I have found it absolutely necessary to write again in the course of our
\nnation’s chequered history. It is my fervent hope that everyone stumbles
\nupon this piece, reads and\u00a0 digests the contents. It is none other than
\nthe ongoing\u00a0 grim and\u00a0 obviously sad situation on the ground which
\nstares us ominously in the face. This, you will all agree with me, has
\ndrawn the attention of our neighbours in the West African sub-region.<\/p>\n
However, there is no denying the fact that Nigeria\u00a0 has a government in
\nAbuja headed by a man with a military background in the person of
\nPresident Buhari. I shall in the course of this piece shed light on why
\ngovernment exists. One of the major reasons, for starters, is to make
\nlaws, moreso a wide range or variety of rules which are desirable\u00a0 for
\nsociety to properly\u00a0 function and progress. These rules are often
\ncreated to provide law and\u00a0 order and ultimately protect society from
\nconflicts which have happened throughout history.<\/p>\n
That man by nature is selfish, domineering and often lords over others
\nis not in dispute.\u00a0 This has often led to\u00a0 conquests, subjugation and
\nexpansion both on the social and economic fronts. Today, we have a
\ncountry made up of over 250 ethnic nationalities with different
\nhistorical,\u00a0 religious, cultural and social\u00a0 backgrounds fused into a
\nlarge distinct polity\u00a0 by the historic amalgamation of 1914.<\/p>\n
It is time we evaluated\u00a0 this government’s results\u00a0 on\u00a0 security, social
\nwelfare and infrastructures development –\u00a0 to serve as indicies of its
\nperformance and effectiveness.<\/p>\n
May 29, 1999 goes down in history as the year\u00a0 Nigeria again returned to
\ncivil democratic rule. Extant laws were modified\u00a0 and\u00a0 new ones were
\nmade\u00a0 to meet exigencies, age-old\u00a0 yearnings and aspirations of
\nNigerians geared towards the security and well-being of our people. It
\nis the interest and desire of every Nigerian to be safe in one’s chosen
\nplace of residence in the federation of Nigeria. In the dim past,
\nNigerians slept with eyes closed and some of us could hit the road even
\nat night from Nigeria’s coastal plains to the Sahelian regions of
\nNorthern Nigeria. Sad to say today all that has changed as our country
\nhas been over-run by Janjaweed armed militias thereby making the
\ngovernment of the day a cacophony\u00a0 of an epic diabolic proportions.<\/p>\n
Security<\/p>\n
In terms of security\u00a0 which is one of government’s statutory
\nresponsibilities, the government in Abuja, you will agree with me has
\nnot only failed woefully but abysmally. Banditry, killings and
\nkidnappings are on the ascending order of magnitude\u00a0 – one of the
\ntrademarks of a\u00a0 failed leadership. What I often cherish is a larger
\nNigeria\u00a0 to give us a vocal voice in the comity of nations but the
\nbloody insurgency in the northeast is increasingly making this a pipe
\ndream as our territory shrinks by the day due to the ongoing armed
\ninvasion by insurgents who are fighting to actualize a sovereign islamic
\nstate in the embattled region.
\nWe have never had it so bad! No one, you will all agree with me, is
\ncomfortable with the obviously sad situation! Armed criminal gangs now
\nplay the piper\u00a0 and dictate the tune while Nigerians look on helplessly
\nas the\u00a0 government\u00a0 of the day cowardly throws in the towel. Over 750
\ncases of criminal abductions have been recorded with a whooping N10
\nbillion reportedly paid in\u00a0 ransom to these tribes of socially
\nundesirable elements who say it is either their diabolic whims and
\ncaprices prevail or there would be no Nigeria. The situation is even
\ngrimmer\u00a0 in the north as scores of Nigerians in that part of the country
\nhave gone untimely to the grave.\u00a0 Nigeria’s once glorious and\u00a0 peaceful
\nnorth has been overrun by armed militias! Whither are we bound?<\/p>\n
Down south, the situation is better imagined than real. Criminal
\nelements who masquerade as herdsmen wielding assault rifles often
\nunleash terror on our people. Farmlands are often\u00a0 destroyed, farmers
\nare hacked to death in their tens\u00a0 and hundreds giving rise to food
\nshortage and scarcity. To compound our grief,\u00a0 the northern traders
\nunder the auspices of Amalgamated Union of Foodstuffs and Cattle Dealers
\nof Nigeria have blocked foodstuffs supplies to the south. Where you find
\nfoodstuffs that have been smuggled in the cost is prohibitive. This is a
\nregion whose means of livelihood are\u00a0 destroyed daily by\u00a0 some criminal
\nelements from that region of the country. I am very sure Nigeria will
\ncease to exist if the south which considers the former a drag\u00a0 speaks
\nwith one voice and retaliates. It never rains but it pours, so the
\nsaying goes. Into what grave dangers would these further lead Nigeria
\nwith a cast of neophyte actors at the helm?<\/p>\n
Like what presently obtains in the north,\u00a0 communities in the south have
\nbeen overrun by the same band of mephistophilan Homo Sapiens from
\nextinct barbarian tribes. Government appears at its wit end as the
\nsecurity\u00a0 measures put in place have collapsed\u00a0 like a pack of cards and
\nreturned us to the proverbial vicious circle.<\/p>\n
Social welfare<\/p>\n
Governments the world over make provision for the citizenry. This
\nborders on assistance programmes geared towards the well-being and
\nquality care of the country’s citizens.
