Buhari must intensify fight against insecurity, rejuvenate ailing economy in 2022 — Arabambi

In this interview with Bankole Taiwo, the National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Comr Abayomi Arabambi shares his reflections over the outgone year urging President Muhammadu Buhari to buckle down especially in the area of tackling the challenges of insecurity and ailing economy. Excerpts.

Would you say Nigerians had the best of the year 2021?

As a Nigerian who has had the privilege to live under very many ruling past governments until PMB, I say with all sense of responsibility and objectivity that the PMB Government has   successfully raised the bar of good Governance in Nigeria in many folds in spite of the fact that very many areas yet need further improvements.

However, it should be noted that in truth governance is continuous, there is no doubt that PMB did bring greater focus and much more physical growth to the country in very many sectors as it correspondingly recorded serious ugly negativities in various degrees in some crucial sectors too.

Outside politics, an objective assessor should be caring and concerned to consider where we were before the coming of PMB against how far we have gone under PMB. Yes, lots and tons of gaps still exist in  too many areas but in the average, the nation has in truth grown solidly better under PMB  than it had been under the many past ruling governments in which looting of treasuries became the main objective.

Some of these past governments kept Nigeria as some political plantation where towns are physically, officially and militarily burnt,razed and removed from existence like the case in Odi and other towns just to satisfy the ego of a President. We have had some government that preferred caressing and defending the individual interest of a citizen against the interest of the nation.

Though Nigerians went through a clearly challenging year in 2021, it is however not really unexpected if the prevailing situation is considered. It  was a hard year for Nigerians but then we thank God that we survived it by His Mercy.

What is the feeling like in the opposition parties that President Buhari decided not to sign the new Electoral bill but rather returned it to the national assembly for amendment?

One critical and very serious issue the 2021 presented to Nigerians that has now become a nightmare is the refusal of PMB and his Government’s failure to assent to the amended electoral law bill, I see this as a time bomb. A totally and extremely negative action. The piece of a further amendment the President is seeking for would eventually defeat the purpose of the  amendment as it is meant.

What should be the focus of the leadership of this nation as we move into 2023?

Honestly, the other areas that attract frightening concern include security, economy and the general well being of Nigerians. Much as the sitting government tries to impress it upon the country that the issue of insecurity is being vigorously tackled, the results on ground strongly belies this claim.

All forms of the ongoing criminal tendencies should be seen as exactly what they are, they are terrorism and should be treated as such, they are just ought not to be a reason to consider some as repentant.

Would such silly repentance return lives to the dead or re-empower those who lost properties in millions of Naira for this long?

The government should become more aggressive and legalistic in the prosecution of the war against terror, terrorists and terrorism. The government’s current best is so annoyingly not enough.

What should be uppermost in the heart of every Nigerian as we move into 2023 being the year preceding our general elections?

In my opinion this year 2022 must be seen by the government as a year in which it must and should try to unleash a far much more visible responsibility in its drive to deliver a responsible and responsive leadership, most especially in the areas of economy and insecurity to reflect on the well-being of Nigerians.

This is specifically including putting a stop to an intention to increase the cost of Petrol, the avoidance of the negative intention to sustain the huge and dangerous debt portfolio for the Country.

The popular and now regular very common tendency of facilitating the disruption of the Nation’s economy by incessant strikes by workers should be quickly discouraged, the Government should face its duties and responsibilities to the workers as when due.

Again, the workers and their leaders should be much more diplomatic and responsible in pursuing their entitlements and interests. In doing this, they must begin to see the dangers of the frequent labour strikes. This can only weaken the fabric of the nation’s economy further with the attendant suffering for Nigerians.

The government should take a further closer look at the epileptic electricity supply in this New Year. It is presently a major source of serious pains and lacks in the Nation. The year 2022 is hopefully a year in which the leaders and the led should become more responsible and more patriotic in all we do either in our official government capacity or in our private capacity and our individual day to day businesses.

It is quite important that I must not end this without talking a little bit on our politics. The EFCC, ICPC, the DSS and the other security agencies should be encouraged to strongly evolve into through and true  professionalism in a visible and highly noticeable degree.

It has become very compulsory for the security agents to shed the image of seemingly willing tools in the hands of the government in attempting to intimidate, silence witch-hunt or in trying to oppress the opposition political parties and their members.

The President is constitutionally bound to create a level playing ground in the politics of the Country. Trumped up charges and all other frivolous and even unfounded allegations should never be allowed, encouraged or tolerated in our political space. Again, the political parties’ primary elections should be strictly seen as the internal affairs of each and every political party. The APC and its government has no business in the internal elections of any opposition political party.

On a final note, it is my considered personal opinion that unrestrained borrowing of the PMB government is too close to socio-economic malady.The proposed plan to borrow another N12 trillion Naira by 2022 to eventually bring the Nigerian debt stock to unbelievable and dangerously value of N50 trillion remains unacceptable.

It is a proposal that Nigerians should condemn and resist. It should not be allowed to happen. Unfortunately and sadly, the 9th NASS has voluntarily and shamefully ceded its constitutional powers to the executive through some suspected conspiracies between these two arms of the federal government. Nigerians expect things to be a lot better this year.