By Nick Agule

Within the last week a war of words has ensued over the management of the Nigerian economy with Gov Obaseki of Edo State firing the first salvo by accusing the FG of the catastrophic management of economy alleging that the FG is printing money to fund federal allocations.

Nigeria’s Finance Minister Mrs Zainab Ahmed fired back in these words:

“The issue that was raised by the Edo State Governor, for me, is very sad because it is not a fact. What we distribute at FAAC is revenue that is generated and in fact, distribution of revenue is a public information. We publish revenue generated by FIRS, the Customs and the NNPC and we distribute at FAAC. So, it is not true to say we printed money to distribute at FAAC. It is not true”.

Gov Obaseki returned fire that as an investment banker he stands by his words. This is how he put his rebuttal of the statement issued by the Finance Minister:

“The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed should rally Nigerians to stem the obvious fiscal slide facing our country. Rather than play the Ostrich, we urge the government to take urgent steps to end the current monetary rascality, so as to prevent the prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further. We believe it is imperative to approach the Nigerian project with all sense of responsibility and commitment and not play to the gallery because ultimately, time shall be the judge of us all.”

It became clear that between Gov Obaseki and the Finance Minister, one person was not telling the truth given that their views were diametrically opposed.

All this while as the crossfire raged, the CBN Gov was mute until he was captured on camera issuing threats to Gov Obaseki and other Govs who were bailed out in 2015/16 that recovery action will begin immediately against them if they don’t stop accusing the Govt of printing money! Instructively the CBN Gov did not outrightly deny that the Govt is printing money but did not concede either.

As pressure mounted on the FG specifically on the Finance Minister and the CBN Gov to come clean to Nigerians on what is actually going on, the CBN Gov finally caved in and conceded that Nigeria is printing money in a tweet issued on Friday, 16 April 2021 in the following words:

“The concept of printing of money is about lending money and that is our job…It will be irresponsible for the CBN or any Central Bank or Fed to stand idle and refuse to support its government at a time like this.”

WHAT IS PRINTING OF MONEY

Now that the FG has conceded that they are indeed printing money, let us therefore examine what this means from a layman’s point of view and the impact on our economy.

The CBN prints two types of money:

1. Physical money – this is the bank notes and coins we use in buying and selling or saving at home. It’s also called cash.
2. Digital money – this is money in our bank account.
   Thus you can have N1m with N100k in cash (physical) at home and N900k in your bank account (digital).

The printing of money in dispute here is the digital money not the physical cash. When Central Banks print digital money it is called Quantitative Easing (QE).

WHAT IS QE?

QE is a monetary policy tool that central banks use to inject money directly into the economy. So let us say the FG account at the CBN has a balance of N500 billion deposited by the revenue generation agencies of Govt such as the FIRS, DPR, NNPC, Customs etc. But this money is not enough for Govt to spend so the Govt asks the CBN to print money. The CBN simply credits Govt’s account with say N300 billion thus the balance in the Govt account is now N800 billion which Govt will now spend.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with using QE. Govts all over the world use QE to jumpstart their economies. The US, UK etc Govts used QE in the 2008 economic crash and even more recently in the pandemic hit economies. So if QE is a known, tested and tried monetary economic policy tool, why was the Govt of Nigeria ashamed to disclose to the citizens that it was using QE? And even when they were exposed by Gov Obaseki, why was the Govt still denying until they were forced to concede?

The plausible answer is that Nigeria was making the wrong use of QE.

There are 2 halves to QE which are printing the money and using the printed money, if you don’t get the balance right then QE instead of helping to jumpstart the economy rather ruins it:

1. Printing the money – by crediting the account of Govt at the CBN with money the Govt did not earn. It is just like you own a bank and you have an account with the bank but did not have money to spend, so you just call the MD of the bank and ask him to credit your account with N1 billion and you immediately see an alert of N1 billion and begin to pay your bills! This is the same thing the CBN is doing for the FG! This is one half of QE.
2. The 2nd half of QE is how the money is spent. For QE to be effective, there are only restricted ways the Govt can spend the money on. This is because monies earned by Govt from economic activity is backed up with output. So the oil companies must produce oil for DPR to earn money. Oil must be sold for NNPC to earn money. Imports must be made before customs earn revenue. Companies must pay taxes for FIRS to earn money. All these monies are coming from output based economic activities. The difference with QE money is that it is not backed up with output, Govt just increases money supply by fiat and thus it’s a timebomb and if mishandled it will blow off the economy!

