By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri has replied the comment credited to the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Garba Shehu, describing it as a hollow lie from a habitual sycophant in a bid to drag the previous Nigerian government into Buhari’s feud with US President Donald Trump.
Garba Shehu was quoted as saying that: “The fact that the entire world and world leaders are queuing up to meet President Muhammadu Buhari is an indication that there is something about President Buhari. There is something about the Nigeria he now leads that the world likes. I think that Nigerians themselves should better look at this from this positive point of view. It is a major development. We had situations in the country in the past where key world leaders didn’t want to meet our own leaders. All of that has changed in the last three years.”
Reno who described Garba as “Any Government in Power (AGIP) spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari”, recalled how he had previously written about his desperation and his Goebbels-like tendencies.
He however debunked Garba’s allegation with the itemization of world leaders visits to Nigeria during the tenure of Dr Goodluck Jonathan. In his words, Reno declares:
I have previously written about the desperation of the “Any Government in Power (AGIP)” spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, and his Goebbels like tendencies. It had been my hope that having exposed him as the liar that he is, Mr Shehu would tread with care. But alas, my expectations for Garba Shehu proved too noble for him and he has continued on his path to infamy as he fulfils his fallacious destiny.
The most recent example of his diabolic calling is his recent statement made in Beijing, China, where Mr Shehu yesterday said:
“The fact that the entire world and world leaders are queuing up to meet President Muhammadu Buhari is an indication that there is something about President Buhari. There is something about the Nigeria he now leads that the world likes.
I think that Nigerians themselves should better look at this from this positive point of view. It is a major development. We had situations in the country in the past where key world leaders didn’t want to meet our own leaders. All of that has changed in the last three years.”
The above statement smacks of desperation from an administration with no tangible achievements to show to the Nigerian public, hence the need to clutch at straws.
It is not true that “key world leaders didn’t want to meet our own leaders” during the Peoples Democratic Party administrations of the 16 years before May 29, 2015 and it is certainly not true that Nigeria did not play host to world leaders during the Jonathan administration.
The fact remains that more world leaders visited Nigeria during the tenure of President Jonathan than have visited Nigeria in the last three and a half years and I will proceed to prove it with dates, facts and figures.
It is a historical fact that Nigeria under President Jonathan hosted major world leaders in Abuja, including German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who visited Abuja between July 14-15, 2011, then French President, Francois Hollande, who visited between February 27-28, 2014 and then Lebanese President, Michel Suleiman, who visited between March 18-19, 2013.
The then British Prime Minister, David Cameron, also visited Nigeria between July 18-19, 2012 and while in Nigeria Mr Cameron said “Which country is predicted by some to have the highest average GDP growth in the world over the next 40 years? You might think Brazil, Russia, India or China. No. Think Africa. Think Nigeria.”
Can any of the visiting world leaders to Nigeria under the regime Garba Shehu serves say the same thing of Nigeria of today?
And it was not only Western leaders that visited Nigeria under Jonathan. The Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, visited Nigeria between May 5-7, 2014. China is the world’s second largest economy. Such a visit is a big deal.
From South America, then Brazilian President, Dilma Roussef, visited Nigeria under Jonathan between February 24-25, 2013.
Nigeria also welcomed the President of the largest Muslim nation on earth, when Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang-Yudhoyono, visited between February 2-3, 2013.
Permit me to also note that under President Muhammadu Buhari, there has not been a major gathering of multiple world leaders in Nigeria, unlike during the Jonathan administration when Nigeria played host to more than 900 global leaders from the spheres of government, business, academia and civil society at the three-day World Economic Forum meeting in Abuja from May 7 to May 10, 2014, with the theme Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs (something that the regime Garba Shehu serves knows very little about).
At that WEF event, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and nine other African heads of state attended or were represented. Also in attendance was former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
It was also during the Jonathan era that renowned US investment banker, Ruchir Sharma, designated Nigeria as one of the Breakout Nations that will play a key role in the global economy. Sadly, today no one puts the name Nigeria and economic development in the same sentence any more. Rather, we now have the dubious record or being the world’s headquarters for extreme poverty under Buhari.
In conclusion, Garba Shehu’s boast can be seen for what it is, a hollow lie from a habitual sycophant in a bid to drag the previous Nigerian government into their feud with US President Donald Trump.
Finally, let me pose a question to Garba Shehu, who is currently in China. A month ago the Buhari administration shared $322 million Abacha loot to the ‘poor’. Yesterday, Garba Shehu’s boss signed a $328 million ‘soft loan’ agreement in China. How can you be giving out money one month only to take out a loan for the same amount the next month? That is what Garba Shehu should be explaining, instead of peddling his half-baked lies.