Former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and social commentator, Reno Omokri, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast on Monday as a ‘national waste of 20 minutes’.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that President Buhari, yesterday, Monday, April 13, addressed the nation in a nationwide broadcast, where he announced the extension of lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States as a means of combating the coronavirus pandemic.
Taking to Twitter, Omokri said the broadcast was uninspiring and failed to touch on the real issues bedeviling Nigerians.
The social commentator lambasted the president for not addressing the breakdown of law and order in Lagos and other states as crime rates and robbery have increased.
He also wondered why Buhari could not take questions from journalists and shed more light on palliative measures to Nigerians as is the case in other climes.
He tweeted:
“General Buhari’s broadcast was shallow. He told us nothing new. He did not tell us what specifically he has done, is doing and will do to ease life for Nigerians during this #CoronaVirus lockdown. It was a national waste of 20 minutes we could have spent better
“General Buhari boasted about what he should have been ashamed of. In a country of 200 million citizens, how can you boast of training 7,000 health workers. Was he not ashamed? This is what a local government chairman should be boasting about, not a President.
“In fact, General Buhari said worse than nothing. This was not news. It was noise. He says we are on the right track to defeat COVID-19 (thank God he could pronounce it). How? We are not testing. We do not know who has it. We don’t know who died due to coronavirus.
“General Buhari boasted that his government has traced 92% of identified contacts of coronavirus patients. This is blatantly false. For instance, have they traced and identified the contacts of all those who attended AMMA awards? What about the Katsina doctor?
“General Buhari did not address the breakdown of law and order in parts of Lagos and Ogun. People can’t sleep at home. They are now vigilantes in their communities. Not one word. Not one word. It is as if their sufferings don’t exist. Very insensitive!
“General Buhari is himself a virus. He doesn’t know what he is doing. If you say you want to protect the life of Nigerians, then how come your conditional cash transfer is lopsided towards the North, where over 80% of beneficiaries are located. Are they on lockdown?
“Boris Johnson who was just released from hospital gave a broadcast to the UK that was more informative and power packed than what General Buhari gave.
“Boris took questions. Buhari just stood there reading English that someone else typed for him. So uninspiring.”
