A day to Tinubu’s 365 days on the throne.

A day to Tinubu’s 365 days on the throne.

By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.

We have been on the review of Reno Omokri’s appraisal of BAT’s one year in office before the political striker in BAT hit the back of the net with the great goal since 1999. Worth our distraction but, I will do my best to treat Reno’s file, so we can unwrap BAT’s gift to Nigerians on his anniversary tomorrow.

Reno has this to say of the ministers of FCT, Interior, Aviation, Works and Petroleum Resources; “Wike has finished multiple projects, such as the Abuja Metro, the Outer Southern Expressway, and the Independence and Constitution Avenue amongst others. His announcement that the Abuja Light Rail will operate free for two months after its commissioning on Monday, the 27th of May, 2024, is a masterstroke that will drive the usability of the line.

The Minister of the Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has brought sanity to passport issuance and made the process seamless and expedient. Nigerians now get their passports in two weeks or less. He has also made NIN registration more meaningful by eliminating bottlenecks and unnecessary processes and by improving that aspect of our security architecture, we have witnessed a substantial reduction in financial crimes due to increased NIN-SIM linkage.

The eGates at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport have eased entry into Nigeria. The man is young, strong, and has sprung a huge shadow in so short a time.

In aviation, Festus Keyamo has used his good offices to ensure a Nigerian carrier now flies direct to London and will soon restart direct flights to Dubai. He has also achieved the feat of reactivating the United States-Nigeria Open Skies Air Transport Agreement, which the Jonathan administration first achieved, but was mismanaged by the Buhari regime and lay dormant until now. It is a remarkable progress that allows unrestricted capacity and frequency of services, open route rights, a liberal charter regime, and open code-sharing opportunities.

Our air safety record has improved, and his ministry has been fast at taking action to ensure airlines improve their safety by immediately subdividing them over runway overshooting incidents.

And Keyamo implemented the provision of free high-speed Internet at federal airports and universities. Though initiated by the previous government, it was not implemented until Keyamo.

The Works Minister, Dave Umahi, has my admiration not just for the prompt commencement and speed of the pace of work of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, but also for the mature manner in which he handled the politics surrounding the incident.

He is also fast with coming up with designs for the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway and is very hands on with supervising projects, visiting contractors on the site, and putting them on their toes. Umahi is a man to watch.

Umahi also oversaw the rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, even equipping it with speed cameras to increase road safety and expedite traffic. In Aisha Buhari’s voice, Umahi ‘deserves some accolades.’

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, is cited because Nigeria has substantially increased oil production capacity from 1 million to 1.3 million barrels daily to reclaim our spot as Africa’s largest oil producer.

Under him, fuel importation reduced by 52%, while local refining increased by 14%, and the Port Harcourt Refinery is revived and near operational.

Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf M. Tuggar, has substantially improved Nigeria’s standing in the international community by his articulate and skilful handling of our foreign policy. Nigeria took a good position in the Israel-Palestinian conflict and has maintained her non-alignment with the Western and Eastern blocs.

This resulted in the U.S. Secretary of State visiting Nigeria and holding a joint press conference with him after Nigeria, under Tuggar’s watch, projected her status as the regional power by intervening to restore law and order in Sierra Leone after a failed coup.

From where I stand, these are the bright lights of the Tinubu administration, and while the other ministers may have fared well, I have not seen their impact as much as I have with these. It may be that my point of view is preventing me from seeing their stellar performances. However, with the individuals I have outlined above, President Tinubu can see the demonstration of the Pareto Principle in his government.

According to the Italian economist and polymath Vilfredo Pareto, eight per cent of your outcomes will be achieved by twenty per cent of your effort. Also known as the 80/20 rule. These men above are the twenty that will help Tinubu score above eighty per cent by 2027″.

The focus of Reno Omokri is the 80% Tinubu will score in 2027, a Yoruba saying states, “ayangbe aja dun, sugbon kini kan la o je, ki aja o to gbe”, dry dog meat is sweet but what shall one eat while waiting for dog meat to dry”.

I agree with Reno on his rating of the above listed Ministers but it is the usual callous elites attitude of taking care of their class while the demography of our majority, the down trodden are uncaptured. Wike is doing well transforming Abuja for 4,026,000 Residents, average of 5 million Airport users annually and 12 million road users who come into Abuja. Take that fraction out of 230 million who are in dire need of survival across Nigeria. Which of the listed achievements will affect the living standards of the rural dwellers in the next one year? The challenge of food security is not in focus but Reno believes BAT will score 80% in 2027. How will the challenge of hunger that is in the land now be attended to; now!

