheme, the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, and other social security initiatives without offering any convincing reasons.
The Tinubu administration also established a dedicated agency, the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGC), as a financial institution designed to expand financial inclusion and drive economic growth across Nigeria and appointed the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as its chairman, backed by a 100 billion Naira budget allocation.
Three years into this administration, the agency has not yet secured an office building; it is squatting within the Bank of Industries building, and no official records of beneficiaries are available for verification.
The same administration is currently prosecuting an individual who, according to reports, established a fake agency, received funding, and spent huge amounts of money. This is Nigeria for you.
Dear Nigerians, vote wisely to avoid experiencing a situation similar to, or worse than, Buhari’s second term.
Isyaka Laminu Badamasi writes from no 555 Ajiya Adamu Road, Bauchi, Bauchi State.