I have had several debates with many of Buhari's supporters. Some are cool & will debate you on the issues, while many don't care but attack people personally. Generally, I don't have time for latter. What's interesting is how many of them have turned logic on its head. 

They actually believe that they are the patriotic Nigerians that love our great country and want the best for the country.

According to our constitution, the responsibility of our government is the security and welfare of the people. Which of these 2 can we say the administration has done well and do be proud of the leadership? Every day you go to the website is newspapers in the country and what you see are gory stories of insecurity everywhere. Traveling by road is a luxury many can't take again because of the spate of kidnap in every region of the country. In 2014, a multinational company hired me to do a vulnerability test for their installations in the North because there were security reports that they are being targeted.

I flew to Kano with their Director, finished there, drove to Kaduna, and I went back to do other locations. Even at the height of Boko Haram activities in the NE but many places were still relatively ok. There is no amount they will pay me now that will make me take that.

Welfare: I read a UN report yesterday and it is heart-wrenching. Some of these are even 2018 figures:

 - 40.1% of Nigerians are living below the poverty line ( that figure by many estimates now is more than 50% even though the UN thinks it will be 45.2% next year and that would be in their estimate 100.9m)

 - 71% are living on less than $3.20 a day

 - 92% are living on less than $5.50 a day

 - In 1 year from January/February 2030 to April/May 2021, the share of households in which an adult skipped a meal almost tripled from 27.1% to 74.4%. This is the NBS report that the UN quoted

- Nigerians are using an average of 60% of their income for food and that's the worst in the world. 

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- In February this year another UN report stated Nigeria has about 85m without access to grid electricity and that's the worst in the world overtaking DRC

These are some of the brutal data showing the people are seriously being crushed

- The unemployment rate is 33.3% the second-worst rate in the world because Namibia that would have been second has data as old as 2018. Unemployment is 33% because about 50m Nigerians though of working age have left the labor force so unemployment would have been over 50%

 - Inflation is 18.17% with wages down or stagnant

 - Food inflation at 22.95% is at 15 year high, garri increasing by over 60%

- Sovereign debt skyrocketing from N12.12tn to N32.9tn apart from the N10tn from the CBN making it N42.9tn

 - Servicing debt with 83% of government revenue, which the IMF even disputes, they believe it is 92.6%. This year could be worse as NNPC is saying they don't have money to remit to FAAC

 - Record consecutive 5 years negative GDP per capita 

 - Average 0.3% GDP growth for a country whose population growth is about 2.6%. This is why more people are sinking into poverty. 

How can anyone who claims to love the country and do patriotic defend all these? The love for the nation must supersede the love for one man or a party. Individuals leave but the nation remains. Unfortunately, those figures are human beings or hurt human beings.

They should be our focus, not politicians

By Wole Akinseloyin