Abba Kyari Says There’s A ‘Terrified’ Minority Resisting Change In Nigeria

The Presidency has alerted Nigerians about some vested interests in the country who have allegedly constituted themselves to an opposition against the policies and programmes of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration so that they can continue to “hang on to undeserved privileges.”

The Presidency revealed this in a strongly-worded statement authored by Abba Kyari, Buhari’s Chief of Staff and published in Tuesday’s edition of THISDAY.

According to Kyari, this group of persons who have constituted themselves into ‘critics’ of the administration are taking advantage of the new media and the liberal media environment in the country to mis-inform Nigerians about the actions of the Buhari administration with a view to undermine its numerous achievements.

“There is a minority that does not want change. Of course, they cannot openly say so, and instead claim to be critics of the very progress we are making that they have tried to thwart and concoct crude fantasies of communal violence for which they blame government. Or complain about the slow pace of government when they have fought tooth and nail to delay, distort or dilute change.”

He said considering the situation the country found itself by 2015 when Boko Haram was threatening to establish a state within the country and corruption in government was perpetrated with impunity while workers’ salaries and pensions remained unpaid for years, changing the tide was expected to be difficult and unsettling.

He stressed that despite the challenges, the Buhari administration had done well to fulfill the three promises it made to Nigerians-tackle insecurity, promote economic diversification and challenge corruption.

“Transition is unsettling. It is in the nature of the journey that we do not fully appreciate the destination until we reach it. But the deliverables are already there, and stacking up. Just because we have every right to be cautious of what our governments tell us does not mean we need to believe all the disingenuous or ill-informed messages we receive on our phones, often from anonymous forces with an agenda.

“Nigeria has reached a defining moment. We have come a long way. The old order is terrified and will employ all the old tricks and new to pretend that this is not the case, and that instead it is they who have the solutions, when all too often they have been the problem.”

Kyari said the Buhari administration faced difficult choices after oil price crashed in 2016 because the country failed to save in the boom years of 2000-2015.

“But we chose to focus on Agriculture and revive the fertilizer industry, which in turn helped provide millions of jobs in rural areas, takes the pressure off our cities and bring down our food import bill. We also made it a priority for government to pay cash calls and to become a reliable partner in the one industry that generates exports.

“On security, we called time on the licensed protection rackets in the Niger Delta and now have a sustainable peace. In East, the siren calls of doom have been silenced. Violent extremists fleeing Iraq and Syria may be attracted to Nigeria, but we have reduced their capacities to that of a terror group that looks to steal and even blow up our children. Age-old tensions between farmers and herders, fueled by the irresponsible establishment of unregulated militia, is being brought under control, and long-term strategies for sustainable livestock and agricultural policies are being implemented.”

The statement said those who foisted a “legacy of corruption and Incompetence” on the country are the ones criticizing the Buhari administration, adding that “they dismiss real achievements and cold, hard data in favour of orchestrated campaigns to fuel sectarian division and social upheaval.”

“But look at other high population density oil producers like Iran and Venezuela and see the kind of fate from which we have been saved by the choices this administration made…We are where we are because of how previous governments have managed Nigeria. This government, the first to be genuinely elected with a real mandate, is delivering for the many, the only basis to strengthen our commonwealth,

“But where others talked and shared out contracts, we are delivering on infrastructure, the building blocks for sustainable economic growth. Finally, there is progress towards Mambila, a hydroelectric dam that will add 3,050MW to the national grid-more than 50 percent of our current generating capacity-will transform not only the eastern Middle Belt but the rest of the country and beyond.”

He stated that a dozen on-going solar farm projects will also change local communities across the country when completed. He urged Nigerians to remain patient and continue to support the administration to deliver on its promises.