Continued from Part 2
It is not the man who has little, but the man who craves more, who is poor (Seneca the Younger)
There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means (Calvin Coolidge)
We are slaves of our needs; the fewer they are; they freer we are; the higher they are, the nobler the masters we serve (John L. Spalding)
Be studious in your profession, and you will be learned. Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich. Be sober and temperate, and you will be healthy. Be in general virtuous, and you will be happy. At least you will, by such conduct, stand the be (Benjamin Franklin)
igeria never ceases to amaze a discerning mind. President Buhari didn't contribute to the planning and writing of the budget he read to the whole world. When IMF came and told him that the budget is unsustainable, he became more confused. IMF then sent an economic team to vet the budget, and that was all that necessitated the withdrawal or "stealing" of the budget. So, when the IMF team finished their vetting, the presidency had to smuggle in the copy of the budget, the IMF vetted, back to the national assembly. What Buhari did was to instigate the disappearance of the budget from the national assembly for IMF team to vet it. Then, the national assembly was on recess. When the law makers resumed, the budget was nowhere to be found, so, they declared it missing. President Buhari then smuggled in a different version of the budget, and that was the copy approved by the IMF team. The Senate President was then summoned to Aso Rock and was ordered to say that "no budget was missing", and to cover up everything, Buhari also ordered Saraki to put the blame on his Special Adviser. Saraki then came out to say that the ad hoc committee set up to investigate the claims of the missing 2016 budget proposal reported that the Senate received two versions of the document from the Presidency; one directly from President Muhammadu Buhari, and the other from the senior special assistant to the president on National Assembly matters, Ita Enang, and, that only the document submitted by the president will be accepted by the lawmakers.
Do you see how Buhari thinks he's fast and clever: Ita Enang now bears the blame for his mess! President Buhari did "419" to Nigerians; if it was in a saner clime, he should have been sanctioned, and, such might even lead to the commencement of impeachment process against him for the breach of the constitution, forgery, stealing, etc. This is what I wrote to a friend, Lawrence Agha, in France: "Imagine a president of a country stealing the budget he presented, and smuggling in another to replace it because he didn't know what was in the first budget given to him by others who wrote it. Buhari thinks he's above the law. Imagine the DSS arresting (or inviting) the children of Idiagbon for them to explain how they got the contracts they are carrying out. Has Buhari no conscience? It's now proved that no $2.1 billion arms money is missing, but, it was all lies concocted by Buhari to rope in Dasuki because of what happened when IBB overthrew him". And I wrote further: "the problem is that in a country that boasts of thousands of PhD holders all over the world, an illiterate is holding everybody to ransom. The progressives have all gotten quite and dumb. Nobody is saying anything against the impunity Buhari is unleashing. Infact "there's nobody at home again", and that's pathetic. I weep for Nigeria".
Let me make a point very clear here and now: Dasuki shared some money no doubt, but, nobody has proved that the money was really meant for the purchase of weapons for our soldiers. I learnt that the figure, $2.1 billion, was the total amount budgeted for defense from 2007 to 2015. Buhari is using that figure to "get even with" Dasuki, despite the fact that he, Dasuki, was the NSA only from 2012 and not from 2007. That's the reason former president Jonathan has not said anything, rather than that he never awarded any contract of $2.1 billion for weapons, wondering where such money came from (you will read more about this in my upcoming article). Jonathan's government tried all it can to equip our soldiers; and that's why Jonathan's government succeeded in pushing the Boko Haram to the brink of extinction, making it possible for Nigeria to hold the 2015 elections in the north-eastern zone without any major security problem (today, in Buhari's era, no election will hold in all of that zone). Also, Buhari hasn't bought even a catapult for our soldiers since he came to power, but, our soldiers are still fighting with weapons, and these were bought by Jonathan's government. It's unfortunate that Boko Haram that was almost routed, prior to May 29, 2015, is now back in full force, killing, maiming people, destroying and disrupting things. Having said the above, I'm not in any way exonerating Dasuki and his fellow looters, including President Buhari, who also gained from the "booty", all should face the law.
Back to the budget: The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde (1956), and her team arrived Nigeria on Monday, January 4, 2016, for a four day visit; and, as guests of President Muhammadu Buhari, they met the president along other top officials. The IMF boss, knowing the feeling of disappointment Nigerians and the international community have towards this government, as what they are expecting is not what they are seeing from the government, tried to do some damage control, by lying that her visit had nothing to do with loan negotiation, but to review the Nigeria's economy and its impact on the neighbouring countries.
In actual fact, the IMF was in Nigeria for two reasons: One was because of the lavish budget; and the other reason, according to Tim Tochukwu, is that Ms. Lagarde "was rather in Nigeria for (also) something more important to her country, France; and to other western Countries operating flights in Nigeria. Lagarde's major reason for visiting was to repatriate funds of foreign airline operators in Nigeria (mostly European), whose funds were trapped in the country. However, most expectedly, many Nigerians might not have understood her words or its implications. Her coming was necessitated, especially, by Nigeria's new policy on foreign exchange transfer, which came on stream with the coming of Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria's President, and which made it impossible for many foreign airlines to access their funds in Nigeria. At the end of 2015, the funds had risen to stand at a whopping sum of about $470 Million. Buhari's government feared that removing such huge amount from Nigerian economy would deal a heavy blow on the country's foreign reserve and finally drag the country to its knees. As a result, his government held unto the money. It is interesting to note that this new policy was unilaterally foisted on the country by Buhari who had become the sole policy formulator and executor for the Central Bank (Godwin Emefiele, the supposed Central Bank Governor, has long become just a figure head). As a matter of fact, Buhari is today the official Minister of Petroleum, but unofficially the Governor of the Central Bank and the Minister of Economic Planning".