To avoid the QE timebomb from exploding on the economy, traditionally the Govts spend QE money in very restricted ways which include:

a. Buy back bonds – bonds are Govt’s debt instruments used in managing the economy. For instance, if there is high inflation (prices are rising because too much money is chasing too few goods/services), Govt in a bid to reduce the inflation will issue bonds. Those who buy the bonds give Govt money and hold the bonds which attract interest payments from Govt. Thus by Govt mopping money from people’s (individuals and companies) pockets, there is less money to spend and the less money that chases goods/services will result in price drop and thus inflation is contained. The reverse is the case when the economy is down and the Govt wants to boost it. The Govt uses the money from QE to buy back the bonds. So bond holders will surrender the bonds back to Govt and collect their money back. With more money in people’s pockets, they buy more goods/services and this will encourage manufacturers and businesses offering services to produce more to meet up with the demand. The greater output means prices drop as more goods/services are now in the market! The economy is thus brought back to life!

b. Bail out the struggling productive sector of the economy – here the Govt uses the money printed by QE to bail out ailing industries suffering from the downtime in the economy so that with the new cash these industries will fund working capital to bounce back to business and boost their production. A boost in production means more jobs will be created as more factories reopen and service centres return back to life. The economy will then be jumpstarted back to life with increased output and jobs! The US for example used QE to bail out the banks, the auto industry etc during the crash of 2008 and Joe Biden has announced an infrastructure plan of $2 trn are some examples of Govts’ use of QE.

So why was the Nigerian Govt ashamed to admit they were using QE? Does it mean the Finance Minister was not aware of the sources of inflow into the federation account upon which she presides by saying the money was from the FIRS, NNPC, Customs etc and not from QE? Or was she fully aware that the federation account was being funded by QE but set out to deceive Nigerians and pull wool over faces? Either option does not look good on the Finance Minister.

The plausible reasons the Govt was ashamed to admit the use of QE is because while they are printing digital money which is the 1st half of QE, they are totally mismanaging the 2nd half because Govt is neither buying back bonds nor bailing out ailing industries with QE. Instead Govt is sharing the money to the 3 tiers/arms of Govt. And we know that the FG, States & LGs are not using the QE to buy bonds or bail out the ailing industries. The States and LGs are not even paying workers! Huge part of these monies end up being looted!

THE CATASTROPHE OF MISMANAGING QE

Let me illustrate what happens when QE is managed well and when it is mismanaged as follows:

1. If QE is used rightly – it is a veritable economic management tool that jumpstarts comatose economies back to life. So let us say our economy produces 1,000 yams and money supply is N100,000, all the money will buy all the yams at N100 per tuber. Now if Govt adopts QE and prints N900,000 so that money supply is now N1 million and Govt uses the money to boost the agricultural sector by clearing the land, buying farm equipment and building processing plants, there will be a sharp rise in output to 20,000 yams. N1m will buy 20,000 yams at N50 per yam so price has crashed (inflation tamed) and jobs created because the workforce that will produce 20,000 yams will be more than the one that produced 1,000 yams! This is the beauty of QE when used for economic growth!
2. However and tragically too, if QE is mismanaged, it spells a death sentence to an economy. Nigeria is mismanaging QE by distributing it to the 3 tiers/arms of Govt. These Govts are neither buying back bonds nor bailing out industries. The money is not committed to infrastructure either. Instead the money is used for consumption with a huge chunk looted into the private pockets of those with access to the treasury. This portends danger to the Nigerian economy because the scenario above is reversed in the case of the Nigerian economy.

Let us say that our economy produces 1,000 yams. Money supply was N100,000. All the money used in buying all the yams, a tuber of yam will cost N100. Let us say that through QE money supply has increased to N1,000,000 without an increase in the quantity of yams produced, it means a tuber of yam will cost N1,000. As Govt continues to print money without commensurate increase in output of goods/services, prices will continue to rise until one day you will need a bag to carry the money to buy a tuber of yam! This is what happened to Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe’s currency where at a point one needed 35 million Zim dollars to buy a loaf of bread!!! And the shops were even empty as not goods were being produced! This is where Nigeria is heading if the Govt continues on the trajectory they are on right now of printing money without boosting output. Already the impact of the mismanagement of QE is showing with Nigeria’s annual inflation reported to have climbed to a more than four-year high in March 2021, rising 82 basis points from a month earlier to 18.17%. Notably food inflation rose to 22.95% which is making it increasingly impossible for families to feed their children!!!

