INDEED, this President and his forebears in the ruling behemoth have collectively mismanaged – in the last 13 years – the hopes of Nigerians and brought the nation into impecunious status through unprecedented corruption and profligacy.

With N2.67tr and N1.05tr said to have been spent on fuel subsidy in 2011 and 2012 respectively, this administration has unwittingly created a bleeding pipe – in which the scarce resources of state are siphoned into private pockets of cronies and acolytes of the administration.

The administration of the fuel subsidy, under this administration, has become a phenomenon in legendary opacity and monstrous corrupt tendencies.” These were some of the reactions of members of the opposition.

However, the perceived rot in the subsidy regime almost led to its outright scrapping, but after widespread agitations and persuasions, the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration introduced Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE P; whilst those that benefited illegally from the subsidy scheme are facing trials at different courts of competent jurisdiction.

Yet the SURE P initiative is intermittently receiving uncomplimentary remarks in the public domain. Although other observers who are painstakingly monitoring SURE P, claimed it is aimed at improving the citizens’ socio-economic status above personal or political interest.

In their views, it would be uncharitable for anyone, irrespective of what they represent, to accuse the Federal Government of using part of the funds to empower the party’s cronies ahead of the 2015 general elections, instead of using it for the benefit of all Nigerians. For every unbiased stakeholder, this isn’t the time for mudslinging or political blackmail; that will be totally mischievous and subversive.

Despite the aspersions, the direct impacts of SURE P in the nation’s critical economic sectors, especially in the provision of infrastructure and safety nets, had been phenomenally felt among Nigerians who are primarily the target groups. The ongoing refurbishing of over 3,700km of roads and the inauguration of others across the country are some of the benefits of the exercise.

The intervention resulted in the re-inauguration in December 2012 of the Lagos-Kano railway after over 35 years of disrepair, one of the identified credits to this masses driven initiative.

Moreover, Community Services, Women and Youth Employment, CSWYE, was another SURE-P’s landmark input. Women and the youth are seen to be on this administration’s priority list. SURE P, if well nurtured, has the capacity to reduce drastically, unemployment rate in the country.

More important, SURE-P has the President’s mandate to deliver service with integrity and restore people’s confidence in government.

Consequently, SURE P, with a renowned industrialist, former Nigeria High Commissioner to United Kingdom, and pro chancellor of Pan African University, Dr. Christopher Kolade (CON) as the helmsman, which switched into action in February 2012, is widely raising the hopes that Nigerians could witness the end of infrastructure deficit, which has been the bane of the country’s economic development.

Recall that the programme was introduced due to the partial removal of subsidy on petroleum products, with a view to mitigating its impact on the poor and the disabled in the society and ultimately to complement the transformation agenda of the Federal Government’s Vision 20-20-20, which sets the target for Nigeria becoming one of the leading 20 economies in the world by 2020.

This programme has helped in creating immediate short term employment opportunities for women and youths through the labour-intensive public workfare. Each of the beneficiaries receive N10,000 monthly; they equally get an automated alerts directly from the bank once the payment was done; this is obviously no party affairs, it is called ‘Goodluck’s alert’.

In a dramatic twist, most Nigerians received with rude shock the hoax which moved like a wild fire on the social media that our revered Dr Kolade had thrown in the towel as the Chairman of SURE P; to say it was a huge joke would simply be an understatement. About the negative reports that are making the rounds, Dr Kolade had provided the right feedback for the vituperative critics at a media briefing. When asked how he feels about the tongue-lashing on SURE-P, the elder statesman clearly set the record straight in his display of sheer commitment to national development, devoid of greed, avarice, nepotism, sentiments, corruption and other vices which could be inimical to national progress and prosperity.

‘‘One thing about Nigerians is that we have allowed ourselves to be a demoralised people. If this country is going to make progress, some people have to build and re-build it. To re-build the situation like our own, you can only do so, on good principle, good philosophy, honesty and transparency.

Mr. EMMANUEL AJIBULU, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Abuja.