* Clearing the air about allegations of COVID-19 palliatives for the creative industry
The presentation of the scorecard of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari (2015-20230) ended on Tuesday with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, saying that the mission to showcase the achievements of principals has been completed.
The minister has anchored 25 previous editions before his turn and he believes that the exercise, which started in October last year, has proven “the crime of political opposition that the Buhari Administration has achieved nothing, otherwise.
He said: “The one who restrained the opposition before the launch of this series of scorecards was the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Buhari administration had no campaign during the 2023 general election. But we have proved them wrong. Not only do we have achievements to campaign, we also have choice,” said Mohammed.
He added that the administration has implemented high-impact projects across the country that meet the desires and aspirations of Nigerians and according to him, his Ministry will soon launch a series of multi-dimensional activities to further showcase the achievements of the administration.
“In the coming days and before the election, you will see more of our multi-dimensional efforts to show the achievements of his administration”, he said.
The minister who is in the company of the chief executive of culture used the opportunity to refute allegations that he collected the palliatives of COVID-19 for the creative industries but failed to release the money. According to him, efforts made to get the funds failed.
Listing some of the achievements of his ministry, he disclosed that the National Theater was renovated at the cost of $100 million in partnership between the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He added that the biggest achievement of the culture and tourism arm of his ministry was the recovery of looted artefacts, among them 1,130 Benin Bronzes from Germany and a 600-year-old Ife Terracotta from the Netherlands.
He noted that upon assumption of office, his first task is the process of changing the narrative about Boko Haram to reflect the great progress the military has made in a short period of time.
“Therefore, we decided to visit the liberated areas in the north-east with about 40 local and international journalists. We started this visit on December 5, 2015, flying to Maiduguri and then by road to Bama via Konduga and Kaure. There was not a single vehicle -along a road that is about 72 kilometers long, passing through the Sambisa Forest at many points.
“The visit was an eye-opener. In Bama, with more than 6,000 buildings, none of them stand intact. Signs in Arabic are visible everywhere. There is no more speculation that our forces won the war, we are armed with empirical evidence. Our soldiers acquired honor forever. We can go back and tell Nigerians what we saw with pictures and videos to back it up. This goes a long way to help change the narrative about Boko Haram, to convince Nigerians that the area is being held and controlled by the insurgents has been taken back, if indeed our military is winning the war and needs the support of its friends.”
The minister also noted the Digital Switch Over, the Anchor Borrower Program as well as the important role played by his ministry in changing the narrative after the $9.6 billion judgment awarded to Nigeria in the Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) case.
“The change in the narrative in favor of Nigeria has been achieved with a series of engagements, facilitated by the ministry, with molders of key opinions such as investors, financial experts and diplomats (whom we met at the session in Lagos), as well as international media and policy makers.”