THE ALL PROGRESSIVES' CONGRESS (APC): A PARTY DEEPLY ROOTED IN LIES AND DECEIT.

30 December, 2015.
THE ALL PROGRESSIVES' CONGRESS(APC): A PARTY DEEPLY ROOTED IN LIES AND DECEIT.

I can confidently say that by now, Nigerians have become accustomed and fed up to the brim, the series of concocted lies and fabricated stories been dished out to them now and then by the APC-led government that they now hold whatever they say like a pinch of salt. This present APC government has vomited a lot of lies even before its clinching of federal power that they resort to always cooking up several lies to cement and cover up the previous lies they have told in the past, thereby losing the confidence of the masses in them. It was with these endless lies and guile sold to unsuspecting voters and gullible-minded people that they were able to clinch power at the national and state levels. Without conscience, they have told so many lies in the recent past and present that they have transcended to now interpret the 'truth as lies and the lies as truth'. Often, people cannot help but wonder if this is the same government that boasts of the high level of integrity and claims to abhor corruption. They do not only peddle falsehood, but they also brazenly misinform the public in a desperate bid to uphold and retain their trust and support while misguiding them.The chronology of tissues of lies and falsehood has been peddled and spread by the APC since its formation through her then former party spokesman cum Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed can be dated as far back as I can remember.

Starting from the 2013 gubernatorial election in Anambra State, the APC through their spokesman, having lost to the ruling All Progressives' Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state, told anyone who cares to listen that the then PDP-led federal government connived with the former(APGA) to outwit them in the election adjudged by many to be free, fair and credible. They threw up all sorts of pawn pointing out that the election was marred by irregularities and shoddy practices, only to be proven otherwise by the law courts.During the running up to the 2014 Governorship election in Ekiti State, they brought up all manner of trumped up charges against the then PDP gubernatorial candidate, Ayodele Fayose, accusing him of using political thugs to destabilize their campaigns. They also accused him of conniving with the Presidency in using the military to influence the outcome of the election and to force voters into voting for him. They also alleged that the military under the control of former President Jonathan barricaded the roads and airport in order to prevent the erstwhile Governor of Kano state; Rabiu' Musa Kwankwaso and other Governors on the platform of the party in flying into the state to campaign and show solidarity to their gubernatorial candidate, Mr Kayode Fayemi, only for Kwankwaso's media aide to later announce that his Principal attended an important function and, therefore, couldn't make it to Ekiti. Even when their candidate, Fayemi lost to the incumbent governor, accepted and conceded defeat, they levelled up charges of gross misconduct, mechanized and systematic rigging that didn't see the light of the day at the law court.

In that same year, at the peak of Osun gubernatorial election, the now tension-gripped APC having woefully lost both the Anambra and the Ekiti States gubernatorial elections told Nigerians through her spokesman, Mohammed that Jonathan was trying to promote a one-party state by the use of State security apparatus to muscle the opposition. They went as far as drafting a fake publication on the National dailies in what they termed "The Proposed Rigging Manual" of the PDP for the Osun election. They swore to boycott the election and threatened to form a parallel government if the then ruling PDP rigs them out in the election. Nigerians were able to see the height of their desperation through their callous and unguided vituperations when their candidate, Aregbesola was declared the winner of the election by INEC.
Again, during the 2015 General election, the APC went haywire, feeding the public with all kinds of lies and deceptive promises which they later denied after the election. They brought to the public domain, washed and occupied the media with frivolous and unfounded allegations against the then incumbent President in a desperate bid to outwit and wrestle power from him. Even when they won, they continued to behave as if they are still in the opposition. They couldn't wait patiently for the outgoing President to conclude his tenure, trying to stampede him out of office. At a time, Buhari started giving out orders even when he was yet to ascend lawfully to power, reeling out and circulating stale promises which he is yet to redeem.During the transition period, Lai Mohammed told the world that the outgoing President Jonathan's transition group failed to cooperate with the Ahmed Joda-led transition committee set up by Buhari. He alleged that Jonathan's transition group were not forthcoming with the handover reports and other transition documents, only for Joda to make contradictory statements by saying that the transition committees on both sides are cooperating and peaceful. The transition period was complete with declarations and counter-statements, claims and counter-claims between Buhari and the APC which continued to expose their inconsistency having ridden to power through lies and insincere promises.

