25th December, 2014
By Joe Femi-Dagunro/Lagos
With the recent outburst of Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former medical doctor turned political jobber, that has been given undue attention by many concerned Nigerians globally, I believe it is time for us to ignore this uncouth and untrained media spokesperson representing the government of Nigeria.
Dr. Okupe is not aware that the government of Nigeria is not just about his political party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but about the nation and her people.
Nigeria, with a population of over 170 million people should not be taken for granted and be misinformed by one individual like Dr. Okupe who has no credibility to speak on behalf of the government.
Since Dr. Okupe has simply and confidently asked us to call him a bastard, we should let it be and move on to discuss issues relevant to the development of our nation.
We expect the leading political parties to come up with their manifestos to convince the people of Nigeria to vote them into the seat of government and they should stop the ongoing senseless campaign of lies and insults.
None of the political parties has told us how the issue of electricity will be solved, how to tackle unemployment, insecurity, balance of budget, improve on the morale of our armed forces and the police, develop the technological potentials or boost our educational standard.
Many of the ministers in this present administration have been telling us about MoUs being signed and we are yet to witness any improvement in the lives of our people in those areas.
We have had accusations and counter accusations from the ministry of agriculture and no one can simply tell us the truth.
Billions of Naira have been allocated to the various federal ministries and agencies and we are yet to feel the impact of any development in comparison to what has been spent or unspent.
While most countries are spending heavily on solar and wind energy, Nigeria is still battling with 4000megawatts of energy and no one is telling us on what the way forward is.
No one has given us a clear direction on our foreign policy, no one has told us how we came about the huge deficit in our budget and when we are likely to come out of it.
We hear confusing stories and indications from the CBN and the most “powerful” minister in the world, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, asking us to trust them and that we should not be bothered about what we can all see as a global trend.
No one dares challenge their supreme intelligence and their position of authority as it seems that no Nigerian before now has the knowledge to say or do the right thing.
However, I must say that the president of this country, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was courageous to tell Nigerians recently that he’s sometime confused about the advices he gets from his team of advisers and friends.
Our take on this is very simple: Mr. President, sack all your fake advisers and friends, they are too many by the way, and restructure your team before your term ends. You can still achieve some good and you will be noted for that.
Mr. President, you can see that some of your ministers and advisers who did not clinch their tickets for the 2015 elections have left your party. That simply shows how confused and greedy they are. Needless to even imagine the sort of advices they must have given you!
Okupe has done more damage to your person as the leader of this government in his unprofessional way of handling your image and he should be sacked before it is too late. And please ask some of your so called fanatical admirers and friends like Femi Fani-Kayode to maintain a sense of humility like you do in their approach to launder your image.
Political leaders in Nigeria should not forget that the President of Nigeria is an African President, a Black Leader and a personality with higher responsibility. Therefore, we expect the likes of Lai Mohammed to refrain from insulting the president of this country and concentrate on more serious issues that will help us develop our nations.
We are still expecting the leading opposition party in Nigeria, All Progressive Party, APC to come out with genuine ideas on how the various issues raised above will be tackled and not just giving us a slogan of change.
Yes, we need a change and we also need capable people to tell us how this change will happen beyond a slogan for 2015.
Joe Femi-Dagunro is a member of Nigeria Beyond 2015 Group. He wrote in from Lagos
Email: [email protected]