 See all the breakfast and plus TV Africa. We're looking at the report card and the 2023 projections of President Muhammad Buhari. We have Zaka Bala joining us this morning, a public affairs analyst from Kaduna. Bala, it's good to have you join us. Compliment of the season. Happy new year to be precise. Thank you. I mean less delving to the conversation. We remember that in 2015 there were several campaign promises. This administration would definitely come to an end where there will be a transition or transfer of government to another May 29th will be that particular date. But the president in his new year speech has made a lot of statement and some has listed some of his achievement and also mentioned for the remaining days just to end his administration as tenure. He's also listed what he hopes to achieve. But before we delving to the crux of the matter, we noted there are several issues that several campaign promises but on which the president came on board the issue of economy, security and of course corruption was very, very outstanding. I'd like to show your thoughts on the performance of this administration especially on the heels of how they came on board. Well, thank you for that excellent question and I want to start by congratulating Nigerians across the globe and the lovers and friends of Nigeria across the globe. If we have to analyze the current political dispensation and the stewardship based on the last four years or the last eight years of this current political dispensation, to be honest, it depends on who you are talking to and it depends on the person's affiliation. If you're talking to a politician, the first thing you will need to find out is that politician in an opposition party or in a particular party or is a part of the ruling party, that to some extent will play a role in the kind of response you're going to get. If you talk to somebody who is in academics and you talk about education, you're likely to get different response. If you talk to somebody who is probably in the South Eastern parts of Nigeria or in the North Eastern parts of Nigeria or in the North Western parts of Nigeria, you're likely to get a different response when you talk about security. The way you talk about the economy generally, nearly all of us have our respective answers because we know what happened and what is still happening. And towards the white light of last year when presidential primaries were carried out and presidential flagbearers came up and the kind of exchanges that we were seeing up till the end of December 2022, you're likely to get different answers. So personally, in my capacity as a loyal Nigerian and as a public affairs analyst and as somebody who has some good knowledge of the Nigerian economy and my tactical concerns and certain things that happened and one way or the other affected me positively or negatively. For me, the only thing the current government or the outgoing government has achieved is that we are still together as one country called Nigeria. Nigeria has not balkanized or has not been balkanized. Somehow somewhere we were able to manage together and we are now in the year you can see the year of election which is 2023 and the year in which we are going to have a new set of political leaders. But if one is to our own marks, I can only appreciate our own marks to these outgoing governments on this point. I'm not saying that the government may not still produce the next set of leaders. I'm not saying that something will happen. But I'm only happy that one thing that I got from this government and we wait to see is the promise by the leader of the current government or our leader, Mr. President, that we are going to have a credible election. The promise that we will have a free, fair and credible election. That continuous ringing of bells makes me happy. But as far as the thing we see so far, security and all. Yes, I'd like us to stay with that because if you look at the report sheet or the report card, if you want to say of the achievement that has been listed as part of, you know, the New Year message is a lot, is encompassing. I mean, the list is almost endless. I have, you know, this document in front of me right here. But I'm asking you, looking at the promises that this government came on, it was based on three issues. Economy, security and corruption. How would you rate this government? Well, if I'm to rate this government on economy, the government personally has done below average, personally to me, and I have my reasons. Like you said, the achievement the government listed is endless. And we too, if we want to give our reasons for waiting, we are likely to have our endless reasons. So for me on the economy, I will rate them below average. Then on the security, I will give them a 50 percent. Then on corruption, until last year into 2020, in 2022, it was below average. But I've seen signs that they have come up to almost a percent. Well, let's begin to, you know, look at, we want to, it's in comparison now. The promises, campaign promises and the achievement has been listed. So during the campaign, I mean, there were promises that were made. And the level of fulfillment is a question because the analysis, I mean, there should be some correlation. That's what should be expected. Now, once upon a time, when this government had, you know, campaign, whether from 2015 or about 2019, the one of the, you know, the promises of the campaign is that there will be a ban on government officials from going abroad for medical treatment, right? But that's not been listed in its achievement at the end of the day, because you don't want to count how many times you've had different persons, including the president, seeking medical attention. There's also the issue of state and community policing, the issue of state policing, which we're still grappling with, I mean, we're still here now with the federal government controlling the security architecture, especially the police. The issue of