When it was time for "walking the talk", Lai Mohammed who by now has been dubbed "Lair Mohammed" for his ingenuity and penchant in disseminating cheap lies, disinformation and propaganda unbecoming of a man of his age, shocked Nigerians when he said that his party circulated the promises during the campaign are no longer from them. Buhari himself presented his "One Hundred things he will do in 100 Days" on the assumption of office. But Mohammed in a swift reaction overtly denied the promises Buhari and his party used to ride to power. He swore that Buhari never promised to do anything within 100days, saying that the public must have gotten the wrong information. When he talked about the N5000 monthly stipend to be paid to unemployed citizens, he said that the government was ready to fulfill its promises to the unemployed youths and that it would be carried in the 2016 Budget. Said he: "the non-implementation of the payment policy so far is because it was not included in the 2016 budget. The Muhammadu Buhari administration has been putting in place, measures that will make it possible to start the implementation of this project". This has turned out, as usual, to be another "pack of lies" as the 2016 budget that has been announced portrays nothing about the N5000 stipend for the unemployed youths.

In one of the Presidential campaigns precisely in Owerri, Buhari stated that he would make naira equivalent to the dollar but regrettably, under his watch, the value of the naira has dropped from 230-280 to one dollar rendering it no worth than the domestic tissue paper.The APC and it's agents sold to the unwary public, all kinds of lies and deceit to achieve unmerited success in the election. In a bid to make Buhari acceptable to the masses, they told them that he is now a repented Democrat, an agent of change who is coming to salvage the country and its economy from the inglorious 16 years of PDP misrule. They told us he would uphold the rule of law and consolidate the gains of democracy that he corroborated when he said during the campaign: "You are all my people; I will treat you all as mine. I will work for those who voted for me, voted against me and those who didn't vote at all". But surprisingly, during one of his political tours he recanted his earlier stance by saying: "those that gave me 97 percent cannot in all honesty be treated on some issues with those that gave me 5 percent". Faithful to his words, he has openly demonstrated this via his deliberate sidelining and alienation of the Southeast and South-South geo-political zones in the appointments into his Kitchen Cabinets and the allocation of budgetary funds meant for the development of the zones.

On the course of his election into office, he stated; " Democracy and the rule of law will be put in place: I pledge myself and the government to the rule of law, in which none shall be so above the law that they are not subject to its dictates, and none shall be so below it that they are not availed of its protection". But under his government, impunity have found shelter as democracy and the rule of law has been reduced to a 'laughing stock' due to its constant abuse, violation, perversion and trampling upon by his overzealous Department of Security Service (DSS) agents whom have defiantly ignored several court verdicts as evidenced or witnessed in the case of Kanu and Dasuki whom their personal rights to liberty has been severally denied and abused. He also redeployed the River State Tribunal Judge, Justice Muazu Pindigi and replaced him with Justice Ambrose, who acted his script by quickly upturning and nullifying Wike's and the PDP's victory. Buhari has no doubt by these brazen acts of perversion of Justice murdered and buried democracy and the rule of law. He has by so doing, revealed to the world that his dictatorial tendencies are still active and incurable.Buhari and his co-travellers lambasted and criticised the erstwhile President Jonathan for soliciting help from neighbouring countries like Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic and the international community in tackling the Boko Haram menace but is it not hypocritical that he had almost toured the whole world for the same reason more than the former President, squandering Billions of naira as he embarked on a spending spree with his entourage while the economy of the country continues to dwindle and depreciate under his watch. He has admitted the sick nature of the economy of the country, but he spent Billions of naira trying to stop the broadcast and transmission of Radio Biafra to some sections of the country.