\nIn other words,\u00a0 in pursuing social welfare group of assistance
\nprogrammes are designed to help the people such as housing, education,
\nfamily circumstances,\u00a0 medical care, food distribution at safety nets,
\nsubsidies to name but a few.<\/p>\n
In the build-up to 2015 federal elections in Nigeria, the All
\nProgressives Congress as a party then in the\u00a0 opposition with a vibrant
\nvoice promised to rapidly transform Nigeria to the proverbial lost city
\nof El-Doraldo. With these alluring promises which border on security,
\nsocial welfare, infrastructures development, introduction and
\nimplementation of\u00a0 fiscal policies that would make the Naria, Nigeria’s
\nmonetary unit equal in value to the US dollar, Nigerians fell for the
\nmerchants of falsehood\u00a0 hook, line\u00a0 and sinker and threw the PDP and the
\nJonathan administration into the graveyard – a blunder which over 85%
\nof Nigerians rue to this day. Under the PDP-controlled Federal
\nGovernment, the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo paid off
\nNigeria’s debts and built up our foreign reserves even when crude oil
\nsold for much less in the international market while under President
\nJonathan with good economic managers Nigeria rose from behind, overtook
\nEgypt and displaced\u00a0 South Africa to become Africa’s largest economy
\nafter a rebasing calculation of our GDP. These were in indeed
\ninteresting times and\u00a0 important epochs in our economic and political
\nhistory which made life super abundant\u00a0 and gave rise to Hegira home at
\nthe time as against frustration, hunger, hopelessness and thoughts of
\nimminent death that now hang over\u00a0 \u00a0our heads like the ancient sword of
\nDamocles. Today, our people flee Nigeria in droves as security of lives
\nand property increasingly becomes elusive.<\/p>\n
Going by the promises they made at the sad period under review and our
\nentitlements in terms of social welfare programmes, how many Nigerians
\ntoday receive assistance from the All Progressives Congress-controlled
\nFederal Government?\u00a0 In many countries when you are unemployed you are
\nentitled to social benefits which is a proactive step towards curtailing
\ncrimes\u00a0 and a host of other social maladies.<\/p>\n
In civilized climes, society participants when plagued or faced by
\ncertain untoward events receive assistance from government. How many
\ntimes has the Federal Government\u00a0 assisted\u00a0 you\u00a0 with\u00a0 payment of\u00a0 house
\nrents? How many times have you received\u00a0 unemployment compensation in
\ncash from the Federal Government being\u00a0 part of their promises in the
\nbuild-up to the 2015 presidential election? Sad to say this is not only
\nunobtainable in the near and far future but may only happen the day pigs
\nbegin to fly as APC remains in power.\u00a0 On this wise,\u00a0 Buhari’s emergence
\nhas only succeeded in anihilating the democracy Nigeria enjoyed in 16
\nyears under the Peoples Democratic Party with a batteted economy, bloody
\ninsurgency, separatst feelings and agitations,\u00a0 poverty, hunger and
\nfrustration ultimately sounding us the death knee.<\/p>\n
Education<\/p>\n
Today, in terms of education, Nigeria under the APC-controlled Federal
\nGovernment has fallen from its Olympian height. Strikes which last for
\nover 10 months and sometimes over 12 months\u00a0 by academic and
\nnon-academic staff who only ask for their entitlements\u00a0 – better wages
\nand\u00a0 living conditions –\u00a0 often\u00a0 disrupt our school academic calendar
\nthereby bringing about drop-outs and half-baked products into our labour
\nmarkets.\u00a0 \u00a0This re-echoes Chinua Achebe’s famous line in his best-seller
\nof all time “Things Fall Apart ”\u00a0 – “Where are the young suckers that
\nwill grow when the old banana trees die” My recent visit to a certain
\nFederal Government -owned school in Nigeria broke my spirit as the
\nschool in question was totally bereft of infrastructures. Only three
\nteachers were in a school\u00a0 with no learning or teaching aid whose
\nsalaries, I gathered,\u00a0 are paid by public-spirited natives. That is what
\nit is probably like all over the country which private schools operators
\nhave\u00a0 taken\u00a0 advantage of by notoriously fleecing over 70% Nigerians who
\nlive below the breadline. In consequence of this,\u00a0 many children have
\ndropped out whereas in other countries government often assists parents
\nto ensure children remain in school.\u00a0 \u00a0Only yesterday,\u00a0 Edo State
\nGovernor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki as a trail blazer and\u00a0 visionary leader par
\nexcellence\u00a0 made two Executive Proclamations which make it compulsory
\nfor parents to send their children to school while the state government
\non its part proclaimed\u00a0 access to Free Basic Education for all children
\nin the state which is\u00a0 reminiscent of the lost golden age under Prof.
