A civil society organisation, Centre for Liberty, on Thursday faulted the claim attributed to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), made what he described as tremendous progress in the fight against banditry and insurgency in 2021.
Mohammed had, at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday to showcase the “achievements” of the Buhari regime, said although security remained the major challenge in the outgoing year, the regime made tremendous progress in fighting insecurity and growing the economy.
But the Convener of Centre for Liberty, Dare Ariyo-Atoye, in an interview with one of our correspondents wondered why the minister could make such a claim when, according to him, the President could not even secure his state, Katsina.
He noted that Mohammed’s claim came at a time the President’s state governor, Aminu Masari, told residents of the state to bear arms and secure themselves.
“So, which success or effort is the minister referring to?” he asked.
Ariyo-Atoye reminded the minister that insecurity was one of the issues the President cited in his letter to the National Assembly when he refused to sign the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill into law.
He said, If the President himself can admit that there is insecurity and he has not been able to tackle it, how will Lai Mohammed then come out to make claims of success?
Also, the coordinator, Northern Alliance Movement, Yahuza Getso said, “The significant progress in respect to failure? Significant progress when he has exhibited that he lacks the competence to tackle insecurity?
“The president is an absolute failure. Let Lai Mohammed know that Nigerians will not forget this administration for bad.”
The National Coordinator of Advocate for Peoples Rights and Justice, Victor Giwa, said Nigerians should be allowed to decide a scorecard for the President.
He advised the minister to stop playing on the intelligence of Nigerians with his comments.
Giwa said, “That statement is false, Lai has the pedigree of misguiding the public.
“He should not tell us what they have done. Nigerians can feel it. Buhari’s achievements is not what he should state, his achievements are what Nigerians should know. Even on security can anyone say the country is more secured than it was?”
But Mohammed claimed in his presentation that the present regime has made tremendous progress in the fight against banditry and insurgency in 2021
He said, “This administration, in spite of daunting challenges, made tremendous progress in 2021 in fighting insecurity, growing the economy, reforming the oil sector to spur more investments, emplacing world-class infrastructure, providing social safety net for the poor and most vulnerable in the society and also taking advantage of the huge opportunities offered by the Information and Communications Technology Sector.
“Let me admit straight away that the year has not been devoid of challenges. For the outgoing year, in particular, the major challenge has been that of insecurity. In spite of this and the usual economic challenges, especially the dwindling resources available to the government, the administration has availed itself creditably, as we will be demonstrating shortly.
The minister hailed the military for its efforts in the fight against insurgency.
“As I said in my introductory remarks, our biggest challenge in the outgoing year is in the area of security. Despite the enormity of the challenge, our military has continued to live up to its billing.
“We owe them a debt of gratitude for their patriotism and sacrifice. We just can’t appreciate them enough, as you will soon see when I break down their achievements in the year under review,” Mohammed said.
He also appreciated Nigerians for their perseverance in the face of the security challenges plaguing the country.
“We want to sincerely thank all Nigerians for their support and perseverance. We want to reassure the nation that President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to leave a legacy of a safe, secure and prosperous nation,” he added.
Some of the achievements of the Buhari regime according to Mohammed, include the growth of the country’s GDP, passage and signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Act, N287bn profit after tax by the NNPC, the expansion N-Power from 500,000 to one million beneficiaries.
“The Digital Economy sector was highly instrumental in lifting the Nigerian economy out of recession. According to the Q4 2020 Report on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector recorded the highest growth rate of all the sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“The breakdown of the different sectors shows that the 14.7 per cent growth rate of the ICT sector was greater than the combined 14.21 per cent growth of the 2nd to 7th fastest growing sectors in 2020.
“The telecommunications sector alone recorded a growth rate of 15.90 per cent, representing its highest growth rate in the last 10 years. In the NBS report for the Q1 2021, the ICT sector maintained its position as the fastest-growing sector of the economy. This, therefore, indicates that the Digital Economy sector has proven to be vital for the diversification of the Nigerian economy,” he added.
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