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The Jaded Lips of Enugu Brand of Criticism

Published

5 years ago

September 8, 2020

By Reuben Onyishi (Ugoachataberu)

Criticism is a discipline which dedicates itself to thinking its object. It hived off philosophy and engaged the interest of the ancients like Plato and Aristotle. Plato viewed criticism as an object in the hand of a genius, a legislator, whose prescriptive rules guide the thinking of its object. For Aristotle, criticism seeks to describe its object, that is, a description of what has been done or produced. Whether prescriptive or descriptive, criticism is basically reactionary in that it responds to its object.

As a discipline, criticism is a body of knowledge that has a procedural pattern of the application of thought to a phenomenon. It is a learned pattern that tasks thinking and practice, something on which a reasonable amount of time is spent in its study. This accounts for why Alexander Pope, the great English poet, in consideration of criticism, says, “But you who seek to give and merit Fame, And justly bear a critic’s noble name, be sure of your own reach to know, how far your genius, taste, and learning go. Launch not beyond your depth, but be discreet and mark that point where sense and dullness meet” (Essay on Criticism). By implication, criticism is a task that demands depth in learning and erudition. It does not yield itself to the simple and unlearned. Nonetheless, oftentimes, fools rush in where angels fear to tread. That accounts for why all manner of pretenders makes claims to the title of the critic.

When pretenders take the garb of critics, we see folks who never advance a judgment of their own but catch the spreading notion of the town. They reason and conclude by precedence and own stale nonsense which they never invent. This brand of critics abounds in Enugu State as a coterie of ill-informed, groveling urchins who try to keep up with the Joneses in the excoriation of the administration of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. These are hallelujah boys and cheerleaders who neither know next to nothing nor have a mind of their own. These low- witted lots find their way into social media platforms. They cannot engage with quality discussion of issues but would rather resort to vulgarity and use of uncouth stereotypical terms like ‘idiot’, ‘onye nrashi’, ‘useless people’ and the like. They cannot make simple errorless sentences as they are half-baked. They abound on Facebook platforms and have no known tangible reasons for the positions they take except that they are dregs, derelict mortar, and rotten palm nut.

Enugu State is also replete with other sour grapes of critics who praise in the morning what they blame at night and always think the last opinion right. They blindly lay claims to objectivity but in the real sense of it has no stand on any issue. They lack depth and can easily pander to any opinion that holds sway last.

Another crop of sour lips in Enugu State is constituted and moved by the spirit of irridentistism, clannishness, and nepotism. Recently some of them went to town with a fad couched Nsukkanisation. Even at the fact that Ugwuanyi has shown an exemplary leadership devoid of clannish sentiments as he distributes amenities to the various parts of Enugu State on equitable consideration, such jaded lips cry wolf to serve selfish zonal interests in order to arouse sympathy and perhaps cajole the governor into a weakened position of pandering to their whims and caprices. A case in point is that of one failed journalist who calls himself Jude Orji, whose brand of journalism consists in brown envelope taken from Abuja politicians of the said greater Awgu contraption of this world; a Jude Orji or whatever he is named whose journalism is founded on jumbling distorted facts to favor Awgu sentiments. His was a clear case of brazen lies as he struggled with words incoherently all through his ill-advised internet gibberish of an article. Within this category are also some folks from Nsukka Zone who also are disposed to clannish interests and a sense of entitlement. They point to a former governor who moved all state-owned institutions to his home town. They severely criticise Ugwuanyi for executing projects in other zones order than the Nsukka zone, claiming that the essence of the rotation of the governorship seat among the three zones is for the governor to concentrate development in his zone. These critics, if critics they are, are insatiable and unthankful. They care less about the economic implications of projects in terms of the paucity of funds occasioned by COVID-19. Until Ugwuanyi moves all the state-owned institutions to the Nsukka zone, he has yet to achieve anything. What poor thinking of the very object of their criticism, for how can clannishness and nepotism be a reference point to good governance in the 21st century? Ugwuanyi is a turn between his kinsmen crying clannish and the other zones crying Nsukkanisation- a turn between the devil and the deep blue sea occasioned by soured critical taste.