SOLUTION TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMY

Constructive criticism is the one that comes with viable suggested solutions. When individuals or organisations are struggling financially, there are two ways open to them to drive out of the economic jam! First is to reduce cost and secondly is to increase revenue. This is like a double dose of vaccine to give Govt a fighting chance against infection of financial troubles. Therefore the following are the top 5 suggested economic management tools that are available to the Nigerian Govt to adopt to jumpstart the economy:

1. Reduction in cost of governance – The Nigerian Govt must take immediate action to reduce the cost of governance. The Orosanye Committee which turned in an 800-page report with far-reaching recommendations on how Govt will reduce cost of governance must be immediately given full implementation. The Committee recommended the MDAs that should be scraped, those to be merged and those to become self-funding, thereby freeing funds for the much-needed capital projects across the country. The Committee also recommended the discontinuance of government funding of professional bodies and councils. Govt expenditure on things like sponsorship of pilgrimages must also be stopped immediately. The salaries of legislators, ministers and other top functionaries of Govt must be scaled down as with their convoys and other pecks of office. Govt must implement full e-govt to cut down on costs of travels, printing etc. Efficiencies in procurement activity must be generated to obtain best value for the least cost etc.
2. Taxation of the rich – Nigeria is a country where the billionaires don’t pay taxes. All the market women, okada riders, farmers, artisans etc are made to pay taxes daily. Employees who are captured under PAYE also pay taxes monthly. The Billionaires with private jets are paying little or nothing. The FG at the highest level must summon all the billionaires in Nigeria to a meeting in the Villa and ask them nicely to go and pay their taxes else there will be enforcement action. This step alone which only requires an investment of 30 minutes of the President’s time will shore up Nigeria’s revenue by at least N5 trn!
3. Stop the $1.5 billion PH refinery repair – Govt must stop immediately the planned rehabilitation of the PH refinery with a sum of $1.5 billion. Knowing that Govt projects are never delivered within budget, this rehabilitation may end up costing Nigeria $3-5 billion! The refinery can be sold as scrap for $1 (one dollar) to allow the buyers to bring in $1.5 billion to repair it. Govt must then convert the $1.5 billion into N570 billion (at N380/$) and invest the full money into agriculture in all the 774 LGs in Nigeria. N570 billion is N736 million for each of the 774 LGs in Nigeria. If Govt sinks N736 million into agriculture in every LG in Nigeria, so much food and cash crops will be produced, there will be plenty of jobs for the teeming youths too. Thus the economy will be jumpstarted and begin to grow astronomically as an output based economy and not QE which is like steroids!!!.
4. Power – it is a shame that Nigeria as a nation well-endowed with one of the world’s richest deposits of gas reserves, takes pains to produce the gas and then sets the gas on fire instead of harnessing it for electricity generation. Qatar a country with 2.8 million people is generating 8,500 MW of electricity and Nigeria a country with 200 million people is generating only 4,000 MW of electricity. The minimum electricity generation required to support the Nigerian economy is 100,000 MW!!! Thus the huge power supply gap in Nigeria can never jumpstart the economy no matter the economic policies we put in place and no matter the qualification/experience of the economic managers we appoint. QE will not help an economy that is this abysmally poorly powered with electricity! The FG must immediately read the riot act to the oil companies to stop flaring Nigeria’s gas else they must shut down oil production. Govt must also take immediate steps to fully privatise the power sector to allow for investments to boost power supply and close the electricity gap!
5. Rail – no economy will do well with the poor transport infrastructure that is obtained in Nigeria. The roads are not motorable but most importantly there is no rail transport in Nigeria. There is no reason not to have all the 36 capitals connected by rail today just for a start! The FG must take immediate steps to fully privatise the rail sector to allow investments to build and operate rail transportation to link all the cities, towns and villages in Nigeria. This will be a huge boost to the economy by making the movement of goods and people less cumbersome and far cheaper across the nation. It will also create millions of well paying and sustainable jobs for the teeming population of our unemployed youths.

NIGERIA’S ECONOMY MUST BE SAVED!!!

