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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid (472 Views)
COVID-19: 11 Million Poor Nigerians To Get Palliatives — FG / Buhari Appoints Junaid Abdullahi, His Son-In-Law As Head Of Border Agency / R-APC: Why Buhari’s Associates Are Dumping Him – Junaid Mohammed (2) (3) (4)
Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by nairavsdollars(f): 8:44am On Apr 16, 2020 |
Junaid Mohammed was a former Joint House Leader of the defunct Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee as well as a member of the Defence Committee in the Second Republic. In this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he speaks on latest developments in the polity, especially the war against Boko Haram insurgency. Excerpts: The Senate President and Speaker of the House recently faulted the Social Investment programme of the FG, saying it is not getting to poor Nigerians. Do you think poor Nigerians are really benefiting from these palliatives? I agree with the proposition that if the palliatives aimed at assisting the needy in the country, then the government must go out of its way to ensure that it is properly done and the poor do benefit from it. From all indications, the poor are not benefiting from it. The same things was said about palliatives were the things that were said about Tradermoni, Marketmoni and other social intervention programmes; that the poor did not benefit from it. They didn’t work in the past and they are not working now. At the end of the day, the government is playing politics. The lies that are being told about the palliatives will come back to bite the President and the government, including the ruling party. President Idriss Deby of Chad few days ago led Chadian troops to rout Boko Haram and some Nigerians are asking President to also lead by example since he promised to lead the war from the front. What is your take on that? First and foremost, the circumstances of President Buhari and Idriss Deby of Chad are totally different. Also, Nigeria is a democratic government while the situation in Chad is that of a semi- dictatorship. So, they are totally different. But if truth be told, whatever the circumstances, I think President Buhari shouldn’t have made the pronouncement that as elected President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces, he was going to lead from the front. Whether he was speaking literally or metaphorically, it doesn’t matter. He shouldn’t have made the statement but he made it and now it is now coming back to haunt him. But no sane person who believes in Nigeria’s democracy as a project will imagine that Buhari who is over 85 years old should now go and lead Nigeria’s troops in fighting Boko Haram. Given his age, we shouldn’t expect him to be physically involved in frontal attack against Nigeria’s enemy whether they are Boko Haram or foreign countries. That will amount to taking things too far. What do you think the President can do so that Nigeria can make headway in the battle against the insurgents? I believe that what Buhari is expected to do but which in the views of most Nigerians he has failed to do is to provide political, economic and other kinds of leadership qualities and make sure that the country is secured internally and ensure that the people who are behind Boko Haram are exposed and they are dealt with appropriately. I don’t think that has happened. It is clear that in fighting Boko Haram, we are not just fighting the men who are involved physically in the organisation, we are also dealing with some people who, for obvious reasons don’t mean well for our country. These ones will rather blackmail the government into making some kind of concessions that no Nigerian leader can make and survive. As far as I am concerned, that is the situation we find ourselves right now. I want to say that personally in my capacity as the Chairman of the Foreign Relations committee of the House of Representatives during the Second Republic and also having been a friend of Buhari, I was disturbed when news came to me that General Buhari was threatening to go on his own and conduct a war in Chad then, without the full authorisation of President Shehu Shagari. The cardinal principle of democratic governance is that the military must be under the full and total control of the political class. Then Buhari was not elected but posted by the then Commander in Chief, Shehu Shagari to Jos as GOC of 3rd Armoured Division. That did not confer on him the power to attack or threaten a foreign country. If he did so with the authorisation of the President, he had no power to threaten the Foreign Affairs Minister of Nigeria, late Professor Ishaya Audu, a complete gentleman. Loading... Though Audu was not a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), he was nevertheless appointed by President Shagari as Foreign Minister. In the course of the performance of his duty as foreign affairs Minister, he has a right to advise the President and if he has any comments to make about the conduct of the war under Buhari, he has a right to do so, not necessarily directly to Buhari but to the Service Chiefs and of course, President Shagari himself. So, I was very disturbed. Given the way the war is going between us and the Chadians, it is clear that there is no full cooperation because I remember that sometimes last year; they simply took a decision which was almost unilateral to withdraw the Chadian armed forces from the theatres of war in the border between Nigeria and Chad. That was an indication that all is not going well and of course, every Nigerian of conscience knows that the war against Boko Haram is not going well and that Nigerians have no confidence in the Service Chiefs appointed by Buhari. That explains why anytime, Boko Haram can get to a venue and attack our soldiers and they never paid the price for it. When they attack the Chadians, they paid the price. So, forget about the personal involvement of President Idriss Deby of Chad. The fact was that the Chadians are seriously feared by Boko Haram. How I wish we have the Generals and officers on the frontline fighting the war in the North East who are feared by Boko Haram. Clearly, they are not respected and they are not feared. The decision making of Nigerian government from top to bottom is such that no one will take us seriously. I sincerely hope that this development will encourage the government to be serious and to make sure that Nigeria’s territorial integrity is preserved and then we have people appointed to man key positions in the armed forces; people who are capable of performing at the war front and do Nigeria proud. At the moment, that is not the case. https://www.independent.ng/poor-nigerians-not-benefiting-from-federal-governments-palliatives-junaid-mohammed/
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Re: Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by agwom(m): 8:50am On Apr 16, 2020 |
Buhari's government is the kind of government that never exist before. The government is full unpatriotic Nigerians as leaders. |
Re: Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by Flyingngel(m): 9:01am On Apr 16, 2020 |
we all know but who are those journalist that normally give microphone to this man. From the entire North does it mean that they don't have mentally balance people that can air their views objectively? Cos this man will speak good today but tomorrow he become something else. |
Re: Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by Lipscomb(m): 9:03am On Apr 16, 2020 |
He created ministry of humanitarian affairs and put fulani human there. The minister of finance is from same tribe. So don't expect less. |
Re: Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by Ashabbiiee: 12:27pm On Apr 16, 2020 |
God bless you for this truth..only northerners are benefiting |
Re: Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by DATACUG: 4:56pm On Apr 16, 2020 |
Ok |
Re: Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by nairavsdollars(f): 9:17pm On Apr 16, 2020 |
very unfortunate Lipscomb: |
Re: Poor Nigerians Not Benefiting From Palliatives, It Is Highly Political – Junaid by Jflex07(m): 10:19pm On Apr 16, 2020 |
Scam government, Scam presidency and scam supporters. |
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