declaration of asset and liabilities. First, I'd like to ask you, why is it there? Why is there a discrepancy? There's a disconnect with the campaign promises and the achievement that's been stated. Why is that? There should be a correlation. Well, you know, you asked me to be definite, and I told you that on the economy, the government has performed below average. And once you say below average, definitely you're not to give you mean the person didn't get a pass mark on the security. I told you personally to me it's 50% and on corruption 50%. And let me take you straight away on the economy. As far as I'm concerned, the disposable income of Nigerians has been eroded. And I stand to be challenged by anybody. As I speak to you now, the minimum wage, monthly minimum wage of a Nigerian is supposed to be 30,000 Nigerian Naira. And in some states it's not even up to 30,000 Nigerian Naira. It's about 18,000 Nigerian Naira. And 30,000 Nigerian Naira today cannot buy a bag of rice. A single bag of rice is more than the minimum wage of an average Nigerian today. As far as I'm concerned, personally on the economy, the minimum wage of a Nigerian, which is 30,000 Nigerian Naira cannot buy a 50 litre jerry can of diesel. Any country you go to where the minimum wage there cannot buy just bag of rice, only a bag of rice. It tells you everything about that economy. As far as I'm concerned, then when you look at education, I mean, as far as I'm concerned, what has happened, especially when you look at ASU, to me, it's a practical destruction of institutions. You see, personally to me, in a situation where some people, not directly under the president, where some lieutenant of a leader decides to deliberately break down some institutions or break some institutions that can turn up and challenge government for the better good of that country, you can't comment such government. Personally to me, somehow somewhere ASU was forcefully broken down and it's not good for the future of Nigeria. Those who achieve this now, probably to make the president happy, they will think they are doing something good, but they have destroyed that institution and it's not good. Look at the health. At the point also, some people, lieutenants of the president that they were supposed to be in charge of activities that had to do with health, struggle, struggle to see how they were going to destroy the Nigerian Medical Association too. They also struggled and wanted to fight and destroy the Nigerian Bar Association. So when you look at it like that, breaking and destroying institutions, it may look good to those people starting with the responsibility, but it has a negative effect on the country. So by the time you keep looking, looking, you analyze like that, nobody will tell you that people are happy. So we have time to look at, we will be able to go through the entire achievement that's been leased to look at it critically, but let's run through some of them. Now in the statement, the president had released or the presidency had talked about several achievements and one of them is in infrastructure. This credit has been given to the fact that the president show, you know, the president or the presidency had approved in 2020 the establishment of the infra core PLC. That's a world-class infrastructure development vehicle solely focused on Nigeria with combined debt and equity takeoff capital of 15 million or 15 trillion Naira and managed by an independent infrastructure fund manager. That's one, one of the achievement is listed by this president or this administration. Second is establishment in of the 2020 of the presidential infrastructure development fund. That's the PIDF with more than $1 billion in funding so far. Another is the Nigerian sovereign investment authority that's seen the total additional inflows from government around, you know, two billion U.S. dollar and the Bahrain administration since your regional one billion dollar which had the fund kicked off in 2012. There's also another achievement that's been stated by the presidency of this administration. The launch of the Nigerian innovation fund by the NSIA to address investment opportunity in domestic technology sector. That's data, networking, data centers and software, agri tech and biotech among orders. I'd like you to show your thoughts on this achievement. Okay, let me answer. You know there is one we call paper achievement and practical achievement. So when you talk about leaders, leaders are people that we have collectively handed over our economic, political and social destinies for them to manage for us in national interest. So whenever they are talking about their achievement, they can say what they have on paper and what they think they have achieved when we have the right to say what we have seen practically. The first one is this. Just late last year we were told that, and which I believe because I'm also a Nigerian, about 133 million Nigerians were suffering from multidimensional poverty. That was, it's all over. Even the statistical data and records of Nigerians have shown that. So in Nigerians we have about 133 million Nigerians were suffering from multidimensional poverty. That tells you that all the things that they were talking in relation to poverty, allegation, all those achievements were practically on paper. We were not seeing them on the ground because I'm also in Nigeria. As far as I was concerned in Nigeria, look at the roads when we talk about infrastructure. There are no roads in Nigeria and that contributed to the cost of high transport fare in Nigeria. We're not talking about airways now. We're talking about road transportation between Lengos and the northern part of Nigeria like Kaduna and the rest. The minimum you want to pay now is about 25,000 Nigerian Naira, which is almost, we're getting close to the minimum wage of Nigerians. But before now, with 10,000 Naira, 8,000 Naira, somebody can leave Lengos and get to Kaduna or Kano. So anybody who is talking