By Ewah Chika.
Going by events, ask any Nigerian who is their favourite comedian and they will tell you it is no one but Alhaji Lai Mohammed who is the current Minister of Propaganda or Information depending on your understanding of his role.
The minister took his comedy too far when he told Saden Obu Kusaoke who is the Japanese
Ambadsador to Nigeria that the present government had successfully addressed unemployment, epileptic power supply, poor railway and road network and corruption in the administration's 14 months in office. He also did not waste time to shade those who constructively criticised the government calling them 'deceivers'.
The comedian or minister's remark is not only laughable but also mind blowing considering what the authorities think of Nigerians for as they continue to peddle lies and propaganda with no statistics to back it up. How on earth has the present government provided jobs when it took four months for the budget to be passed and up until now (July, 7th month) the funds for the implementation of capital projects and other parastatals and ministries are yet to be released while the global oil price has shot to more than $40 per barrel for the first time since the crash in 2014? How has the government reduced unemployment when banks, financial institutions and private corporations are currently on a massive retrenching exercise with not less than 1000 workers retrenched on a monthly basis since the beginning of the year? To further show it's inability to grasp macroeconomic dynamics, the Central Bank of Nigeria in the present administration changed from the market based foreign exchange (where demand and supply forces determine exchange) to a government controlled foreign exchange regime in the last quarter of 2015 only to return to the market forces regime some weeks ago. This clearly shows not only indecision and lack of planning but a limited knowledge of the country's macroeconomics.
It is safe to say this government doesn't have a detailed economic blueprint or vision while the only one they can boast of is the one they president and his party (APC) with Lai Mohammed as Publicity Secretary publicly displayed during the campaign which promised a foreign exchange rate of N1 to $1 within the first year in office if elected . Lai Mohammed has only succeed in making a mockery of himself and Nigerians can authoritatively tell him that we have had enough and are tired of his dry jokes.
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