Pro-Buhari group tackles Obasanjo, faults Nigeria’s misery index ranking

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) on Tuesday described as “a crude joke” a statement credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is still better than President Muhammadu Buhari despite his electoral loss.

The organisation made its position known in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja by its chairman, Niyi Akinsiju; and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke.

It said Obasanjo’s comments during a courtesy visit by South-West leaders of PDP was “ridiculous and contemptible.”

The statement reads, “We are completely taken aback that someone who ordinarily should be seen as an elder statesman has continued to use his position to try to derail the country from the path of progress.

“We note that while President Muhammadu Buhari has used his four years in office to lay a solid foundation for Nigeria’s sustainable growth, Obasanjo as Nigeria’s president for eight years created instability by removing Senate presidents and state governors at will.

“It should be restated that throughout Buhari’s four years in office, we have not witnessed a state of emergency in any state, and neither has the administration masterminded the unceremonious removal of any Senate president or state governor.

“We also recall that Obasanjo’s era was characterised by unbridled corruption with the introduction of Ghana-must-go bags at the National Assembly.

“Similarly, Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the monumental sleaze that surrounded the power sector contracts under former President Obasanjo, nor the unethical use of his position to build a multi-billion naira presidential library.”

The organisation said it considered it unwarranted for Obasanjo to deride Buhari, describing his outburst as a distraction which must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.

In a separate statement, the BMO described Nigeria’s ranking as the sixth miserable country in the world in 2018 as “fallacious, despicable and of no consequence whatsoever.”

The organisation said the ranking was not a true reflection of the situation in the country.

It argued that data for the survey must have been collated from “old, archaic sources.”

He said those behind the rating did not take into account recent innovation introduced by the Buhari-led Federal Government before arriving at their position.

It said, “A cursory look at the explanatory note by Steve Hanke in the Forbes Magazine in which he revealed that the index was calculated using economic indices like unemployment, inflation and interest rates banks charge on loans, show how wrong his conclusion was.

“The index is said to be that of 2018 but the country recorded a number of positives in the same year on the economic front.

“It was the year that Nigeria had a major decline in inflation figure so much so that the rate is now 11.37%. It was the culmination of a landmark 18-month consecutive decline to a level that is one of the lowest in Africa.

“We also know that a lower inflation rate has a way of impacting positively on banks’ lending rates and that’s exactly what has happened with the recent reduction in Monetary Policy Rate, yet the index scored Nigeria lower than some countries ravaged by war!”

The organisation insisted that the misery index is neither a true nor accurate reflection of the situation on ground in the country.