about roads and infrastructure, we know that they are talking about it on paper. Then when you talk about innovation funds, you are talking about this. What has been the innovation? All the creativity of Nigerian youth that we have seen, especially those who became celebrities, personal creativity. There is even no electricity as we speak and the cost of petrol or diesel to run generator is very high and prohibitive. So what innovation has been introduced? If all our institutions have been suffering, our lecturers in higher institutions have not been paid. In what way have they been able to improve creativity or innovations? And when you talk about sovereign investment, from all the sovereign investors, we had how Nigeria was borrowing, borrowing, borrowing. At the point, our debt was ballooning to the point where even international creditors were warning Nigeria. Everybody knew that the debt was ballooning to non-control. So personally, I didn't see anything on the ground. So let's look at another. This is quickly because we are being prompted to wrap up at this point. But you have said that there is nothing to look at in terms of infrastructure. Some of the achievement has been listed by the presidency. How about rail? In terms of rail, what are you looking at infrastructure now? The presidency had listed the 156-kilometre legal standard rail, which is close to completion. The 327-kilometre worry standard rail, which is completed and commissioned. The three years after construction had started, light rail completed in 2018. The ground breaking done for the construction of Kanu, the Marida standard rail, and rebamp of the Potakot rail as well. All of this, financing, negotiations, ongoing for Ibadan, Kanu rail project. What do you make of this? These are some of the achievements. This is in terms of infrastructure. You also have for roads now presidential infrastructure development fund investment over a billion dollar in three flagship projects, Lagos Ibadan expressway, second Niger bridge, Abuja Kaduna, Zaria, Kanu expressway. You also have executive order seven mobilizing private investment into development of key roads and bridges like that in river state, and Papa Osho du Osho Kio, Osho ki Ojota in Lagos. Some of these projects have been mentioned. Are you saying that this is still also on paper? Unfortunately, you are talking to somebody who grew up in the northern part of the country in Maiduguri, I school in Maiduguri. Then I was there in Sokoto. I then had my university and tertiary education in Potakot, and I know Potakot very well. You're talking about somebody who currently lives in Lagos and knows Nigeria everywhere. These things you are talking are on paper. The president to me has achieved his solid promise that he will confirm and make sure we get a free, fair, and credible election. If we get that for us, then Nigeria will get them back on the right track. And it is our hope that we are going to get a credible set of leaders this time around. And most importantly, I have even been discharged to journalism. The very thing on your question. So what about the second Niger bridge? Are you saying that all of this is still on paper? Look, I know, I know, I know on each one. The plan about the second Niger bridge has been there for ages. It's only delayed and they were completed even before the president was born. So should that not be an achievement? I was born. Was there no legacy but on the bridge? Those were spoiled and were repaired. East West Road is in Potakot, with all the courage and knowledge of goods to the oil fields. East West Road has been there since I was in Potakot in 1983. And we're talking about 2023. Now 40 years in this point is just repaired. So when you come and you try to repair something that gets spoiled, I mean, nothing unique about it. We're talking about the reason why you were asked as leaders to lead a country for 80 years. So when you patch a road, did not exist even before you were born, but what is happening to academics today? What is happening to health? What is happening to security? What is happening to the minimum wage? What is happening to the cost of petrol, diesel and aviation? Those are the things we are talking. How is the image of Nigeria on the international pedestals? Look at the rate at which medical doctors, nurses and young Nigerians are running away. If the economy were to be good, if all those infrastructures were to be on ground, are we going to be having Nigerians immigrating and being humiliated in foreign countries? Let's be very, very practical. We are not talking about paper economy here. We're talking about practical economy. And that's why I just personally want to give it to the president, but I will finally give it to him if he ensures a credible election as he has been promising. For me, that is what I have been happy with him about that promise. And I pray that God will give him the enablement to achieve it. But these new tenants have just been banding paper economy achievements, not practical achievements on the ground. Okay, Bala, we have to go. There's so much to talk about, but I hope that this is just the first part of it. I mean, these are the achievements of the presidency and the president has said that he'll achieve. So it's not like I'm cooking up all of the stories. But we... No, I totally agree with you, but we are ready to discuss. But every time we discuss, we will listen to their paper achievements and we will tell them about the practical achievements because we are on ground. I'm not outside Nigeria. Katuna is part of Northern Nigeria, but it's part of Nigeria and I'm within Nigeria. Okay. Zaka Bala, we have to go now and would definitely have you some of the time to continue this conversation. Thank you so much for being part of the breakfast on the second day in January 2023. Thank you. And that's the size of it. We'll take a break. When we return, we'll continue with more interesting conversation. Please stay with us.