The APC been a conglomeration of strange bedfellows under a foundation solidly built on lies, deception and falsehood with no clear cut ideology or right policy formula targeted or geared towards improving the lots of the people which now made them to resort to blaming the immediate past government due to their ineptitude, cluelessness and lack of vision. The so-called "agents/wind of change" we have witnessed so far are voluminous groups of nomadic and insatiable politicians who dispossessed with ideology decamped from their former political platforms to APC for their selfish gains. It is pertinent to note at this juncture that they have deceived the masses with cooked bunch of lies and what they now see at the federal and state levels is only a mere change of one ruling political party to another without the perfection of the real positive change they envisaged as sold to them Alhaji Lai Mohammed in his "bed of lies" having graduated with first class degree in the position of the spokesperson cum Publicity Secretary of the party(APC) have now ascended into the shoes of the federal Minister of Information and Culture in Buhari's government to commence further his Masters' Degree in his dexterity in finding it very easy to fabricate lies. Barely two months of assuming office, he has proven to be an embodiment of incurable lies and deceit following his subsequent transformation from "the Honorable Minister of Information to a Dishonorable Minister of Misinformation".

At the heat of the calls, wave of protests and agitation for the Sovereign State of Biafra, he admitted that it is "legitimate", but he did not deem it fit to advise his paymaster (Buhari) to release Kanu and other Pro-Biafra activists illegally detained, stop his foot soldiers and other state security agents from kidnapping, arresting, torturing and killing of Pro-Biafra protesters and letting them go if they are not comfortable with the Nigerian state. He never found it worthy to present all these issues to Buhari; rather they pressed more of spurious and unfounded charges against him.

This same man had on 23rd December, 2015, granted a press conference with editorial heads of media outlets in Lagos, with the information that the Nigerian military has met the deadline given to them by the President to defeat Boko Haram. Said he: "Today, I can report that the war against Boko Haram is large won. Today, I can report to you that the entire 70plus kilometres stretch from Maiduguri to Bama and all the way to Banki which leads to Cameroon and the Central African Republic are in the hands of our gallant soldiers. They have so degraded the capacity of Boko Haram that the terrorists can no longer hold on to any territory just as they can no longer carry out any spectacular attack". This statement was also backed by Buhari, who told the BBC: "Boko Haram has reverted to using improvised explosive devices. They have now been reduced to that...so I think technically we have won the war because people are going back to their neighbourhoods. Boko Haram as an organized fighting force, I assure you, that we have dealt with them". So my question is, what about the "phantom Chibok Girls?". What happened to them?. Buhari seems to have forgotten that in his inaugural speech, he stated that: "We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by the insurgents". We have not heard anything about the Chibok girls, but nevertheless, the President and his Minister had declared that Boko Haram has been defeated.

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state while challenging their puerile outburst advised that they should relocate to Borno State or Sambisa Forest if indeed they have defeated the terrorist sect. While we were still waiting for them to comply, the unflagging terrorist sect who they say could not carry out any spectacular attack, struck again in a well-coordinated attack barely 48 hours after their false declaration.They attacked Kimba in Borno state, killing 14 hapless people instantly, and razed the village to the ground. According to an eyewitness report, "not even a single house was spared in the arson". The next day, a coordinated attack unit of the sect's infantry stormed and invaded Maiduguri with a military convoy and engaged in a gun duel with the Nigerian Army.

As if that was not enough, two female suicide bombers detonated deadly explosives in the Jiddari area of Maiduguri with casualty figures clocking above 60. This orchestrated attacks by the insurgents no doubt was propelled and fuelled by the false victory declarations over them by members of the APC who choose to play politics with the lives of innocent citizens whom following their false information returned to their homes hoping that the terrorists had been squashed.

By Ucheagu C. Chimerue.
(For Biafra Writers).