The quality of life in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. Poverty has become a common denominator as most Nigerians now swim in the scary waters of hopelessness. No other title can better capture what the average Nigerian has experienced in the last one year other than to tell President Mohammadu Buhari (PMB): This country is hard!. It is understandably arduous for the government image launderer, Lai Mohammed, to defend the glaring non-performance across sectors. What majority now experience is botched ‘change’ characterized by institutional-anomie with growing lawlessness, impunity and emergence of insurgent groups. From kidnapping, herdsmen terrorism, smuggling, armed robbery, demands for self determination, unpaid salaries, hike in prices of everything (including Tomotoes!), comatose electricity, collapsing or comatose business ventures, protests in first-generation Universities of Ibadan, Ife and Lagos (due to infrastructure decay), increased domestic violence leading to deaths, increase in ritual killings, abductions and suicide. Added to this awful list are phenomenal increases in unemployment (12.1%), underemployment (19.1%) and youth unemployment/underemployment (42.24%). Of course, one cannot leave out the large pool of internally displaced persons and the daring Niger-Delta Avengers (NDA). The NDA have demonstrated their capability and the consequences are legion. PMB must learn to negotiate peace and not force peace as a converted democrat which he claimed to be but rarely demonstrates. The worthlessness of life in Nigeria needs a policy review and not the nebulous afterthought of allocating N5,000 to the poorest of the poor.
This amount cannot even buy a basket of tomatoes!. Of course, the anti-corruption fight is ongoing but its benefits still remain elusive to Nigerians. Corruption is getting more entrenched as people now device innovative ways to survive the hardship foisted on them. Yet, the ‘sacred cows’ continue to regenerate. The figure of those murdered via herdsmen terrorism in the last one year is indicative of the failure of the state in its core function of securing her citizens. Sadly, the political-economy or ethno-religious posture of PMB on this issue is reminiscent of Goodluck Jonathan’s attitude when Bokoharam was birthed. I have come to see, that there are two differentiated levels of citizenship in Nigeria: the ‘ordinary’ Nigerians and ‘Real’ Nigerians. The blood of the former (the masses) is drained to nourish the lives of the real Nigerians (elites, public servants and their allies). It should be noted that a differentiated citizenship is being created which will lead to the creation of more insurgent groups.
Nigerians have continued to subsidize bad governance in the last one year. With more afterthought policies it seems the PMB administration is saying to Nigerians ‘Now Your Suffering Continues’ (NYSC). This ought not to be owing to the trust reposed in this government arising from the notion of it being on the side of the downtrodden. But I had warned that there is a limit to trust as we need to characterize the men in the corridors of power. The cabal that was protested against in the oil sector are still holding sway and the APC, which asked Jonathan administration to prosecute and deal with the cabal and fix refineries have gone back to eat their vomit. Ibe Kachiku and the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo seemed to be far from the reality on ground when they said “we share your pain” to Nigerians after they forced N145 fuel price down our throats. They do not know and certainly feel no pains! Do they know how parents have lost the respect of their children? Do they know how many families have become shattered? Do they know that money lenders no longer offer services to government workers after unmet timelines? Do they know how much strain is in the land? The social contract between the government and the governed is breached which makes human life valueless. The body language is that ‘sacred cows’ can take over your land, kill, rape and create more problems as we continue to have more orphans, widows, widowers and a burgeoning army of internally displaced persons. The Bokoharam ‘largely decimation’ narrative is now stale. The new threats are the development of insurgent groups which is a by-product of social and economic cataclysm. The magnitude of the insecurity in Nigeria is being underestimated by the PMB-led administration.
The spiral effects of the stiffening economic situation are backbreaking. The Federal Executive Council endorsed their failure to arrest pipeline vandals, stop smuggling, negotiate peace in the Niger-delta and fix the refineries and the ailing economy by forcing hike in fuel price on an already distressed people. The government should be ready for new dimensions of criminality and social problems because when there is disjunction between societally approved goals and means of achieving them, anomie ensues and people mostly innovate and rebel rather than conform. Celebrated (Late) Nigerian Sociologist, Akinsola Akiwowo had explained cherished life values among the Yoruba and by extension Nigerians to include financial and social security and victory over enemies among others. Failure to meet these leads to social problems. As Beautiful Nubia said in his song, the masses are not asking for too much. They want the basic things that make life worth living (light, qualitative health, financial and social security, water, good roads). Thus, this propaganda narrative of sponsored efforts to destabilize the government should be jettisoned. This government needs to put on its thinking cap and design indigenous means to develop. As we have seen, our State governors have only succeeded in under-developing their States by lying to go to China, Japan, South Africa and others in search of investors. While they claimed allowances for such trips their States now have to endure the mountain of debts burden; no reliefs.
Corruption fight cannot be fought and won when the stomach infrastructure is threatened. Government should be apprehensive about how people are still going to their offices despite unpaid salaries! For example, my friend who lectures in a State polytechnic is owed four months’ salary and her husband, a civil servant is owed six months’ salary! Their kids are threatened to be sent out of school. She now has a ‘Book of debt’ where she records all her borrowings. Sad enough she lamented that nobody is ready to loan them again. Today people receive daily requests for financial assistance to fulfill their unmet needs. Pensioners are receiving no benefits and you expect those approaching retirement to be incorruptible? Not many people will listen to the scratching disc of ‘God will do it’ or ‘Nigerians should learn to sacrifice’ when those in public offices do not sacrifice. Frustration and aggression are setting in and you can see the erosion of trust in the ability of government to save them. PMB is human and cannot be right always. We must keep this President on his toes as South Africans have done to President Zuma and Americans to Obama. One year is gone and the ‘Poor Peoples’ Republic in Nigeria’ is getting larger. In the second part of the “You can trust me with your money” home video by PMB; the masses MUST experience the promised positive CHANGE.
Written by Dr Oludayo Tade, a criminologist
dotad2003@yahoo.com
