By Fola Ojo
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is presently cruising at a high altitude as Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the President of the Giant of Africa. By the horns, he is holding the bull. With audacity, he is enforcing changes that are making many uncomfortable. With determination, he is pushing through the unification of all segments of the foreign exchange market, where the old regime of multiple exchange rate windows was replaced for different purposes with a market rate. And with grinding guts, Tinubu is travelling down a lonely lane that all his predecessors refused to walk; especially with the removal of oil subsidy that has cost Nigerians tens of billions of dollars over many years.
As a result of these measures, Mr. President is in a rassle and battle with a boisterous, hounding headwind of the engulfing economic kamikaze biting down chunk-by-chunk into the reins of Nigerians. The reformation moves of Tinubu’s administration have caused Nigerians unbearable pain. Whether it’s from a sore thumb or broken toenails, humans by nature don’t have patience with pain in its threshold. This is the story today across Nigeria.
Tinubu surely knows the true tableau of torments that ordinary Nigerians on the streets have to daily deal with. And that knowledge must have led to the opening statement in his remarks on Tuesday during the 64th-year celebration of the nation’s Independence;“ I am deeply aware of the struggles many of you face in these challenging times. Our administration knows that many of you struggle with rising living costs and the search for meaningful employment.
I want to assure you that your voices are heard”; said the president. I am happy that Tinubu knows that in this surreal season, millions of Nigerians sleep and wake up with empty stomachs created by the maddening machinery of Nigeria’s form of Democracy. Haranguing hunger pangs on the poor and needy is now the albatross Mr President must deal with.
Do you remember that Tinubu had said not too long ago that it was his turn to be president? Now truly is his turn. It is not only his turn to carry the headache he may not have created, but also to turn the wheels of the nation’s ship from a monumental wreck that economists worldwide had predicted was inevitable because of corruption in government, and wanton waste in the purlieu of power.
Mr. President now knows that miseries have deepened in Nigeria, more pain is evident on main street, and the nation’s unemployment is rising as a staggering 23.18 million persons of Nigeria’s labor force are out of jobs. Tinubu knows.
A gloomy economic atmosphere is an indicator that there may be an uptick in youth restlessness, hence, their liberal involvement in serious crimes because they are unable to feed themselves and take care of their families. Youth restlessness and helplessness is why kidnapping cannot be killed easily even with heavy military munitions. It is why Boko Haram recruiters have a vast field to hunt from. When about 63% of a nation’s population is in despair; there are restive protests and picketing powered by young people who are neck-deep in despondency and despair. I am happy that Tinubu knows.
Wherever you find a nation besieged and beleaguered by ills innumerable and afflictions uncountable, check out the practice and practitioners of the anchoring system of government. Friends, check out Democracy as practiced in Nigeria. Tinubu knows enough; but does he know that democracy as practiced in Nigeria is not working? I stumbled on a report that about 96% of those who seek political offices in Nigeria today perceive politics as a cash-and-carry fief; and stealing while they serve as a lawful barony.
My friends in government believe that the percentile is close to a hundred. Look around and you’ll see evidence flying disrespectfully before your eyes. Men who seek to rule in Nigeria are mostly people who don’t care about ordinary Nigerians and their pressing needs. The sole goal of many is to milk the people who have been denied the milk and honey of a blessed and endowed nation like ours.
The runners and gunners for political offices only salivate after our collective pies are baked in the oven of Nigeria’s crude oil and on the backs of sweating laborers. Not even the crumbs of the Nigerian comestible are falling on the laps of the people. The pies are restricted servings only on the selfish dinner table of the greedy and gluttonous and their pillaging criminal cahoots. It is why millions continue to die of hunger. And lives are snuffed freely out of the innocent and hapless through diseases for which there are no cures. It is why kidnappers rape and kill, and bandits are not ready to give up their depravities. It is why our roads remain life-silencing snares and crooked paths to premature trips to hell.
Mr. President also spoke these words in his address: “Exactly 64 years ago, our founding fathers chose democracy as a form of government and launched the dream of a great country that would lead the rest of Africa out of poverty, ignorance, and underdevelopment, a beacon of hope to the rest of Africa and the world. Over six decades later, we can look back, and Nigerians worldwide can see how well we have succeeded in realizing the lofty dreams of our founding fathers”.
If Democracy was truly the dream of our founding fathers, it has certainly been nurtured into a nightmare. Since 1999 when the exploitative and breath-expunging experiment called democracy flagged off, we have indeed seen changes. But the changes experienced by Nigerians, unfortunately, aren’t what they asked for. But does Tinubu know that democracy is not working? Who has this democracy helped aside politicians and their cronies? Democracy has not brought down the significant poverty level or fed the hungry. It has not hindered Boko Haram harassment or stopped the police from harassing innocent citizens.
Who has democracy helped in Nigeria except for politicians and their cronies? About 40.1% of the population, or over 82.9 million Nigerians, are considered poor based on national standards, with real per capita expenditures below 137,430 Naira per year.
The multidimensional poverty index indicates that 63% of Nigerians, approximately 133 million people, experience multidimensional poverty. It is projected that the poverty rate in Nigeria will increase to 38.8%, exacerbated by rising costs of living and inflation.
Mr. President has urged Nigerians to be patient. I think they will, not because they want to, but because they have no choice nor possess comparable strength to fight for what rightfully belongs to them. We will wait patiently for Mr. President’s prescriptions to seep through the bones and marrows of the economy. I pray that the measures work; I hope they work; and I can’t wait to see them work. Nigerians will be patient, but it will not be for too long, or forever. So, help us God!
