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President Buhari is in Daura for Sallah. The VP is in Enugu sharing Tradermoni. Meanwhile a court in London has granted an application to enforce a $9 billion Arbitral Award + interest against Nigeria. There is no Attorney General of the Federation yet. These people are a joke!!!
I have received all manner of insults for stating the obvious about the attitude of the present Nigerian Govt to what should be a crisis. For others, it was an opportunity to pin the blame on everyone's favourite whipping boy, Goodluck Jonathan. I will address those two issues.
I really find it curious that educated people are still blaming President Jonathan (I am not a fan BTW) for the disaster that is the P&ID dispute, over 4 years after he left office. The truth of the matter is that PMB has had over 4 years to resolve this, but he made it worse.
To the ignorant ones, I refer you to my pinned thread on this issue so you can educate yourself. GEJ was not even President when the dispute started, he merely inherited it just like PMB and although his Govt messed up, he at least took responsibility. Unlike what we have now.
Even a 1st Grader knows that Govt is a continuum. To argue, as some of you have, that President Buhari inherited the P&ID case and so should not be blamed for the monumental disaster that the dispute has become, is putting it mildly, harebrained.
To the second category of persons, the least I expected from the Govt was to pretend to care, or at least act like the case means something to them. I did not suggest, as some have, that President Buhari or his VP should be present in court in London.
I was in court on 14th June when the court heard the case. And I can tell you that some of the Nig officials who travelled all the way from Nigeria to attend the court hearing, got to court late and had to stay outside! I had to offer one my seat. That's the same attitude.
That is the same attitude they had when they failed to enter appearance at all in the US and the court entered default judgment against Nigeria. That's the same attitude that made them enter appearance 2 months late in the UK and had to beg for extension of time, for such a case!
In the affidavit deposed to before the English court, the Ministry of Justice relied on the fact that there was no substantive AGF following the change of Govt in 2015 as the reason for their failure. The court rejected that contention as baseless.
In 2019, the Ministry of Justice once again sought to rely on the change of govt and absence of an AGF as the reason for their delay in taking certain steps. I have a copy of both the judgment and the skeleton argument filed by Nigeria. So I know what I am saying. You don't.
The President should have appointed an AGF immediately after he was sworn in and charged him/her with the responsibility of resolving this dispute, one way or the other. That is leadership. Failing that, he should have charged the VP to take charge of the situation. This is $9B!
That the NASS chose the day of the judgment (if they knew) to grovel before the President in Daura and the VP chose the day to go to share N10k TraderMoni is illustrative of the characteristic nonchalance with which they have led the country since 2015. Too bad you don't agree.