If the FG follows the suggested solutions, the Nigerian economy will begin to explain astronomical growth and this will be real growth and not steroids which QE is. But if the Govt continues on the trajectory of printing money (QE) without output backed, we will be sure on the road to Zimbabwe and a catastrophic end to our economy. This must be avoided at all costs!!!

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Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is the proverbial chameleon with one eye on the past and one eye on the future. Depending on the situation or who is involved in it, he sometimes comes across as a cosmopolitan technocrat with a strong academic background. At other times, he transforms into a knuckle-dragging troglodyte spewing forth parochial religious and micro-ethnic sentiments.

Perhaps because of the sheer disconnect between the different Isa Pantamis known to different people, it has always been difficult to conclusively nail him down to a singular identity. To those who work around him or watch him on television delivering speeches about Nigeria’s broadband masterplan in his trademark reedy voice, it can be very disorienting to process the idea that this slightly built man with the gold-rimmed prescription glasses could be on of the most dangerous men in Nigeria right now.

Even after extensively-researched exposes about the furious and unrepentant religious extremist that resides somewhere within Isa Pantami’s polite exterior, it is simply difficult for many to accept. How is it possible that this man with a PhD from Aberdeen and several certificate programs at the world’s most prestigious institutions is also a supporter of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as an instigator of deadly religious crises in Northern Nigeria?

After reading Sheikh Pantami’s mealy-mouthed attempt to distance himself from his own utterances during a Ramadan service on Saturday April 17, 2021, I decided that the best way to break through his manufactured genteel posturing and lift the veil of denial is not to write another extensively-sourced 2,000-word deep dive, but rather to let Pantami himself do the work for us.

Pro-Terrorist Rhetoric and a Buhari Cameo

The man who would later become “Sheikh,” “Imam,” “Mallam” and “Dr” Isa Pantami was born on October 20, 1972 in the Pantami Ward of Gombe State. Pantami Ward is noted for being the last holdout of the infamous Maitatsine Islamic uprisings of the 1980s. Some have argued that these uprisings were in fact precursors to the Boko Haram crisis that would follow 2 decades later.

It is impossible to verify whether the adolescent Pantami was ideologically influenced by the Maitatsine-type Islamic cult which grew in Pantami Ward and culminated in a bloody showdown with authorities on April 29, 1985. What we do know for sure about Pantami is that after graduating in 2003 from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) in Bauchi with a BTech in Computer Science, he became the Chief Imam at ATBU and an influential public figure in Bauchi.

On September 12, 2006, roughly one month shy of his 34th birthday, Pantami delivered a now-infamous public lecture in Bauchi titled “Suwaye Yan Taliban” (“Who Are The Taliban?). This was just one several incendiary sermons and public lectures that Imam Pantami delivered over the course of nearly a decade in Bauchi, but the reason it has now become infamous is because it found its way onto the internet. First Italian academic Dr. Andrea Brigaglia of the University of Cape Town Centre for Contemporary Islam published a paper in 2019 with a translation of the question-and-answer segment of ‘Suwaye Yan Taliban.’ Then a 54-minute audio recording of the lecture mysteriously turned up on a Nigerian Islamic community website.

By luck or by design, ‘Suwaye Yan Taliban’ has now become the proverbial bone stuck in Isa Pantami’s throat. At first he denied making such pronouncements outright. Then when the audio recording with his unmistakable voice showed up, he claimed that Dr. Brigaglia’s translation was inaccurate, suggesting that whoever translated it either did not understand Hausa properly, or simply did not like him. Several influential friends of the house eagerly went to work with this narrative, attempting to take advantage of the fact that most Nigerians who have a keen interest in this story are not (native) Hausa speakers.

Credit:newsdirect

P. D. Pius, Esq

All courts in Nigeria are currently shutdown by Judiciary Staff Union (JUSUN). It is a free for all right now. No matter the dispute, offence or wrong committed there is no court to validly send you to prison or resolve the problem now in Nigeria. We don’t even know how long this will last because it is an indefinite strike action.

Some will be quick to start blaming the President. Just hold on your thoughts on that for a while. Why are the courts shutdown? It is simply because the 36 Governors in Nigeria have failed, neglected or refused to obey provision of section 121 of the Constitution that grants financial autonomy to judiciary at state level and Houses of Assembly at state level. In other words, these issues have been settled and complied at the Federal level by Federal Government. But state Governors refused to comply at State level. This is very sad if you ask me.

