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President Muhammadu Buhari recently opined that his slow pace in delivering the dividends of Democracy was as a result of the slow democratic system in the country. Nigerians, however, disagree with the President's claim, they insist that President Buhari's approach to governance  and his choice of political appointees have been the major impediments towards achieving good governance.

Of note is the endorsement of the President for a second term by the  Miyetti Allah. This has attracted divergent views from Nigerians. In this interview with , the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagok says that the time it took the President to realize that the system is slow,  a sizable number of his political appointees and state Governors have emerged as emergency billionaires. Excerpts :

 President Buhari has blamed  his slow pace in governance to the slow democratic system in the country. Do you agree with him ?

While the President is a hundred per cent correct, he has disappointed millions of Nigerians by realizing this fact too late.

This is a man who had been given the grace, with almost three attempts to get to the exalted position of President, before he eventually got the opportunity. During the failed attempts, he ought to have researched into the difference between a military command and a civilian government of bureaucracy,  intrigues and due process.

His failure to do so, is responsible for his period of travails on getting to the seat of power.

Much as he would have tried to build up his political will to fix things up properly, starting from the strategic Treasury Single Account(TSA) as the basis of his fight against  corruption, the internal wrangling of his party, emanating from who will control the President and power sharing principles, led to his period of hibernation in London, where and when his detractors wished him dead.

On his return, a lot of things had changed, beyond his control.

One would have wished him to liberate himself and foster his will on nation building, but unfortunately age and health are no longer to his advantage, while the environment in which he was supposed to operate became hostile-party division trailed by the uncooperative attitude towards the fight against corruption.

For example some of the Governors and Ministers in this present administration are now emergency billionaires, functioning with no impact on the lives of the people.

 To replace these personalities, even when the whistle blowing on them, has become very difficult because the President would not want the house of the All Progressives Congress(APC) to crumble on him, with the probable option of waiting for a second term to take necessary action.

Furthermore, on several occasions, the President cried out on the uncooperative attitude of the Judiciary, while everyone could see the uncooperative attitude of the divided National Assembly.

Apart from this, there is the constitution with the strings of bureaucratic process and lapses, serving as the basis to correct the aberrations in the land, with calls for restructuring.

Besides this, former President Goodluck Jonathan made us to believe that the insurgents aimed at making the environment ungovernable and that their sponsors were always in the fifth column of government. They strike when some policies  and such policies' implementation are not favourable to them.

The Obas, Emirs and Obis are equally anti-people, who dine with government  in order to maintain their status quo of sustaining the social class of the rich echelon.

When money does not flow, they create a tensed polity, too hot for government to operate.

Today, 86. 9 million Nigerians live in abject poverty and these are the people who lack the access to education, good health care delivery and other basic social amenities.

Paradoxically, the majority of them constitute the large population of voters, who will give our leaders the mandate to rule as well as give the Houses of God the wherewithal to exist.

The President has been part of the system since his days as Military Head of State, hence he is expected to have  detected areas and barriers to efficient performances  in governance, for him to be able to perform up to the expectations of Nigerians.

Nigerians will  no longer to tolerate rhetorics of regrets, theoretical promises of hope, but will like to experience proactive measures in decision making.

Manifesto presentation with facts and figures and pragmatic show of capability in governance that would reflect leadership by example, leadership by impact based on the APC's promise to deliver with purposeful direction and self sacrifice through zero tolerance for corruption and institutional discipline for functional Democracy to produce peace and  sustainable development, in an environment that is safe and secured through the natural practice of justice and equity, without any feeling of marginalization.

If  fate brings back President Buhari for the second term, he must careful of  those he  will work with, so that he will not be disgraced out of office.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

From all of us at Poverty Line

The Lutheran Church in Liberia has launched a weekly campaign agianst violence targeted at women and girls.

A Press Release by the Church stated that   such violence,  according to  Rev. Janice Fajue Gonoe,“is not always physical. It can be verbal, psychological, economic. It can involve the environment”. 

Rev. Gonoe, the  director of the LCL HIV and AIDS program, joined 600 people of all ages and backgrounds marching against sexual violence in Liberia’s capital Monrovia. The Lutheran church publicized its commitment to the global campaign in order to bring awareness to the wider society and encourage all Liberians to get involved.

LCL Bishop Dr Jensen Seyenkulo in his address at the launch disclosed that he he learned of Thursdays in Black through his work with The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

“Joining a global movement that includes brothers and sisters of faith from all over the world helps to underscore the reality that violence is a worldwide problem.”

“Towards a world without rape and violence” is the theme of Thursday’s in Black. The LWF, which has a Gender Justice Policy, has endorsed the initiative started by the WCC in the 1980s as a form of peaceful protest against rape and violence, especially during conflict. Member churches and staff of both organizations are encouraged to dress in black on Thursdays to show individual support for gender justice around the world,'' Bishop Seyenkulo stated.

The National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE) has stated that Government and all stakeholders in the coffee industry in Uganda must collaborate to ensure sustainability in the industry.

Girls have outshone their male counterparts in English Language and Kiswahili in the recently released 2018 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination results.

This disclosure was made by the  Education Cabinet Secretary, Ms Amina Mohamed  at Star of the Sea Primary School in Mombas.

Ms Mohamed stated that  female candidates performed better than their male counterparts in English and Kiswahili.

"The performance, which was low in 2016, has started rising, a clear indicator that teachers are now seriously focused on their work and the candidates are working hard in class knowing that only hard work will count and not the cheating that had become common in some centres," Ms Amina  noted.

1,052,364 candidates sat for the examination, boys totaling 527,294 while girls were 525,070.

In 2017, 993,718 pupils were examined.

The Zimbabwean Government has said that any of its female workers who got pregnant less than a year after employment will not be entitled to maternity leave with full pay.

This disclosure was made by the  Minister of Justice,   Ziyambi Ziyambi when he appeared before Senators in  the Upper House recently.

A pupil at the Voroni Primary School in Kwale County  in Kenya has given birth to a baby boy while writing the national examinations.

This disclosure  was made by a staff of the Kwale Hospital, who craved anonymity.

He said that the girl was rushed to the hospital when she experienced labour pains, while stating that  the young mother wrote the Mathematics paper from her hospital bed.

"We are happy that the girl delivered without any complications," the staff said.