Hello people, this is actually an article I wrote sometime in March 2017. I've brought it to you once again as I feel the issues therein are still very much relevant. Pls sit back, relax & enjoy. Let's hear what you think as well!
At
this moment of our national life where Nigeria has been plunged into avoidable
economic hardship and the living standard of many Nigerians instead of
improving, has gradually deteriorated below poverty level, many Nigerians are
shocked by what they got from the Buhari government which has failed to make
any positive change in the lives of the people. And with the way we are all
astonished as to how a government that promised us heaven could turn around to
give us hell instead, many Nigerians have wondered if that Presidential Villa,
Aso Rock is truly a blessing to Nigeria or a curse.
Is
the President even aware that many Nigerians are killing themselves due the
hardship and suffering brought about by his incompetent government? Does he
even know that an average Nigerian is so disenchanted with his government that
Nigerians are now even ashamed to call him their President? Does he even know
that due to the high expectations Nigerians had of him when he was sworn in,
that Nigerians now regret voting for him in the first place? But the President
knows all these, he cannot pretend not to know but the activities of praise
singers and the enemies of Nigeria who would tell him that all is well would
not make him realize the magnitude of the public disenchantment and
disconnection of his government from the masses of Nigeria and from the reality
on the ground.
The
Nigerian government has undoubtedly been hijacked by a certain selfish cabal
who are no doubt enemies of Nigeria and who would do anything possible to
entrench their own selfish agenda on Nigeria. People like the President’s
Special adviser on Media Mr Femi Adeshina would always tell him that all is
well and that Nigerians are wailing wailers. And talking about wailing wailers,
Mr Femi Adeshina has introduced another vocabulary into the Nigerian political
arena which we shall make reference to from time to time.
But
let’s look at this critically. Does Mr Femi Adeshina have any right as a
political appointee who is paid with the Nigerian taxpayer’s money to even call
Nigerians who are complaining about bad government as wailing wailers? Does he
not know that the Nigerian masses have the ultimate power to choose whoever should
lead them and after choosing such person the people have every right to
complain about the government if their expectations are not met? Does he not
know he is a public servant and that his duty is to serve the interest of the
people and that it is completely disrespectful to call the people of Nigeria
wailing wailers?
If as
a government you have failed the people and you failed to meet up with the
expectations of Nigerians, then don’t expect Nigerians to be happy with your
government. It is completely unacceptable to continue to take Nigerians for a
ride after we have voted you into power and instead of you to improve the lives
of the people, you ended up increasing their sorrow. What sort of government is
that? I noticed that every Presidential candidate or political party in Nigeria
would always come with sugarcoated mouth and promise heaven and earth during
campaigns and the people will be so deceived into voting for them thinking they
would change their lives for the better but as soon as they get power, they
would not fulfill such deceitful promises to the people.
It
looks as if there is something in that Aso Rock that twists the head of every
President that gets there and makes him forget all the promises he made to the
people. It looks as if that Aso Rock is jinxed against the Nigerian people. It
seems to me Nigeria may never make any meaningful headway until that Aso Rock
is completely disbanded to pave way for the building of another Presidential
Villa by a Godly and properly elected Nigerian leader who would lay a good
foundation for the building of that new Presidential Villa.
It is
very clear that there are many forces militating against the performance of any
Nigerian leader who enters that Aso Rock. It is very possible that our lovely
Aso Rock which we built with a lot of money during the military era may
actually be the problem of Nigeria. If not, why do leaders suddenly turn
against the masses as soon as they’ve taken over the mantle of leadership? Why
do they say one thing and do the complete opposite of what they say? Is there
not something mysterious about that Aso Rock?
The
one thing that also amazes me is how the President allows certain people,
praise singers and cabal to hijack his government without standing up to the
occasion for the sake of Nigeria. Is the interest of Nigeria not above any
selfish personal interest? The level Nigeria is now economically shows clearly
that this government is either unprepared for leadership from the onset or
completely incompetent and therefore does not deserve to lead Nigeria any more.
Nigerians were even better off during the tenure of former President Goodluck
Jonathan and things were not so bad. We are tired of promises that will never
materialize, we want action. We want an action government that will ameliorate
the suffering of the masses of Nigeria within a reasonable period of time and
better the lives of Nigerians and any government that cannot do this should be
shown the way out of Aso Rock for another government to take over.
