Amid the apparent failure of the federal government to pay state governments their share of monthly allocation, President Goodluck Jonathan’s defensive fulminations, the other day, at suggestions that the country was broke, amounted to an ostrich evasion that is a recipe for social cataclysm and possible violent implosion of the polity over a serious national issue that has well gone past crisis point. This is reprehensible and unacceptable. Of particular interest was Jonathan’s explanation that: “anybody who talks about Nigeria being broke is just playing politics or talking out of ignorance.” This seeming denial is self-defeating and seeks to mask the administration’s unwillingness to address allegations of corruption after House reps unearthed the pilferage of a whooping N320.654 billion from the sale of crude oil and gas marketed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
This shortfall in the federation account, which some governors claim, has inevitably resulted in the non-remittance of States’ monthly allocations, has put the country on edge. It would take only a short while before tensions begin to mount, especially with most states unable to pay salaries to their workers, meaning they would be unable to cater for their families. Vendors and contractors would also not be able to get paid for jobs done, and would in turn retrench workers. As tensions rise and tempers flare, Nigeria, charged as it is from the palpitation of socio-political discontents, would easily be fanned aflame by what arguably, is a disaster waiting to happen. Time is running out fast; the president should stop sermonizing. Rather, he should wake up from a perceived slumber, deploy all the instruments of power at his disposal and act decisively to salvage a nation crumbling under the weight of corruption and administrative ineptitude. Nigerians are tired of lame excuses; they deserve some respite.
Recent reports indicate that funds shortage has been hampering the implementation of the 2013 budget even as the states and the federal government are at loggerhead over shortfalls in the statutory monthly allocation. Taking swipe at the splinter Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for suggesting that Nigeria is broke, the President said: “Sometimes people play politics with serious issues because for anybody to wake up and say that Nigeria is bankrupt, how do you tell that the country is bankrupt? There must be some parameters you use to determine bankruptcy. You don’t get to wake up in your dreams from your sleep to say Nigeria is bankrupt.” President Jonathan is, of course, right in his lamentation that the politics of 2015 has become the driving motivation of public engagement. But however one looks at it, it is clear that the federal government has not demonstrated any convincing capacity to settle the arrears for July, August and September, owed the 36 States. The President might say all the appropriate things, but his words were grossly undermined by the evidence on the ground of how, on his watch, and for the first time since 1999, allocations can no longer come as at when due to the States. Truth be told: the current situation has far-reaching national security implications. Which is why it bears reminding the President that a time like this demands a leader that would stand up to be counted in action, not only in words.
Given the uncanny display of indifference over the issue, it is doubtful if the government has considered the ripple effect of its negligence and inconsiderate non-remittance of the monthly allocation to the States. It is probable; therefore, that a groundswell of public complaints might have impelled the president to respond to the justifiably strident criticisms of his administration’s tardiness. But hear the president in his own words: “Nigeria as a nation in terms of foreign direct investment coming into Africa, more interest is in Nigeria by bigger economies outside. We had been meeting with President Obama; I have just been given the privilege for the traditional bell ringing to close the New York Stock Exchange market because we had been meeting with President Obama. For them to give me that privilege that shows that the Nigerian business environment is very healthy. That is an indication. In our capital market, more than 80 per cent of those that invest in it are non-Nigerians. If Nigeria is bankrupt, they would remove their money overnight because they read every day the Business Times and other papers that talk about finance of the world. They have experts to do that for them.” Fair enough!
This is empty bluster and mere grand-standing that could be interpreted as an act of nonchalance and a blatant endorsement of the status quo; which wittingly or unwittingly is pushing the nation towards the precipice. Jonathan seems to have forgotten his mind in New York, but he should return home and talk to Nigerians outside his circle of grinning courtiers and sycophants. The damage to the economy and society from the non-remittance is immeasurable, and is already inflicting untold hardship on Nigerians. Whether or not Jonathan rings the closing bell on Wall Street is inconsequential. The fact remains that his government has not paid the monthly allocation to the States. What Nigerians expect from a transformational president are actions and policies that will directly impact their lives and conditions.
Since the advent of the current democratic experience, life for ordinary citizens has been generally difficult, compounded by ravaging poverty and increasing despondency. Nigerians are in dire need of life-changing policies. They look to their president not just to provide happiness, prosperity and life more abundant in Nigeria but also to reflect the mood of a people in despair, bogged down by poverty, unemployment, diseases and a decrepit state of infrastructure.
Ever since Jonathan came to power, more people in the administration have joined the caravan of the rogues, becoming overnight millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the people and their future. The public service is full of people whose wealth and opulent lifestyle cannot be explained outside corrupt practices, and government at all levels has, of course, become the quickest route to free money and stupendous wealth. The impunity is too mind-boggling.
If the President thought Nigerians would clap for him over his self-aggrandizing statements, he was wrong, his candor and honesty of speech notwithstanding. Jonathan must be even with the Nigerian people and tell them what the problem is, with the federation account and why the government cannot meet up with its financial obligations to the States. The non-remittance of States’ monthly allocations is a national emergency and its continuous persistence is a sad reflection on any leader’s style. Preaching is not the solution. The buck stops at the President’s desk and any leader that perennially makes excuses only exhibits a lack of focus and opens himself to charges of complicity and failed leadership. Thankfully, Mr. President still has some time left in his tenure – if politics allows – to turn things around and prove himself as a man who can deliver on his promises; a President who fought the most, not just spoke out the most, on behalf of the Nigerian people.
