Buhari Performs First Miracle
President Muhammadu Buhari may have successfully performed the first of
many miracles expected from him by Nigerians.
After 40 days and 40 nights (it’s actually 39 days) on the saddle, President
Muhammadu Buhari has performed his first miracle: He has conjured a
mind-boggling N414 billion out of an otherwise ‘empty treasury’.
‘Bailout’ is the catchword. And now, our errant governors can return to their
old habits. There’s now plenty money to spend again. The party can start
afresh. Yes, the bazaar is back!
A whooping N413.7 billion. Another N250 billion (in the least) coming from the
Central Bank, in the form of soft loans. A restructuring of commercial loans
amounting to about N660 billion, with the Federal Government set to serve as
guarantor for fresh loans that the states may procure from commercial banks.
The governors have definitely got back their groove. The spirit of the
prodigal is set to return.
After nearly six weeks of prevaricating, PMB, who is not usually swayed by
public opinion (which also explains why he’s taking his time and ignoring all
of us clamoring for him to announce his first cabinet), has finally
capitulated to pressure. He has emptied our excess crude account (which
Goodluck Jonathan was supposed to have cleaned out, by the way) and shaken out
every dime inside the purse containing our LNG proceeds. And like the PDP
before it, the APC is now set to “share the money”!
The only difference now is that everything has been put on the table for
sharing – unlike before, when they only brought a fraction to the
sharing-table, while the larger chunk remained under the table, from whence it
vanished into private pockets.
Of course everyone, saint and sinners alike, is getting a cut. It is to
cushion the effect of 16 years of PDP’s mismanagement, especially in the last
two years. A monumental mismanagement that has left the country and its
economy prostrate.
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