Nigerians
have never had it so bad and even during Jonathan’s government, the economy was
not so harsh on Nigerians. Despite all the efforts of Jonathan, we called him
clueless because he could not meet up with a whole lot of our expectations. He
didn’t fight corruption and he exhibited a lackadaisical attitude to the fight
against the Boko Haram insurgents who destroyed countless lives and property in
the Northern part of Nigeria. But while Jonathan could not do any of these and
Nigerians hated him so much and voted him out, we now have a President who we
think is fighting Boko haram and corruption but the people are dying of hunger
and committing suicide on a daily basis due to the excruciating economic
hardship in Nigeria.
But
under Jonathan Nigerians could still afford to eat what they wanted and the
cost of things in the market was never so outrageous. We called
Jonathan clueless but I bet you many Nigerians are so disappointed now that
they don’t even know what name to call the Buhari government. But this
government is worse than clueless because if in a clueless government the
people are better off and in a supposedly ‘‘non-clueless’’ government the
people are suffering, then what is means is that the Buhari government is worse
than clueless. And it is very clear that things were quite better for an
average Nigerian under the Jonathan government and despite his supposed
‘‘cluelessness’’, Nigerians even wish they never voted him out in the first
place.
If at
all you are fighting corruption and Boko Haram, this is never enough if the
people are suffering. And what manner of corruption is the government fighting
in the first place? Is the corruption fight all encompassing or is it only
against some perceived opponents and enemies? Is it only against certain people
while some sacred cows are left off the hook? What about those in the
President’s cabinet and those in the current government who have been indicted
and who should have been investigated and prosecuted if found wanting? Now we
can see that it’s the usual ‘‘paddy-paddy’’ government which our all-time
legend Fela told us from time immemorial. The fight against corruption can
never be holistic if certain people who are indicted for corruption and tainted
are still in this government without being shown the way out. It would be
hypocritical to do so and that would mean taking Nigerians for granted.
Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo recently told us that President Buhari is not good
with the economy. Now some Nigerians might take that statement with a pinch of
salt but that is the plain truth. If Buhari was good with the economy, if he
were a good manager of the economy, by now the Nigerian economy would not have
gone from good to bad and now to worse. This clearly tells us that we made a
great mistake for voting in the Buhari government into office in the first
place since he is not a good manager of the economy. It’s just like someone who
doesn’t know how to cook and you ask him to go and manage the kitchen and get a
good meal out of that kitchen, how possible is that? He will only go there and
turn the kitchen upside down and get you a badly prepared meal that will turn
your stomach upside down. That is what you get when you make the mistake of
voting in someone who doesn’t know how to manage the economy.
But
mind you, former President Obasanjo cannot be wrong on this statement because
we can all see how the Nigerian economy is being badly managed with all sorts
of trials and errors that keep impoverishing the masses the more. And the funny
thing is that the President acts as if he has all the time in the world to make
the change that we Nigerians desire.
He
acts with so much slow pace and reckless abandon as if he has ten or twenty
years more to lead Nigeria. He has forgotten that he has only FOUR YEARS to
make any impact and nothing more because it is very clear that Nigerians will
never vote for this APC government in 2019 except if Buhari is not the
Presidential candidate of the APC. The people want change and we want it in
record time and not endless promises. You don’t have to make things worse
before you make it better. Any government that makes things worse for the
people with a promise that things will get better is an incompetent government
that should be removed from office. Infact Nigerians were already tired of this
government as far back as 2016 when it started to inflict pains and suffering
on the hapless masses.
We
were promised that the fuel price which was increased will gradually come down
but nothing of such has happened. We were told that kerosene will soon get
cheaper but instead of getting cheaper, it now even costs more. And every
commodity in the Nigerian market is beyond the reach of an average Nigerian.
So
with all these failed promises and with 2019 around the corner when the
government will come up with another set of deceptive and dubious promises, we
must all ensure we obtain our voter’s cards and vote out this government since
it is clear it cannot take us anywhere. We must change this government before
it finally destroys Nigeria. Is it when everybody dies of hunger that the
change we all clamoured for will come?
By
Tayo Demola
Human
Rights Activist
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