We have yet another brand of Enugu critics who rush to Abuja to hobnob with overambitious legislators of Enugu extraction. They eat filthy lucre from the Abuja table and drink the intoxicating hemlock that drives then crazy. They have no facts but concoct lies and hold on to trivialities against Governor Ugwuanyi to please their paymasters, whose over-ambition has driven to the level of biting the finger that fed them. This is the pot into which such sevile herds like Enuma Asogwa, Celestine Okanya, Ezugwu Okike, and their slavish followers melt.

Quite another is a set of Enugu critics who seek recognition and appointments. They have come to misrepresent Governor Ugwuanyi’s humility and sense of security, peace and inclusive governance in the state, thinking that once they begin to tell lies against the governor, he would call them and settle them. A typical example is Richard Ngene who used to commend the governor for his many good deeds but when no appointment came, he resorted to insults. One David direct Ani also is known to have begun his own brand of criticism, believing he would get an appointment by so doing. Celestine Okanya before he went to Abuja to eat crumbs had exhausted his antics to get an appointment from Ugwuanyi and when it didn’t come turned from a friend to a foe. Related to these are also the brand of critics who had thought to defraud the state government but when their fraud was uncovered and appropriate steps legally are taken, they recruited some pseudonymized fellows to write nonsense against the governor. A good example is the case of Kingsley Eze and his Edwin Ugwuanyi, a pseudonym, recruited to slander and impugn the person of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ugwuanyi.

Criticism in Enugu State has gone sour and the teeth of the critics are set at the edge. Where are the true and learned critics who would reflect on the truth they know? Where are they who careless of censure, no too fond of fame, still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to blame? Where are the objective and constructive critics, the prescriptive and descriptive legislators whose rules guide aright, who to a friend his faults freely show and gladly praise the merit of a foe? Oh! This gift we lack in Enugu State. Enugu State is blessed with the object and lacks in those who properly think it.

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has outclassed his contemporaries in the South East of Nigeria. Besides coming tops in the ranking of the states with the ease of doing business, Enugu State is one of the six states in Nigeria that are financially self-sufficient, without their shares of oil revenue from the federation account. Some of the unlearned comparative critics would always point to Ebonyi State and refer all to the flyovers and beautiful Ebonyi streets glowing and glittering like full moon. Well, let the owl go to a corner of the market to hear the hoot of its underlings. A friend of mine from Ebonyi State recently posted on his Facebook wall that Ebonyi State is a place where light shines in the streets while homes are in darkness; a place where citizens beg along the shining streets and under the beautiful flyovers.

He who did not hear the din of Okpoko did the elephant stamp on his eardrums? Does anyone need be told what development Ugwuanyi has caused to erupt all over Enugu State in the area of road construction, provision of basic infrastructure, health facilities, regular payment of civil servants, job creation, creative mobilization of funds, and prudent management of both human and material resources? If you eat it not, you match it on your feet. All these are high impact factor projects and achievements worthy of critical thinking and articulation. The genuine thinkers are few; unthinking folks abound and have desecrated the aristocratic palace of true criticism. Alas! Enugu State is left with sour grapes in the jaded mouths of virulently vindictive critics

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Presidency Refutes Afenifere’s Deceitful Statement on President Bola Tinubu’s Midterm:

Published

3 days ago

June 5, 2025

The Gleamer

Chief Sunday Dare

The statement from a factional Afenifere group raises serious concerns about a penchant and deliberate attempt to find faults and trade in deceit instead of objectivity. The group has found it challenging to accept that under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s comeback story is firmly underway.

The rebellious Afenifere claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s performance over the past two years has witnessed a regression in human development, economic mismanagement, and democratic backsliding.

This is a jaundiced view, echoing the view of opposition politicians, one of whom the group supported in the 2023 election.

A balanced assessment based on available data reveals a more objective and progressive picture, with significant achievements amid the challenges expected from a country like Nigeria with decades-old problems.

Beyond its confounding conclusions based on prejudice, the statement raises the following issues. With the ensuing point-by-point clarification, it will become clear that the group’s position is neither grounded in facts nor logic.