But how did the Governors acquire such audacity to violate the provision of the constitution with reckless abandon? In my opinion, it is simply because the State Houses of Assembly are too dumb or they enjoy suffering while smiling with the judiciary watching hands akimbo. Why do I say so? To answer this question you have to understand what is the biggest offence in Nigeria.

The biggest offence in Nigeria is violation of the provision of the constitution. It is bigger than murder or any other offence stated in the criminal law or penal law. This is why, there is no immunity on any Governor that breach the constitution.

It is for this reason that section 188 of the Constitution provide the House of Assembly and the Chief Judge of States with power to remove any Governor that violate or breach the constitution without any regard to immunity. It is sad that the same State judiciary and legislature that has power to remove Governors for violation of the Constitution are same people using JUSUN to shutdown courts in order to address the issue of breach of the Constitution by the Governors.

Come on! This whole JUSUN strike is needless or a political jamboree. As a lawyer I will only advance what the law says and stand on the side of law. I cannot shy away from stating or supporting the law as it is. If truly the Governors are in breach of constitutional provision for judicial autonomy at state level, then the proper action is to commence removal proceedings of any such Governor. It is not to go on strike and request negotiations with the supposed biggest criminal suspect for committing the biggest offence of constitutional breach.

I don’t see any hitch in such removal proceedings in that the breach affects the two persons with power to remove the Governors, State Assemblies and State Chief Judges. There lies the proper parties against whom JUSUN, Lawyers and indeed all Nigerians should take action or engage to reopen the courts fast and probably tomorrow. Why? The action of these two bodies will solve JUSUN problem within few minutes as against strike action.

All the solutions are in the law as provided in the Constitution. We should just follow the Constitution to avoid argument and needless strike action. The judiciary and legislature should stop giving the Governors, a feeling of being above the law.
My one cent!

P. D. Pius, Esq.
Abuja, Nigeria.
[email protected]

Subhanallah, alhamdulillah, astaghfirullah, la ilaha illa Allah! This is my most favourite Islamic chant. I love its rhythm, rhyme and reason. It means, “God is perfect, praise be to Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah, there’s no other god, except Allah!”

 Of the 12 Islamic months in the Hijri calendar, Ramadan, the ninth month, is the holiest. It’s the month when Muslims worldwide embark on 30-day fasting period. It’s the month when Allah, the most benevolent, the most merciful, rains down mercy from high above on mankind.

For the religious, Ramadan is the month when lips break in dry cracks and stony face grimaces in hungry piety.

For the spiritual, Ramadan goes beyond sunset and sunrise. Its essence is neither in the early morning ‘sehri’ meal nor the breaking of fast in the evening at ‘iftar’. Ramadan is a spiritual journey in obedience to Allah’s laws.

For his advanced age and health, Nigeria’s President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is excused by the Holy Quran from participating in the act of worship which Ramadan fast symbolises.

 Apart from the aged and the sick, however, travellers, pregnant, breastfeeding and menstruating women, and those unable to understand the purpose of Ramadan fast, are also exempted.

For me, the intriguing thing in the uniqueness of Ramadan is the decline in crime rate during the month, presupposing that the coinage, ‘there’s honour among thieves’, is true among criminals.

But if criminals remember Ramadan and keep it holy, it’s not out of place to assume that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, a leader and devout Muslim, who has gone on hajj and umrah a jillion times, will put the lid on his barrel of half-truths, in respect of Ramadan.

With a big lie, Alhaji Lai woke up the sleepy lying dog on the third day of Ramadan when he said Nigerians’ harsh criticism of the Buhari regime was responsible for the citing of Twitter headquarters in next-door Ghana.

Were he alive, the funniest Yoruba stand-up comedian ever, Gbenga Adeboye, would’ve shouted, “Oluwa mi, eyi o wa poju!?” at Lai’s lie, meaning, “My lord, is this lie not too much!?”

Alhaji Lai’s lie is the falling tree in the forest that kills the family head sleeping in bed at home. It’s the windstorm that spills the water inside the coconut.

It’s the holy month of Ramadan, I’ll not lie to President Buhari. I’ll tell him the truth and hope that like the true Muslim he is, he would consider my truths.

Mr President, sir, three of your loudspeakers, Alhaji Lai, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige; and Madam Lauretta Onochie, have torn.

In fact, Alhaji Lai, Dokita Ngige and Aunty Onochie aren’t your friends, they’re your frenemies. But I shall come to that later.

