President Muhammadu Buhari will this evening host a televised media chat
with some Nigerian journalists, during which he would respond to questions on
a number of topical national issues.
Aso Rock spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said in a statement the presidential
media chat, to be aired live on major television and radio stations in the
country, would begin at 7 p.m. Nigerian time.
The presidency promised in the past to entertain questions from Nigerians via
telephone, although the phone failed to work during those episodes of the
programme.
Critics believe the phones were programmed not to work as a way of blocking
citizens from asking the president embarrassing questions.
So, in case you are able to reach the president on the programme today, we
suggest you put the questions below to him, in addition to others you might
have.
We also urge the editors, who will interview the president, to consider asking
him some of the questions suggested below.
1. Under your administration, the State Security Service has continued to
disobey court orders. The court barred the agency from evicting a former DG
of the SSS, Kayode Are, from his Lagos residence. It disobeyed. Later, the
court gave another order that Mr. Are be restored to his home. Again the SSS
disobeyed.
The agency also failed to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra,
Nnamdi Kanu, despite two court orders to release him immediately and
unconditionally. In fact, in the case of Mr. Kanu a Federal High Court judge
withdrew from his trial after he (Kanu) argued that your government would
not honour any decision reached by the court following the disregard of two
earlier court orders to release him.
The same SSS ignored a court order and placed former NSA, Sambo Dasuki,
on house arrest for weeks after the court granted him bail for medical
treatment abroad.
Mr. President, are you not worried that your administration is endangering the
rule of law and bringing the judiciary to disrepute? And if your government
continues to disobey court orders shouldn’t Nigerians doubt the sincerity of
your campaign promise to reform the judiciary to deepen public confidence in
it?
2. You have rightly distanced yourself from the Frivolous Petitions Bill, also
known as the anti-social media bill, currently being deliberated upon in the
Senate. However, a breakdown of the 2016 appropriation bill shows that your
government, under the National Intelligence Agency budgeted N1.3 billion for
“Open Source Internet Monitoring System”, N1.2billion for the procurement of
surveillance equipment for the SSS, N8.7 billion to the office of the NSA for
“Develop All Eye Project” and another N9 billion to the office of the NSA for a
certain “Construct Stravinsky Project”.
All these are listed as new projects. Mr President, don’t you think these
expensive surveillance projects, even while Nigeria does not have a law in
place regulating Internet Surveillance, will stand in the way of free speech,
something you claim to support?
3. Mr. President, you maintained a deafening silence in the wake of the violent
assault on members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria by the Nigerian Army
in Zaria. Don’t you see that as a tacit support for the brutal, extrajudicial
actions of the army?
Also, in the light of the Shia killings in Zaria, and the human tragedy aside for
now, are you worried that Nigeria has effectively been drawn into a proxy war
between Iran and Saudi Arabia? Certainly this is not helpful, even if it does not
effectively worsen the security challenges in the North-East. Where do you
stand on this development?
4. How should Nigerians understand your anti-corruption struggle from a
strategic viewpoint? What is the broad outline, the big picture as it were,
which is the lead agency prosecuting the war, who is coordinating, and which
other agencies are in the team?
Also, Mr. President, the presidency said a few months ago that full details of
your assets would be available in due course. Details released this year were
at best vague, with mention of properties without addresses and their value.
Can we have an idea of when you plan to make public full and specific details
of your assets.
5. You recently said some functionaries of the immediate past government had
started returning looted funds and that their names would be made public
soon. Nigerians have been waiting to know these people who looted their
country’s commonwealth and how much they took. Sir, when are you going to
fulfill this promise? How much has been recovered? Are you under any form of
pressure not to reveal details of this development?
6. Your party, the APC, promised to construct 4,800kms (an approximate
distance from Abuja to London) of modern railway system across the country.
From 1888 (when railway started in Nigeria) to date, Nigeria has a total of
3,500kms of existing railway lines across the country. What is the possibility
of beating this record in the next three and half years remaining in your
tenure?
7. You gave the military up till this month to end the Boko Haram insurgency.
However, as at last weekend, the insurgents were still unleashing mayhem on
Nigerians. Scores were killed in Borno and Adamawa on Sunday. Yet you and
the information minister recently suggested that the war on terror had been
won? Would you in all sincerity say the war has been won? And why?
8. You seem to be in the habit of making important policy statements while
abroad. In fact, you are now known as a President who preferred to unfold
your administration’s policy direction while in foreign capitals. You also seem
to be more comfortable granting interviews to foreign channels than local
media establishments. You recently granted an interview to the Hausa service
of the BBC even when you knew that not all Nigerians understand Hausa.
What are the reasons guiding your choices in this matter?
9. The foreign exchange restriction policy by the CBN was, perhaps, initiated in
good faith to strengthen the Naira against other international currencies,
especially the dollar. But it appears innocent Nigerians all over the world,
particularly students and genuine businessmen, are being made to suffer
unnecessarily, as they are unable to pay their school fees and other bills or
transact business with payment instruments such as ATM cards.
Are you aware of their difficulties, and is the government considering a review
of this policy, which is already having adverse effects on the country’s
economy?
10. Nigerians had expected the present administration to be different from its
predecessors, particularly in the area of cutting the cost of governance.
But we observe that the Presidency and the National Assembly seem to be
carrying on as usual. Next year, both institutions are planning to spend several
billions on maintaining Aso Rock, buying exotic official cars, maintaining a
huge presidential aircraft fleet and on foreign trips. Is this the change you
promised Nigerians?
Nigerians are wondering why you are asking them to tighten their belts while
your administration continues to waste billions lavish lifestyles.
From www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/195923-presidential-media-
chat-10-questions-for-president-buhari.html
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