To tell you the reason the budget was "stolen", and later, a new version was smuggled in: Ms. Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde, while in Nigeria, said on January 5, 2016, that "Our economists arrives Nigeria next week to review and audit the Budget and assess if the debt is sustainable. Our team will assess whether the borrowing costs are sensible and what strategy must be put in place for Nigeria". That's colonization by another name. We can't put together our own budget without the assistance/approval of the international financial organization. Do you see why the erratic Donald Trump (1946) made some points, when he was quoted as having said: "Look at African countries like Nigeria or Kenya for instance, those people are stealing from their own government and go to invest the money in foreign countries. From the government to the opposition, they only qualify to be used as a case study whenever bad examples are required. How do you trust even those who have run away to hide here in the United States, hiding behind education? I hear they abuse me in their blogs but I don't care because even the internet they are using is ours and we can decide to switch it off from this side. These are people who import everything including matchsticks. In my opinion, most of these African countries ought to be recolonized again for another 100 years because they know nothing about leadership and self-governance".
Whether this government likes it or not, the era of frivolities is gone; the era of lavishness, recklessness and over-indulgence is gone. The government must be thrifty, chary, prudent, scrimping, penny-pinching and even frugal. This government should stop deluding itself and be serious by diversifying in earnest. This government should look inward; it should look towards agriculture and solid minerals to live, and that it must do by investing heavily there. Soon, oil would be worthless, and that will be good for Nigeria, so as to force the country to get its act together. This government should forget about propaganda, lies and deceits, because, just as Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time".
TIT BITS
Who will blame Bayo Ogunyemi when he wrote that Buhari has returned Nigeria to colonial rule? In defense of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (1954), read what Ogunyemi wrote: "Black man and the colonial mentality. I saw how we rolled out drums welcoming, Christine Lagarde, the IMF Chief. With pomp we danced and partied in honour of the white one, for she has come to deliver help on our corridors. She has come to tell us what we were told 4 years ago. She has come with nothing new but her 'sacred' colour. Now, deregulation will stay, subsidy will go because a white woman has told us.
When our own said it, we met her with fire and gun powder. We soaked her with PMS while a box of matches was hanging of our hands. When our own said we should save a small part of our largesse to avoid imminent crisis, we sought to behead her. When ours muted the idea of looking over the wall to see Jericho, that we have an alternative to the golden blood flowing from the Delta, we led her to king Herod we demanded for her brilliant head on a platter of gold. She must die. We shouted. Crucify her; give us Barnabas, away with the wise one. We chorused.
When our own climbed Iroko tree announced to us like a proud cock at the village square, 'our economy is the biggest in the land of the blacks' we cried foul. We asked the hanged man to pluck out her eyes, put it in her mouth before putting sealant.
Now these same things are said in the same language but by a whitish tongue. We became elated. We clinged glasses and shook heads and opted for the notorious dance gongosu in agreement.
Our hearts suddenly became rich of knowledge. Our occultic eyes are opened. Now, we are welcoming the white coloured to work with us on our budget. Like the bees they will move in, in 7 days. They have come from sokoto to dip their hands in our sokoto in search of peace for us.
Now, the budget is technically withdrawn for our colonial master(s) to vet and rubber stamp before passage. That is what we are in this century. No wonder Donald Trump, the deluded aspirant said, we need another round of colonization before our eventual reawakening. Why not? Even another, yet another and another round of slavery. O ye black my people.
Onwuasoanya FCC Jones wrote:
Anybody who comes out to tell you that all is well with the Nigerian economy is either a stark illiterate in economics or a tyrant who does not care about how Nigeria fares.
Lagarde is a financial expert, one of the first eleven, when it comes to global economic management. She is not a Nigerian, whatever stake she or the organization she represents has in Nigeria is completely selfish, and she does not care if Nigeria crashes tomorrow. However, she did not, like some people will want us to believe, recommend the Buhari economic plan as perfect, she did not even give it a pass mark.
Also, she did not foreclose any chances of Nigeria taking a loan from the financial institution she heads; in fact, I think the possibility of granting Nigeria a loan is the major reason she is in Nigeria. That explains why she intends to analyze the 2016 appropriation proposal.
If Lagarde and her organization do not intend to lend us money, they will not care and should not even have had anything to do with how we intend to operate our economy this year. The fact that a Lagarde will have to vet our budget proposal is a huge indictment on our leaders. Are we being recolonized? It is the duty of the executive to come up with the best possible budget possible, which the National Assembly vets, debates, approves or amends. If it has to take a Lagarde to vet our budget, then, we are in bigger mess than I thought.
Then that statement about Nigeria not needing a loan credited to Lagarde. It is only dull witted commentators who will see "WITH THE RIGHT ECONOMIC POLICIES, NIGERIA DOES NOT NEED A LOAN", as either an endorsement of Buhari's economic policy or a foreclosure of an IMF loan. Lagarde was only saying what every Nigerian on the street already knows: Nigeria should not have been talking about any loan, if our leaders pursue the right economic policies.
Instead of the Buharists celebrating Lagarde's statement like they are presently doing, they should hide their faces in shame, because the woman has simply dismissed Buhari's policies on the economy as incompetent, kindergarten, badly tailored and wholly deficient, hence, the need for a loan. For those who may want to come here to showcase their stupidity, do not forget that our President in his budget presentation speech did tell us that his government will be depending on international loans to get about two Trillion Naira with which to finance the over bloated budget.
Listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM-RxsbZiYI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHoAg-LlVVM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwaAxvD3MD8&index=1&list=RDiwaAxvD3MD8
THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!
Continued from Part 2
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