QuickRead: Femi Adesina and the running bandits. Four other stories we tracked and why they matter

During the week in review, Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, in an article, made a bold declaration that, under Buhari, terrorists and bandits had been on the run, a write up that got many Nigerians taking a swipe at him.

Also during the past week, the Nigeria Police Force played out what many described as a badly written script when it paraded 14 suspects it accused of carrying out a raid on the home of Supreme Court judge, Justice Mary Odili.

We also tracked three other stories that kept Nigerians buzzing over. Enjoy the presentation till we come your way next week.

1. Femi Adesina and the running bandits

On November 11, Femi Adesina, scored another own goal when he said that under President Buhari, bandits and terrorists had been on the run.

Adesina, in an article titled, “They said nothing was happening…How about these?” tried so hard to give his principal a pass mark in the ongoing efforts to rid the country of its security challenges.

“Has security not been jigged up in a way that bandits, terrorists, insurgents have been put on the back foot? Are evildoers not being daily sent to God to answer for their crimes? Is the country not being cleaned up, and it is just a matter of time before the sanitation is completed?” He questioned.

Why it matters

While it is safe to say that Adesina is ‘just doing his job’, his utterance continues to spotlight the desperation of the Buhari-led administration to launder its failing image in the area of security management.

Indeed, it won’t be wrong to accuse him of spitting on the graves of Nigerians who have been killed by terrorists and bandits, as he attempts to live in complete denial of the reality in the country.

The sustained mayhem against hapless citizens is common place. In pretense, the Nigerian government shows lack of sincerity in dealing with the ravaging issues of insecurity, and it is easy to predict that the situation will only get worst.

2. Soludo bites the Anambra cherry

On November 10, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo was declared the winner in the Anambra State governorship election.

While announcing Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), winner of the election, the Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Florence Obi, said:

“Charles Chukwuma Soludo of APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”

Why it matters

The successful conduct of the Anambra gubernatorial poll, in the face of threats by anti-democratic forces, helps to deepen Nigeria’s journey towards the enthronement of popular will.

Adjudged to be free, fair and credible, it raises the confidence of citizens in the electoral system while challenging the electoral umpire to sustain the positive outcomes ahead of other elections in the country.

For Soludo, his broad acceptance, having won 19 out of 21 Local Government Areas, speaks to his popularity and challenges him to live up to the expectations of Anambrarians.

3. Magashi’s bare faced admission

On November 8, the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, argued that the escalating and worsening insecurity in the country was responsible for the rising prices of food items in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: QuickRead: IPOB’s U-turn. Four other stories we tracked and why they matter

While speaking in Abuja, Magashi said the high cost of food prices was a direct outcome of the insecurity being experienced in the country.

“The growing insecurity in the country has adversely affected food security with the attendant rise in the prices of foodstuff across the country which portends a new dimension of threat,” the Defence Minister said.

Why it matters

The remarks made by the country’s Defence Minister is an open admission of failure. Who else should be held responsible for worsening insecurity but the federal government in which Magashi serves.

Magashi’s admission is actually a no brainer, and illustrates a bleak future in which the federal government, admitting its failures, sets the tone for food insecurity and starvation in the land.

Therefore, if not checked, Nigerians should expect a worsening place on the index of countries grinding towards a failed state status.

4. Police tale on Odili’s attackers

On November 11, the Nigeria Police Force paraded 14 suspects allegedly arrested for their roles in the recent raid of the home of a justice of the Supreme Court, Mary Odili, in Abuja.

While parading them, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, said the suspects which included a fake CSP, a journalist, bankers and others, were arrested after a swift investigation by the police.

“The man who claimed to be a CSP with the Nigeria Police Force was never a police personnel. The identity card he claimed to have been issued by the AGF, Mallam Abubakarkar Mallami, was forged. There is a Journalist, an two lawyers who conspired to carry out the illegal operations,” Mba said.

Why it matters

The disjointed stories around the ‘arrested’ and ‘paraded’ suspects have further created integrity gaps for the government, especially insinuations around its alleged plans to put the judiciary in chains.

The fact that the prime suspect insisted he was a consultant with the office of the Attorney-General should force the authorities, if they are genuine, to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident.

If it fails to tow this path, then the current script it is trying to sell through the police must be considered a sham.

5. Presidency’s N26bn food, travels budget

On November 7, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), instituted a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari over a N26b budget for meals, travels, sitting allowance, welfare package, and office building for the Presidency.

In a statement issued by SERAP, the body said it was seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel Buhari to cut duwn on the N26bn presidency budget.”

“Stopping President Buhari from spending the proposed N26bn on travels and meals would ensure that the government is spending the country’s resources to respect, protect, and promote the rights to basic needs of poor Nigerians. ”

Why it matters

SERAP’s intervention shows the need for a robust civic space that can continue to hold government of whatever hue or cry accountable to the people.

It’s persistent demand for justice, equity and accountability is an invitation to forge a larger coalition of citizens to hold their government to account, without which the quality of governance diminishes.

Without virile watchdogs and constructive criticisms, it should be expected that government would continue to take citizens for granted and waste scanty resources of state on trivialities.

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