Tunji-Ojo’s passport is the 10th worst passport in the world. We are not ready for development if we keep comparing ourselves with ourselves. Tunji-Ojo with Aregbesola, Lagos State with other states in Nigeria and Tinubu with Buhari. What standards have we set with the best in the world? The money spinner that passport issuance has become is more of an economic calamity than gain. Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey 2021 conducted by African polling Institute, shows that 7 out of every 10 Nigerians are eager to leave the country if offered the opportunity. I bet, if that poll is conducted in 2024 it will be 10 out of 10. The miseries of national desolation that we are confronted with is the challenge of this government. What is driving Nigerians out of Nigeria? Until Tunji-Ojo can find this out and stern it. There’s no joy getting swollen headed serving an administration that 10 out of 10 want to leave their country for. This is what our Interior Ministry is taking advantage of; the desperation of Nigerians to “japa” issuing passports to millions who will pay Visa fees to different embassies but will never be issued, is a complication of our impoverishment.

If we have to clap for Umahi/BAT for resurfacing 3rd Mainland Bridge, then we better build a shrine for Babangida whose efforts holds the Bridge’s pillars and columns to enable them resurface it.

On the Lagos – Calabar road, a time line of 8 years is set for it to be fully completed. Meaning BAT administration may not be able to deliver it even if BAT wins in 2027. The Badagry Sokoto Road is on the drawing board, possibly to be completed within the 8 years of Shettima, post BAT. Both projects for me are election winning gimmicks that we are already familiar with in Lagos. Ask Lagosians how many elections the light rail project has won. And for how long we have been driving on the 4th Mainland Bridge to Ikorodu in our dreams.

Internal movement of goods and services, particularly of farm produce within the country remains a nightmare as roads are in very bad condition for which the cost of transportation is driven up.
In a bid to look like the rest of the world in infrastructural development, focus of Umahi’s road infrastructural design is not embarrassing our economic realities. We should at this time be domesticating our design to accommodate employment opportunities, enhance security and provide access to food items supply.

As at the 7th of September 2017, 2nd year of APC administration, which Tinubu inherited, 135,000km road network in Nigeria were not tarred, this was according to
The Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Chidi Izuwah.

He spoke on the theme “Transportation Infrastructure as a Catalyst for Economic Diversification and Inclusive National Development”.

“Nigeria has about 195,000 km road networks out of which a proportion of about 32,000 km are federal roads while 31,000km are state’s.

“Out of this, only about 60,000km are paved. Of the paved roads, a large proportion is in very poor unacceptable condition due to insufficient investment and lack of adequate maintenance.

“Private capital and management expertise will help in this area as has happened in Malaysia, India and South Africa,” he said. Every kilometre of existing road in Nigeria holds employment prospects. Constructing new roads when over 70% of useful existing roads have not been paved. That there is no policy in place to guarantee the effective maintenance of the paved portion that has gone bad is most unfortunate. I hope this will not be treated the way Tunji-Ojo did the prospect of employment that our forest holds, that I addressed him to in one of my articles within the public spaces?

On aviation, what is the percentage of Nigerians that will travel to the UK between now and 2027? Populist projects are what BAT needs. Probing the aviation ministry under Buhari is the only interest Nigerians are expecting from Keyamo and his Principal. Other achievements can only complement the accountability of the Hadi Sarika years.

Petroleum resources ministry I leave to the judgement of the Nigerian workers whose salary was increased by 51.5% while transportation has gone up by over 100% and food items are galloping between 120 to 150% as a result of increase in pump price of PMS from ₦255 to between ₦650 to ₦900 depending on which marketer of state you are buying from.

Let’s close our review of Reno Omokri’s BAT’s one year in office with the truth found in Omokri’s mouth; “From where I stand, these are the bright lights of the Tinubu administration”.

I doubt if Reno has had any reason to stand at Ojuelegba bus stop since 1999 running after moving buses to board. Reno Omokri I am sure has had no reason to shop for food items even at the prestigious middle class Wuse Market in Abuja. He is not standing where we are standing and can never comprehend our view. On the elites hills of rhetoric of diplomacy of speech in self serving to deceive the gullible he has firmly planted his feet but he failed to realise that his lofty words are incomprehensible by our reality.

Omokri is living the best of his life at the moment courtesy of his understanding of the philosophy of BAT administration, #emilokan, a very well known pro-igbo online activist has suddenly become the advocate of omoluabi ethos.

My advice to all Nigerians is to embrace Emilokan philosophy, how does this benefit ME? #Sokanmi? #Olorunlokan

What benefits Omokri is what is working!

Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.

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