Nigerians must vote PDP out in 2007
By MUSA ILALLAH
Musahk123@yahoo.com
Ask any patriotic Nigerian, especially the aged, low income earners, peasants and the unemployed among others what they have to say about the PDP controlled federal government job creation programme since it came to power almost eight years ago. There is no doubt that their comments may be to cast aspersions in strongest terms on the unfilled promises of the Obasanjo administration as regards job creation under its varied schemes like the NEEDS and the National Directorate of Employment, NDE among others.
The so-called job creation scheme of this administration is nothing to write home about. In fact, it is a sham, a deceit, a ploy to steal public funds and thus another failed project.
At the inception of the administration, the government rolled out a target of creating seven million jobs within its eight years life span.
According to records available, the achieved figure is far from this projection with less than three months left in office. Even the minister of labour and productivity, Dr. Hassan Lawal had at his annual media report admitted that the government had woefully failed to meet the yearnings of the citizenry in the area of job creation. He said: “Only 15,000 jobs have only been created as part of the NEEDS target. This target has become a mirage.”
In the usual funny and diversionary comments to serious issues of national importance by key figures of the Obasanjo administration, Dr. Lawal added that ‘the labour ministry is tackling job creation from all dimensions.’ But despite this resolution, only 15,000 jobs were created in almost eight years. What a land mark achievement by a government that claims to be spending billions of dollars on NEEDS as a way of once and for all settling the unemployment problem of the country.
It is important to once more say that rather than creating jobs for the populace with a view to making their lives more meaningful to themselves and the country in line with its pledge, the PDP led government has thrown thousands of its civil servants into the employment market under its reform agenda in almost all sectors of our national lives. This reform agenda of the Obasanjo administration lacks a human face and feeling. It is the view of a good number of Nigerians that the agenda is being pursued with utmost acceleration that gives the impression that it was out to satisfy the aspirations of Obasanjo and his foreign masters. No more, no less.
It is on record that a retrenchment gale anchored by the PDP led government has thrown millions of Nigerians into starvation, misery and at a loss. In the process of their in humane approach to implement a reform agenda, the OBJ regime has also sent hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, skilled and unskilled into the unemployment market. Poverty has eaten deep into their purse and so cannot continue pursuing their legitimate means of livelihood.
The story is the same in all sectors of our national economy since the government came to power. It has been a catalogue of failures of meeting set targets of various development projects notably in the power and energy, education, health, agriculture and social services sectors. It has been so largely because there is no faith in the design, development and execution of the targets set.
It is my humble view that since the PDP government has woefully failed to meet Nigerians’ expectations in relation to even targets set by the government itself, we must all rise and vote the PDP and its candidates out of power at all levels in the country. This will not only serve as a lesson but also as a deterrent to others who may in future want to go the PDP way.

Musa Ilallah wrote in from No. 20 C Hadejia Road,
Kaduna.