Thousands of Nigerians on Tuesday morning took to the streets of Abuja to celebrate the achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration as well as pass a vote of confidence
The rally which comprised Civil Society Organisations, Non Governmental Organizations as well as various political groups was organised by the Truth and Justice Movement of Nigeria and political organizations who came out en mass in solidarity with the organizers.
Convener of the Movement, Hon. Johnson Ondoma while addressing journalists said the essence of the rally is to demonstrate to President Buhari that having fulfilled his promises to reinvent Nigeria amongst the comity of nations, having defeated terrorism and corruption on our national life, the people feel there is no better way to express it than to come out en mass .
“The rally is important because as commoners, we express ourselves through public actions and not politicians and contractors who prefer to discuss governance in the state house and lobbies of hotels,” he said.
Ondoma said despite repeated attempt to portray the Buhari administration of non performance, Nigerians know that the present administration in the last two years has achieved far better than it’s predecessor in areas of anti corruption, infrastructure and security.
He cited the $1 billion EuroBond which was oversubscribed as the beginning of good things to come.
He said, “Those who are sincere will acknowledge the investment in infrastructure that is now bringing improvement to roads and other critical national assets. Unlike in the past when the money for these road contacts were usually shared and made to circulate round, the funds released are now actually going into getting the jobs done. If people are not getting slush funds passed down to them it means they have to review their personal economic activities within the reality of an anticorruption era.
“There have also been several social security programmes being implemented by the government to ensure that economically disadvantaged people are not left to weather the difficulties they are facing alone. This has never happened before and it is something we should be objective enough to commend.”
He said it is to the credit of President Buhari’s anticorruption efforts that these thieves are being exposed
According to him, Nigerians have recently been inundated by stories, most of which turned out to be fake news, about the health and wellbeing of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said, “$9.8 million was discovered in a safe at the house of a former Group Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, which he declared as gifts kept as housekeeping change. A $37.5 million naira property belonging to Diezani Alison-Madueke was uncovered in Banana Island, Lagos. Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed revealed that $151 million was recovered in stolen funds. The list goes on.
“Dear compatriots, please tell me what economy can survive with this magnitude of theft and not undergo depression? By now one should even be worried if the Americans still have dollars left to spend given the way the kleptomaniacs in our country have hoarded the greenback in underground safes. “
According to Ondoma, some people are inciting Nigerians to hold President Buhari wholly responsible to the slide in the naira and the consequent recession that has touched Nigerians with economic hardship.
He said sadly, these same instigators were the ones that served governments that refused to save for the raining day, adding that they were the ones that never thought to diversify the economy but continued to deepen our dependence on crude oil earnings.
He said, “they were the ones that collaborated to make the multi-billion dollars theft possible.
In addition to this historical sabotage of the economy by those in power, their boys in the creeks are damaging oil export infrastructure under the guise of being Niger Delta militants. These are the men who do not want to do any work but want to be placed on the dole. They are the ones that have further worsened the economy.