Economic Reforms and Their Impact

The factional Afenifere’s claim that Tinubu’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, have led to “unmitigated sufferings” and “economic deforms” seeks to draw attention to some of the challenges but overlooks the macroeconomic gains. The removal of the fuel subsidy, announced on May 29, 2023, saved the government over $10 billion in 2023 alone, reducing fiscal strain and redirecting funds to other sectors. Unifying the foreign exchange market and the naira’s floatation aimed to address distortions in the currency market, boosted foreign reserves to $38.1 billion by 2024 and achieved a trade surplus of N18.86 trillion for the country.

Under the Tinubu administration, Nigeria’s annual inflation rate fell to 23.71% in April 2025 from 24.23% in the prior month. Food inflation, the most significant component of the inflation basket, remained elevated but moderated to 21.26% from 21.79%

While these figures indicate stabilisation, the immediate impact on ordinary Nigerians is not lost. The government’s cash transfer programme, which provides funds to the poorest households and benefits over 5.7 million households, is a credible outreach.

However, dismissing the twin policies as “unforced errors” ignores the unsustainable nature of the previous subsidy regime and multiple exchange rate systems, which were draining public finances. A more balanced critique would acknowledge the necessity of reform while emphasising the need for better-targeted social safety nets.

As of today, the Tinubu administration has recorded over 900,000 beneficiaries of the Presidential Loan and Grant Scheme, over 600,000 beneficiaries of the Students’ Loan Scheme, NELFUND, N70,000 minimum wage, NYSC monthly stipend increase from N33,000 to N77,000, Free CNG kits distributed to thousands of commercial drivers across Nigeria with CNG buses rolled out in partnership with state governments, leading to a significant drop in transport costs. The administration also recorded over $10 Billion FX debt cleared, Federal account allocation to states growing by 60%, enabling more local development projects, N50 billion released to end the perennial ASUU strikes, and over 1,000 PHCs revitalised nationwide with an additional 5,500 undergoing upgrades.

The administration also disbursed N75 Billion in palliative funds to states and LGs for food distribution and cash transfers, over 150,000 youths are being trained in software development, tech support and data analysis under the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) project, over 20,000 affordable housing units under construction under the renewed Hope cities program launched across Nigeria, N200 Billion in Loans to farmers and agro-processors. Other gains: over two million Nigerians are now connected to new digital infrastructure and community broadband hubs and public WiFi projects, 3.84% GDP growth in Q4 2024 (highest in 3 years), over $50 Billion in new FDI Commitments, Net Foreign Exchange Reserves up from $3.99 Billion (2023) to $23.11 Billion (2024), over $8 Billion in new oil and gas investments unlocked, and over $800 million realised in processing investments in solid minerals in 2024 and inflation as at April was down to 23.17%.

It is now pertinent to inquire from opposition leaders about alternative strategies they would propose in contrast to this administration’s extensive list of significant achievements currently benefiting Nigerians in real-time.

Cost of Governance and the Oronsaye Report

The assertion that the Tinubu administration has failed to implement the Oronsaye Report and instead increased governance costs is inaccurate. The Oronsaye Report, which recommends the merger or scrapping of government agencies to reduce expenditure, has not been fully implemented and has drawn criticisms; it must be noted, however, that the administration has made some efforts to improve fiscal discipline. The fiscal deficit was reduced from 5.4% of GDP in 2023 to 3.0% in 2024, and the debt service-to-revenue ratio dropped from nearly 100% in 2022 to under 40% by 2024. The government also recorded over N6 trillion in revenue in Q1 2025, partly due to removing Ways & Means financing and fuel subsidies. These steps demonstrate fiscal prudence and will eventually translate into immediate, tangible relief for citizens. The administration is working earnestly to address these optics and prioritise cost-cutting measures, including implementing the Oronsaye Report, to restore public trust.

Allegations of Prebendalism and Corruption

Afenifere’s claim that the administration favours “the privileged and connected” through corrupt palliative distribution and mega-project allocations is questionable. Reports of palliatives being mismanaged or distributed through unverified channels have no doubt surfaced, raising concerns about transparency.

