President Olusegun Obasanjo seems to have resumed his much-criticized foreign trips at the expense of the grave socioeconomic crises besetting the nation. His recent trips to India and China �for increased trade and logistical support for AU�s troops in the Darfur region�, at a time when the economy is being threatened by yet another strike and other crippling socioeconomic crises paint the sad picture of a leader who pays more attention to foreign issues.
President Obasanjo had travelled to India and China on November 3, 2004, the same day the Nigeria Labour Congress and the civil society had held a rally to mobilize workers and Nigerians for the November 16 strike which they threatened would be �total�. The nation is yet to recover from the effect of a four-day warning strike by the same bodies. It is curious and disturbing that the President found it more convenient to mediate in the crisis in Darfur when his own house was on fire. Since President Obasanjo�s chairmanship of the AU is consequent upon his position as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not vice versa, the interest and welfare of Nigerians become his primary responsibilities. His schedule and duties as the AU Chairman should therefore be carried out in a way that will not conflict with his domestic responsibilities.
Besides, at this critical period when the nation is groaning under the weight of a parlous real sector and another threat by Resident doctors to down tools �to protest part-payment of their monthly salaries and non-implementation of the 22 per cent increase in their basic salaries�, the President should concentrate on evolving creative and sustainable strategies to rescue the country from the jaws of economic doldrums. The President himself had admitted during his inauguration in 1999 that the economy had been brought to its knees, devastated by many years of military rule. But foreign concerns have always diverted the President�s attention from the onerous task of national rejuvenation which Nigerians voted him to perform.
Even in the face of a crawling economy, the sum of N1.56 billion was proposed for foreign trips by President Obasanjo and Vice President Abubakar Atiku in the 2005 budget, apart from the N4.6 billion proposed as �trial payment for the purchase of Boeing Business Jet for the President. The National Assembly should help the President to stay more at home by diverting these embarrassing travel expenses to areas that will impact meaningfully on the people�s living standard .
Indeed, the nation�s Human Capital Indices as presented by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, have not been encouraging. If the President denies that 70 percent of Nigerians languish in abject poverty, it is difficult to fault UNICEF�s recent statement that child mortality rate has worsened from 168 deaths per 1000 births in 1999 to 217 death per 1000 in 2003. Nor can the sharp drop in school enrolment be disputed. The administration therefore has no basis to engage in self-glorification and delusion over reforms that have not translated into good roads, education, potable water, employment and other social indices.
It is also sad that most public institutions including NEPA, NNPC, NITEL and NRC, still reek in corruption and are waiting to be given the much-promised dose of reform. The national question is yet unresolved as the nation is perennially buffeted by centrifugal forces. For producing an experienced African statesman, Nigeria deserves to enjoy more of the acclaimed services which President Obasanjo dispenses freely abroad. He has nothing to lose by staying here to attend to the nation�s burning issues. There is a competent professional as Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid in dollars to manage the country�s external image. Let charity begin at home.
