Nigerians React to President Buhari’s First Media Chat – 1

President Muhammadu Buhari finally hosted his first media chat at the Aso Rock presidential villa in Abuja today, December 30. The president has been blamed for disclosing his biggest moves to foreign rather than Nigerian media. Now the things have changed and this is how Nigerians reacted tonight as gathered by Elombah.com. 

First off the block is Gboyega Adejumo he wrote below. We strongly recommend Buhari actually read his response.:

Buhari performed abysmally low – Gboyega Adejumo

His answers lack the adequate understanding and grasp of issues… Especially on Tertiary education and the state of the economy.

I honestly feel any conversation about the state of our economy and what the inactivity of Buhari’s in the first six months, coupled with his critical lack of understanding of how to manage a fledgling economy, such as ours, are simply out of the scope of rational thinking, for most the Buharists. Clearly they do not know, otherwise by now we should all be asking same questions instead of the undue “praise and worship” sessions we see everyday on social media….

So I’ll try to bring certain issues from what I have seen tonight into focus … . 

1st, this President is anything but a current person in how to manage an economy, especially an economy such as ours… Because if he does, he won’t ever want to finance a deficit of N2.2 trillion by borrowing N2.2 trillion! It simply means, there will be massive strain on the Naira. It simply means there will be inflation. 

2, He wants to borrow, locally and internationally, and I laugh! 

I work with Multilateral agencies…. It is Only with Such Agencies of the World Bank and Affiliates that such comfortable loans can be procured, viz IFAD, IBRD, IMF…. And with his infantile economic policies and stringent measures that have led to the exit of major foreign stock investments, we will have a hard time convincing these Multilateral agencies… 

3, We need foreign inputs to strengthen production. But with a policy whereby there’s no convertibility of financial instruments, where even ATM cards don’t work abroad, where you can’t withdraw more than N150k per day, nobody will invest here! 

4, Our credit rating was a Strong A+, apart from South Africa, no other African country had that at the end of 2014! We were rated the 4th fastest growing economy in the world by CNN, you can Google it please… Today, our Fitch rating is down, downgraded to B- ! Meaning our credit worthiness is under massive suspect! All of these happened on Buhari’s watch, so much so the CBN governor cried out in August, that if a viable policy is not put in place, Nigeria will officially be in recession in January! 

5, Are you aware of the massive strides we made in Agriculture in the past 5 years!?? 

Now all of that is laid to waste as this President is anything but mindful about consolidating on the gains of the past administration. His fixation on settling scores and fighting political battles and chasing stolen funds blinded him to THE REAL INDICES UPON WHICH A GOVERNMENT IS JUDGED – PROVISION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE, GROWTH OF THE ECONOMY AND THESE INDICES CAN NEVER BE REPLACED BY ANY OTHERS NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS….!

So, experts do see these thing but the likes of them, don’t see because they are far too gone…Far too gone from the REAL issues… Issues, that can make for growth!

On Nnamdi Kanu and The Biafran protest! Buhari is Not a Democrat! Otherwise he won’t be nonchalant about the Biafran protests… In this, is a bigger issue than Boko Haram, but he does Not know! He can not know because, “You can’t give what you don’t have”! Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet! It is still yet a protest and he can cleverly diffuse it, through Dialogue. But if he should it become a Revolution, the Arab spring will pale, compared to the Biafran Revolution…

On the Exchange

When February comes and Naira exchanges for N300 to $1, someone will still be locked up in your state of trust in a grossly ill fitted man. So we’ll wait till April… By then someone definitely will be singing a new Swan song or. Like the proverbial fly that follows a cadaver to the grave, all that will be left will be an acute buyers remorse of unprecedented resonance.

On the recovery of funds! 

Reality seems to elude our president so fast it left him without as much as the faintest idea of what will save this country! Because some folks mismanaged the security votes, you are here obfuscation instead of facing bigger challenges on how to curb inflation, strengthen the Naira and provide infrastructure? Has he heard how President Obasanjo spent his own security votes!? How N500 billion was spent on Obasanjo’s 3rd term!??

Listen to us Mr President…. 

I know you are a father, because that would help!

Now imagine that a Thief came and stole some yam from a household! 

And the kids said to their father, “Dad we need to go to school” and the father says to them, “Children, I must catch this Thief first”. 

Next day, the kids again say to their Dad, “Dad, we need to eat”! 

And again Dad says,” Don’t you kids know how important it is to catch this Thief that stole our yam.

The kids are not in school, they are hungry, but they bear with this Dad… But then they need to cover the leaking roof, which of course is to provide warmth and Dad again says, “Children, the leaking roof is Nothing, catching the thief is everything…” 

Next day a child dies…!

Now what kind of a father is that, Mr President!? 

From N198 to $1, it is now N283!

Bag of rice from 8k is now 14k!?

Have we ever had 3 months of perennial scarcity in this country in the last 16 years!?? 

“The Economist”, the number One journal for Economists all over the world, has projected a bleak economic future in 2016, for Nigeria and don’t you go near anything like stolen Security Vote! PLEASE!! 

The respected Journal, “The Economist” blames it all up on the Serious Deficiency and Lack on behalf of this government to CONSTRUCTIVELY map out Vigorously Modern and Effective Economic strategies to match the ever dynamic economic realities of the 21st century! 

Our President, who neglected the economy of this great country for a Good 6 months, simply did Not deem it fit to put in place a very Solid and Competent Economic Team!!! 

Even up till now, I am Not sure we still have such a team! 

As I was listening to the president, I hoped for just that expression of the right tinge to give us succour, an assurance of some sort about the Urgency regarding how to steer the ship of state from plunging into a certain economic precipice… 

Alas, I found None!

If anyone reading me, perhaps got such an assurance, and I’m not talking about Rhetorics please, certainly it is Not about how much he could get from stolen monies either – I’m referring to a PLAN, like a Bank will refer to “A Letter Of Comfort”, A “Letter of Credit”, if you will, please state such here for us all to analyse…

With this, I hope someone will have something to think about…. 

It’s your choice, you may also decide it is Not worth a thought. Your choice still.

Gboyega Adejumo

CONTINUED HERE