A Political Analyst and public commentator, Adewumi Eniola has described former People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) National Chairman, Dr. Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu as a political leader who was very concerned about the economic challenge of nation building and always wanted PDP Governors to show more than enough concern about the economy during his tenure as the Chairman of the party,
The Ado Ekiti based Analyst said Muazu in his time as PDP chairman made sure that the political economy of Nigeria and its thirty six states was taken seriously by the chief executives of the states.
He described Muazu as a leader who is passionate about developmental process of ordinary citizens
“Eight years as governor of Bauchi opened his eyes to the agricultural potential of the entire country and ensured that he invested enough time in searching for the best way to increase the yield of his largely agrarian population because he knew that over dependence on oil was very precarious for the future economic position of the state”
“During the 2015 elections one of his favourite campaign tools was the dry farming programme of the previous government. “Wherever he spoke he stressed the need to farm all year round and stressed that the government attachment of high importance to the project was crucial to the survival of the nation.
“He went as far as challenging fellow politicians to come and debate with him on the economy. Sadly no one took his challenge.
“Rather than listen to his words of wisdom, politicians on both sides of the divide accused him of not doing enough to reelect the then commander in chief. But not many knew the undercurrents going on behind the scene.
“Although he was party chairman and was to be in charge of the presidential campaign council, campaign funding was vested elsewhere. He had little or no part in the day to day running of the campaign. Yet he was expected to bear the brunt of criticism against the party and the direction of the campaign.
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“The campaign spokesperson came on board without the former Chairman’s endorsement just as he abhorred the horrendous speeches at the campaign grounds where some eminent speakers rather than talk about issues would instead pour invectives on political opponents.
” Even the press releases coming out of the campaign council media team was even more catastrophic in the sense that instead of tackling the many misdemeanours of the opposition at the time were rather more interested in vituperations that would add no positive mileage to the fortunes of the then ruling party.
“Too much time and space was devoted to issues of certificates or no certificate when the minds of voters were already made up to support the new commander in chief’s quest to rule Nigeria.
“The whole enterprise was like shooting yourself on the foot and shattering the metatarsal in the process. According to eminent columnist and a founding father of Newswatch magazine, Mr. Ray Ekpu commenting in an article entitled “The PDP’s new Sheriff” recently: “In Communication, the credibility of the messenger affects the credibility of the message.”
Ekpu was commenting on the PDP Campaign Council choice of spokesman who had savagely taken the former President to the cleaners, yet became the voice of his campaign for reelection as president with a huge war chest that even the party chairman had no input.
Eniola however described the former president as one who “prides himself on his weakness and incompetence and whose love of false prophets and strange women knows no bounds and has no end.
“A President who has abdicated his responsibility, destroyed his own political party, divided his own country….abandoned his own people, brought ridicule to his own faith, cowers before his own officials, scorns the international community and breaks his solemn oath to protect and defend the Nigerian people.
“Yet when the job offer came, he had no qualms to pounce on it.
“Ekpu concluded his x-ray of the spokesman and asked how the party thought
“The man was going to deliver a credible message in Jonathan’s favour after rubbishing him. Of course, the APC utilizing the services of a master propagandist, Lai Mohammed, put a sharp knife on the throat of the PDP and Jonathan and sliced it”.
“The situation now is not to worry about the past because mistakes have been made and the future is what everyone on both sides should now face. Faced with economic doom threatening to engulf us unless something is done quickly, the need to debate the economic direction of the country before and during campaigns among the candidates for the presidency in the future cannot be over emphasized.
Eniola therefore urges Nigerians to always be inquistive into the direction that presidential candidates are driving the economy of the country.