Thread by @Chxta

My habit with social media these days, and as has been for a long time is this - I don't bother to get into arguments.

One thing I have learned is that many minds have been made up, so no matter what facts you bring up, they will continue believing what they want to believe.

However, a phone conversation I had this morning, made it clear that sometimes, for the sake of those whose minds haven't been made up, it is important to revisit a conversation.

So, here goes...

Yesterday, Festus Keyamo published some pix including a contract award for the "fourth phase" of the Second Niger Bridge.

To me, the dates in that document were proof that I was right when I talked about no work ongoing at site when I visited in May.

https://twitter.com/Chxta/status/992861020132708352

I visited again in July and nothing was happening. This time they didn't even let me near, but I took a picture with the current bridge in the backdrop.

As is their wont, assorted pro-government handles went on the attack.

I'd like to say that they miss the point, but I know that they know what they are doing.

They are doing what has been done by almost every government since the 1980s, and playing politics with the bridge.

This thread from Nairaland in January 2015, nairaland.com/2099282/pictur…, shows even more progress made on the bridge than the pix they have been sharing.

This document from no less than the NSIA proves that we ARE still on the same four piles that we were in 2014, ergo, no new work has been done. nsia.com.ng/~nsia/sites/de…

Download quick before they put pressure on NSIA to delete it.

This, also from NSIA showing all 3 phases had been signed. As of 2014, they expected the project to take 48 months. nsia.com.ng/~nsia/sites/de…

If they were sincere, 48 months from end of 2014 is end of 2018. WE SHOULD BE GETTING READY TO COMMISSION, not this noisemaking exercise.

Heck, President Jonathan signed the contract on 8/8/12.

That I got the impression that it was being used by his government to play politics, is one of the reasons I went against him.

So, why did 2NB stall? Buhari cancelled it because of "some errors". herald.ng/president-buha…

After the cancellation, as is their wont, Aminu Diko of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, told the senate that they were probing the contract.

Of course, the usual excuse, "corruption". vanguardngr.com/2015/08/buhari…

This article by my very good friend, @ao1379, medium.com/vox-nigeria/th…, confirms that all that the current government is crowing about had been done before.

For the record, I was the friend he referred to in the article.

So, why is this bridge so important to me?

You see, my hometown is astride the bridge, so this particular issue is one that is emotional to me.

When the government failed to include the 2NB in the 2016 budget, I received a lot of angry calls as I was known to be a supporter of this government.

This conversation happened in January 2017, when a government aide claimed that there was jubilation in Igboland as job seekers were flooding the construction site.

This is almost two years later, we don't have a bridge, so we now know that someone was telling lies.

As I said then, and have been saying consistently for years, all of this noise is simply seasonal political noise.

The first bridge was constructed by Dumez, a French company, in 18 months between 1964 and 1965.

You think that if we were serious we won't have a bridge by now?

Please miss me with all the election nonsense. Better people than you have done it before.

You guys are simply playing the same, worn-out, script, but more viciously. This bridge will not be built by the Buhari government.

THE END.

Two DMs tell me that it appears my fear was true and that the documents in these links are no longer accessible.

I had taken the liberty of uploading them elsewhere earlier.

dropbox.com/s/ju5ikh6bys0i…

dropbox.com/s/xhm3qlv6i93u…