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- Pix(above, L-R): PMB and Alhaji Lai Mohammed, HMIC
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday, unveiled four special projects geared towards the preservation of the legacy of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The event which took place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had in attendance, the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare; the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, amongst others.
In his remarks, Alhaji Mohammed enumerated the four programmes ala documentary; testimony series, a compendium of the administration’s achievements and the legacy portal.
Mohammed stated that the four projects represent variants of the recently-concluded ‘PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)’ which provided a platform for Ministers (about 25 of them) to give account of their stewardship.
“The Scorecard Series ran from October 19, 2022 to February 14, 2023 and witnessed presentations by 25 Ministers and the Chairman of the National Population Commission. It was a huge success, going by the feedback we have received,” Mohammed said.
The minister, in the main, attributed the success of the Scorecard Series to the multi-dimensional strategy that was adopted in executing it.
”Apart from live coverage and live streaming on our Ministry’s social media handles, each edition was amply reported by a group of dedicated senior journalists. E-flyers were also generated from each presentation, while video clips from the presentations continue to receive massive play on public and private television stations across the country,” Mohammed further stated.
Continuing, he assured that the newly-launched programmes would also benefit from the multi-dimensional strategy to ensure their success, noting that the Scorecard Series provided a counter to the choreographed pushback by the opposition and the naysayers, who contend that the Buhari Administration has achieved nothing.
“It also provided campaign materials for our party and its candidates in the run-up to the 2023 General elections,” he said, recalling that the singsong of the opposition was that the Administration has nothing to campaign with.
“We have now shown that not only do we have a lot to campaign with, we are spoilt for choice! We also went beyond the moment by creating the Legacy Portal which is an electronic storehouse of the achievements.
This is unprecedented in the history of our country,” Mohammed enthused.
In his remarks, Osinbajo said Mohammed and his team deserved the commendation of the Buhari Administration for compiling the ministerial score card series, and the unveiled PMB legacy portal, an attempt at keeping a faithful record in audio, video and print of the achievements of the Buhari Administration in the last eight years.
“The whole exercise is important for various reasons. First, it is a historical record, and a fairly reliable one because it is a nearly contemporaneous record of what transpired in that eight-year period. Second, the records being kept in many different forms help to reinforce their accuracy and authenticity.
“Third, this detailed record, even though some will argue is the biased view of active participants in the matters being recorded, will nevertheless provide very useful source materials for researchers and historians in the future whether they are for or against our administration. In other words, by undertaking with great diligence and commitment this incredibly difficult task of record keeping, the Minister and his colleagues, in this effort, have provided a body of systematically structured facts in writing , photographs and film footage on the most recent eight years of almost a quarter of a century of democracy in Nigeria.
“Fourth, the Scorecard series is more than a self report card, it is also a programmatic agenda that has provided a platform for Ministers to highlight their challenges, and unfolding plans for their respective ministries.
“But some aspects of this record keeping exercise stand out, for their sheer poignancy -the 19-minute teaser of the documentary series and the testimonial series we just saw are just some of such star features. Through the testimonials of actual beneficiaries, we are able to practically present the largest social investment programme in Africa and also gauge the impact of the programme and some accompanying policies over the years. Hearing from citizens themselves; the petty trader who was able to expand her business because of TraderMoni; the unemployed graduate who benefitting from the N-Power programme discovers a new and profitable path; in addition, we see and hear recorded for history, the passengers who could not hide their excitement at the seamless operation of the modern railway system or the state-of-the-art airport terminals; and the President of the rice farmers association who told us how rice production in the country has increased exponentially under the Anchor Borrowers Programme. These are real people provided with a springboard to do more for themselves and for their communities; real people inspired to hope and believe that Nigeria can be positively transformed in our lifetime,” Osinbajo said.
The vice president also said besides the ultimate usefulness of the work as an anthology of the life and times of the Buhari Administration, it was also a fascinating and riveting account of unfolding facts and stories of some of the most intriguing events in contemporary Nigeria.
“And I think these accounts must be given the widest possible reach across traditional and new media channels; let the Documentary and Testimony Series resound on radio, television, and across social media; let the Compendium be circulated, in hard and soft copies, far and wide, to engage, provoke and maybe even inspire Nigerians and others who may come across it.
“As we launch this Compendium, Documentary, Testimonials, and Legacy Portal to the public, we must salute the cross functional effort that has produced these achievements; the tireless input of civil servants, and political appointees, the men and women, young and experienced, who, working to reverse the developmental tides against us, in the face of fierce criticism and great sacrifices, have pursued the realization of our promises for better security, laying a foundation for prosperity, and creating a fresh burst of hope for the future.
“And of course, the work continues. Government, as we know, is a continuum. It is the desire of every elected government that the unfinished business of its administration finds continuity and fulfillment in subsequent governments.
“I believe I speak the mind of the President when I say that our administration considers it a privilege and an honour to serve the people of our great nation as we have done in the last 8 years. These accomplishments are the hard-won dividends of the social contract we entered into with the Nigerian people when we came into office in 2015. Still, time and history will, no doubt, speak more eloquently of our stewardship. But for now, we can confidently say that we have given as much as we could. Life, for the living , also offers a continuum, such that even when we are no longer in office, we can and must continue to pursue the fulfillment of our country’s great promise and potential wherever we find ourselves,” Osinbajo further enthused. The unveiled PMB portal can be reached at www.pmbscorecard.gov.ng /SHARE THIS
- Tags: PMB, VP Yemi Osinbajo, Alhaji Lai Mohammed