By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The pan Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere on Wednesday, faulted the assurance given to Nigerians by President Muhammadu Buhari in his Eid El Fitri message.
Afenifere in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi said ” the information and assurance that emanated from President Buhari’s message to Nigerians to mark this year’s Eid El Fitri celebration “fly against the reality on ground.
The Pan Yoruba socio political organization stressed that “rather than looking at the immediate future with hope, Nigerians are living and moving around in fear and despondence because of the insecurity they face at home, at work and even more so when travelling on highways. How then can one be hopeful in that kind of situation?”
Afenifere while charging President Buhari to match his words with action on the insecurity in the country however agreed with the President that the fight against terrorists in the country “has been long and hard”, saying, the government has not succeeded in convincing most Nigerians that the ‘final victory is within sight” as claimed by the President through his spokesman, Garba Shehu.
” It is important to let the President know the reality on ground because the specters coming from Aso Rock often indicate a distance between those in government and the people they govern”, it said
Afenifere added, ” it does look like the false sense of assurance and false sense of security being painted by the government have emboldened bandits and terrorists but making it difficult for Nigerians to know how to deal with a situation that is terminating their lives on a daily basis”.
The Pan Yoruba socio political organization emphasized that with all the incidence of insecurity in the land, “it is very strange indeed that Mr. President could inform Nigerians that the “final embers (of insecurity) are now fading.”
Reminding President Buhari that the three major areas in which he raised the hopes of Nigerians when coming to power are security, fighting corruption and boosting the economy among others, Afenifere said, ‘ unfortunately, the change we have seen in any of these areas are in the reverse”.
” In reverse in the sense that insecurity is now at an unprecedented level, corruption is an all-time high while the economy is now so down that hardly are majority of Nigerians able to eat twice in 24 hours.”
Afenifere however, urged the President to immediately allow states to establish their own Police Forces, honour agreements his government has with various labour unions, drastically reduce the cost of governance and ensure that the cost of social services and essential commodities like petrol and electricity come down considerably.