Your Excellency, the heart of man is continuously evil, says the scriptures. I’m not omniscient, and, therefore, cannot claim to know what’s going on in your heart, Mr President.

But going by the speeches issuing from the abundance of your heart, Your Excellency, it’s easy to tell that something is wrong between the mind and body, between the heart and soul.

Sir, on your arrival from London three days ago, you granted a quickie interview. I trust your aides would’ve tipped you off on the playground questions you were asked, yet you made a mess of the interview, again.

Sir, the latest interview exposed the doubts about your health, just like your 2019 shocking public display at a rally in Delta State when you gave the All Progressives Congress flag to the wrong person, instead of the governorship candidate, and said, “I am handing over this flag of honour to our presidential candidate,” forgetting you’re the President.

Mr President, when you were corrected on the podium by a party chieftain, who loudly said ‘gubernatorial’ to you, you probably were lost on the island of incomprehensibility as you thundered ‘senatorial candidate’ into the microphone!

The party chieftain, who didn’t show his embarrassment, again, corrected you by saying ‘gubernatorial’, and you killed all doubts when you said ‘governotorial candidate’. Your Excellency, is ‘governotorial’ a new word?

General Buhari, that wasn’t the first or the second or the third or fourth time when your worrisome answers to questions during interviews have left tongues wagging about the state of your health, prompting patriotic calls on you to step aside while your healthy deputy takes over the Nigerian ship drifting to the precipice. But you never listened because you would rather cling on to power with your last breath even if the country rolls off the world map.

Mr President, in the spirit of Ramadan, I won’t recall other instances of your disturbing public utterances that show the divorce between you and reality. I’ll limit myself to the interview you granted at the Abuja airport upon arrival from your medical tourism in London.

The interviewer asked three patronising questions. First off, he said, “After your well-deserved rest in London, what would Nigerians expect from your administration, going forward?”

Shockingly, Mr President, you answered, “Continuity.”

I ask, “Continuity of what?” Insecurity, hopelessness, poverty, starvation, joblessness and grief? You blew the chance to highlight the policies of your regime in that empty response. Well, your response was the best your ability could carry, I understand.

The interviewer asked his second question: “While in London, you appointed a new Inspector-General of Police, what do you expect from him?”

Buhari: Well, we went through the system, there was a committee by the minister of police affairs, and they gave me some names, and he happens to be the ones (sic) chosen. And he knows his job, he has been in it for a long time, he went to all the training (sic), he has the necessary experience, so we have high expectation from him.

Alhaji Buhari, if neither your family nor your aides have the guts to tell you that you’re too far gone, I will – in the spirit of Ramadan that forbids lying and pretension.

Your Excellency, your answer to the question was a tale full of sound and incoherence, signifying nothing because your answer, yet again, missed the question.

The interviewer asked his third question, “What about the performance of the new service chiefs, Your Excellency?

Buhari: Oh, yes. They’ve been in the system all the way, they know what is wrong, they know what is right. And I think they’re doing their best. I hope their best would be good enough for Nigeria.

I just imagine President Joe Biden, who is older than you, being asked such a question and you would hear an insight into the country’s war against insecurity and the achievements of each service chief, so far.

Back to Alhaji Lai and Twitter, and Dokita Ngige and aunty Onochie.

Alhaji Lai’s delusion is lineal and probably worse than Buhari’s if he (Lai) cannot see the reasons why Twitter chose Ghana over Nigeria in the loss of no fewer than 20 Nigerian lives to insecurity daily and Buhari regime’s intolerance to free speech.

Is Nigerians’ criticism of Buhari to blame for the kidnap of the Ekiti monarch three days ago or the public renouncement of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, of religious extremism?

Before his appointment, security checks must’ve revealed Pantami as a religious extremist, but Buhari chose to keep him for curious reasons.

Both Ngige and Onochie defended Buhari’s spending Nigeria’s taxpayers’ money on medical treatment in London for more than 40 years now. They argued that Buhari has the right to seek a second opinion on his health.

But both torn loudspeakers failed to point out that the Constitution doesn’t specify that the ‘second opinion’ must be done abroad.

It’s a shame that Ngige and Onochie couldn’t see the shame in Mr Integrity scurrying abroad at the drop of hat when Nigerian hospitals, for which billions are budgeted yearly, remain comatose.

It’s a shame.

– Twitter: @tunde_odesola

Credit:PUNCH