The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has issued a scathing response to a former presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu’s recent defence of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
HURIWA said the former president “totally destroyed Nigeria and should be in jail.”
The organisation, in a press statement signed by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, rubbished the attempt by Shehu to present Buhari’s tenure as a successful battle against corruption and economic collapse.
It said the immediate past administration ”destroyed Nigeria from every angle and committed horrendous crimes against humanity.”
”Shehu and his ilk speaking for Buhari should cover their faces in shame for playing a role in Nigeria’s epic economic, security and social demolition,” the group stated.
The organisation also pointed to the alarming scale of crude oil theft under Buhari, which prevented Nigeria from meeting its production quota at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, severely impacting its revenue.
HURIWA expressed astonishment that during Buhari’s tenure, no public entity, including the president, as the substantive minister of Petroleum Resources, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, or the National Assembly, with oversight powers over public expenditure, could accurately state the quantity of fuel consumed daily in Nigeria.
“This lack of clarity led to substantial discrepancies in subsidy payments, indicating massive corruption condoned by Buhari’s government over eight years, despite recurring demands for accountability,” the group
said.
Furthermore, HURIWA criticised the Buhari government’s response to humanitarian crises, particularly in conflict-affected regions.
It cited corruption allegations in various poverty alleviation programs, including the N-Power scandal, Conditional Cash Transfer, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.
HURIWA also mentioned the alleged misappropriation of funds for feeding school children during the COVID-19 lockdown, further eroding public trust in these programs.
The organisation contended that, despite campaigning on an anti-corruption platform, the Buhari administration failed to address these issues, with corruption allegations plaguing various sectors and undermining the government’s credibility.