\nAlli while Governor of the defunct Bendel State. This again is another
\nimportant epoch in a PDP-controlled state which ought to be replicated
\nby other governors in their states. Thanks to\u00a0 Pa Awolowo’s Free
\nEducation Programme of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), I, for
\none, would not have seen the four walls a secondary grammar school. That
\nmakes the late sage a living example of what man can be and accomplish
\nin the realm of excellence and virtue.<\/p>\n
Infrastructures<\/p>\n
On infrastructures development we must now turn. “The only way to have
\nstable electricity is to vote out PDP” , The Nation newspapers published
\non July 12, 2014 quoted Babatunde Fashola as saying while Governor of
\nLagos State,\u00a0 adding that the then PDP-controlled Federal Government
\nlacked ideas.\u00a0 Ironically, the man who spewed this shocker\u00a0 \u00a0headed the
\npower sector\u00a0 for four calendar years. James Watts, may God rest his
\nsoul, the inventor of the steam engine who\u00a0 is honoured with Watts and
\nkilowatts with which units of electricity is measured today must be
\nlooking askance at this naysayer for his inability to add one megawatt
\nto the national grid for four calendar years.\u00a0 People like him and the
\nparty he represents should remain silent forever on national issues
\nhaving lost the credibility to lead. In fact, I had expected Babatunde
\nFashola to resign a long time ago being part of the clogs\u00a0 in our wheel
\nof progress.
\nSo on what basis is the ruling party seeking power retention by the
\nongoing party membership\u00a0 re-validation exercise when everything is at
\nsixes and sevens under its watch?\u00a0 Is it to field or recycle or foist
\ntheir candidates with spent brains yet again on Nigerians? Are\u00a0 the
\ngrossly oppressed and abused victims still ready to\u00a0 bond with their
\ncaptors and oppressors by identifying\u00a0 with these merchants of
\nfalsehood? This would be another\u00a0 Stockholm Syndrome at\u00a0 play! Today
\ninflation figures under the ruling All Progressives Congress have spiked
\ndouble digits\u00a0 while crimes of varying degrees particularly violent ones
\nare on the ascending order of magnitude with the government losing the
\nbattle on all fronts and at every turn. Like I did just say this\u00a0 has
\ngiven\u00a0 birth to separatist feelings and agitations.\u00a0 At one time
\nNigerians lived happily together but today the reverse has become the
\ncase as Buhari’s style of governance has polarized Nigerians on ethnic
\nand religious lines.
\nToday, hyper-inflation stares us ominously in the face which has reduced
\nus to sub-species and mindless hominins\u00a0 by outdated monetary policies
\nwhich inflict dehydration on our finances and economic well-being.
\nOne of the vocal voices that harassed President Jonathan out of power in
\nthe person of Yemi Osibanjo,\u00a0 a university\u00a0 professor,\u00a0 is one of the
\ndaddies that call the shot today. I often sit back hand on chin
\nwondering how he feels about the injustice he did to\u00a0 over 200 million
\nNigerians who now thrive on dirt and dirty surroundings caused by
\ndebilitating poverty, unemployment and ethno-religious fundamentalism.
\nWhat about his principal Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the self-styled Jagaban and
\nformer Lagos\u00a0 Governor’s assertion that
\n“General Muhammadu Buhari is an agent of destabilization, ethnic bigot
\nand religious fanatic”?<\/p>\n
He did expressly say Buhari would disintegrate Nigeria. This was
\ncontained in a Wikileaks transcript in a\u00a0 conversation between Tinubu
\nand the US consul-general in 2003. Events playing out today are pointers
\nto that fact as Nigeria’s ship of state\u00a0 which Buhari pilots today heads
\nspirally for the rocks.
\nMay God save Nigeria, a nation in death throes under the APC-controlled
\nFederal Government.<\/p>\n
*Iyoha John Darlington,\u00a0 \u00a0a former governorship candidate of the
\nPeoples Party of Nigeria in Edo State 2020 governorship election is an
\nopinion leader and public commentator on national and global issues.<\/p>\n
I have found it absolutely necessary to write again in the course of our nation’s chequered history. It is my fervent hope that everyone stumbles upon this piece, reads and\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n