The administration has taken steps against corruption, such as suspending Humanitarian Affairs Minister Betta Edu in January 2024 over alleged fund diversion, signalling some commitment to accountability. Critics may argue that more systemic action is needed, but dismissing all the efforts as propaganda overlooks these initial steps.

Without abusing Presidential powers, the administration is working on expediting action on all pending investigations and prosecution of corrupt practices. At the same time, critical agencies are collating credible evidence on ongoing corruption litigations. It must, however, be noted that in 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured a record-breaking 4,111 convictions, marking its most successful year since its inception. They recovered over N364 billion and significant amounts in foreign currencies, including $214.5 Million, $54,318.64, and 31,265 Euros.

The EFCC achieved its single most significant asset recovery in 2025, with the final forfeiture of an Abuja estate measuring 150,500 square meters and containing 725 units of duplexes and other apartments. The EFCC concluded the final forfeiture and handed the estate to the Ministry of Housing in May 2025.

Democratic Concerns and Centralisation

Afenifere’s accusation that the Tinubu administration is pursuing a “one-party state totalitarianism” and undermining democratic institutions is unsupported and lacks merit. The claim of neutralising the legislature and judiciary is also a false alarm.

The public should note that the Supreme Court has upheld opposition victories in states like Kano, Plateau, and Abia, suggesting judicial independence. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has faced criticism for allegedly appointing individuals said to be ruling party affiliates, but no evidence confirms these appointees are card-carrying APC members.

The allegation that the Tinubu government cracks down on peaceful protesters is primarily unfounded. It is a regurgitated rhetoric deployed under previous administrations as a reflection of broader challenges in Nigeria’s democratic culture.

The issue of the State Police is more complex than the oversimplified approach of the factional Afenifere’s statement. Every administration policy is subject to security impact assessment before implementation, and there is a difference between the State Police being widely advocated and a Police State that critics may blame the Federal Government for if implemented without caution.

Security and Social Welfare

Contrary to the impression created, the administration’s security record is impressive. Over 13,500 terrorists, bandits, and insurgents have been neutralised and 7,000 arrested in the past year, though there is still some news of abductions and violent attacks. The administration’s proactive response to security-related matters has paved the way for more farmers to return to their farms, impacting food production and supply.

The administration also embarked on agricultural initiatives, including tractor procurement, fertiliser distribution, and increased mechanisation.

The government has also not relented on its Regional Development drive as the administration succeeded in establishing Development Commissions across 6 Geopolitical zones (South West, North West, North Central. North East, South East and the Niger Delta) to empower communities and accelerate developments.

Political Climate and 2027 Elections
The claims of government-sponsored conflicts within opposition parties lack concrete evidence and should be ignored.

Economic reforms are undoubtedly laying the foundation for long-term stability, with GDP growth at 4.6% in Q4 2024 and a Fitch B credit rating upgrade as evidence. Moody’s Investors Service’s latest upgrade of Nigeria’s rating from Caa1 to B3, with a Stable Outlook, indicates that the Tinubu administration is on the right path.

The government is not oblivious to some discontent and difficult times among Nigerians. There is an urgency to deliver more tangible results, which is guaranteed given the impressive performance of the administration in just two years.

Afenifere’s statement saw the cup as half empty. On the contrary, it’s half full. Under President Tinubu’s administration, some of Nigeria’s hydra-headed problems are being tackled headlong.

The administration has achieved fiscal improvements, such as reduced deficits and increased revenues, which will eventually translate into meaningful microeconomic relief for most Nigerians in the short term, even as the government moves to address these issues with greater empathy and transparency.

The administration’s demonstrable priorities are securing the nation, fixing the economy, and improving human capital development.

Responsible citizens and political leaders must work collaboratively with the administration to address the challenges and counter disinformation, as highlighted in the admonition against fake news and deceptive AI videos.

Under President Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria is turning the corner. From stabilising the naira and curbing inflation to reducing debt burdens and

expanding access to education and health, the administration delivers bold reforms with actual results. With improved security, regional inclusion, anti-corruption measures, and institutional rebuilding, Nigeria’s comeback story is not yet complete — but it is firmly underway.

– Sunday Dare is the Special Adviser to Mr. President on Media and Public Communications.

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