Date: 2016-11-12

The Executive Director of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Dr Muritala Awodun, has scored low the economic policies of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Awodun queried the rationale of Buhari's government allegedly interpreting war against corruption as immediate solution to the series of economic problems confronting Nigeria as a nation.

He said: "Until a veritable core value is imbibed by majority of Nigerians, the hope for an urgent escape from the ongoing economic recession may be futile. Besides, core value rather than economic theories remained the only way out for the nation and her people. It won't be a fight against corruption alone that will put food on the table of Nigerians. "As far as I am concerned, the expectation of Nigerians of this government is very high and much. What the Nigerians are getting from the government is so little. This expectation is not out of place because democracy is defined as the government of the people.

"Many Nigerians initially viewed the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari as that government for which the nation had been expecting. Unfortunately, the President and his team were not fully prepared with ready-made solutions to the nation's myriad of problems or what we refer to as challenges. We can also put it this way that they underestimated the economic problems of Nigeria. That is why one can say that they are ill prepared."

The KWIRS leader alleged that the enormous political challenge at the Federal level in particular and the conscious attempts by Buhari trying to fix them at the expense of the economy was not healthy for the economic growth. He added: "I see Buhari's government as the one that never gave the economy any priority. It only identified the need to wage war against corruption believing that when that was done every other things would fall in line. It identified war against corruption as the major policy thrust of the administration. Besides, the government identified battles against Boko Haram in the North Eastern region as a major policy.

"These policies as they are, were never given adequate considerations against the nation's economy. It is just now that the government is waking up to the reality that is necessary to begin to put forces together to have an economic arrangement that will take us out of the economic recession. This recession was however obvious before Buhari took over the baton of leadership." Awodun urged the President to come out of his alleged dream treating himself as a military ruler but realised his present status as a democratically elected President who should devise a workable economic policy that would bring the nation out of its economic doldrums.

"Buhari volunteered to contest for the Presidency. Maybe he thought he was going to rule like a military Head of States. He had that background and experience having once emerged a leader in that capacity through coup d etat. But one thing is missing in Buhari of today. That is Gen Tunde Idiagbon. We referred to that regime as Buhari/Idiagbon government. It is now apparent that Idiagbon and probably the then Supreme Military Council were the think-thank for Buhari.

"The President again, underrated his second coming not minding the fact that this time around it is democracy. He had used last year and probably using this year to understand what democracy stands for. If he had not come back as a democrat, then e might not need to consult with anyone before taking decisions. I see him as someone still in the school of democracy. Can we compare someone in kindergarten political school with someone with Masters or PhD in the same discipline?", he added.

On whether or not more time should be given Buhari to fix the economy he said, "If we have more time to give then we could give him. There is this saying that if you waste a 100 years in the life of a nation, the nation can survive it. But if you waste the same quantum of time in the life of an individual, it will mean a lot to such a person. 56 years has been wasted in the life of Nigeria, but because it is a nation, the nation is moving on.