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First, an acknowledgement: I borrowed the “better off” question from late American President Ronald Reagan’s famous line in the 1980 U.S. election campaign. That quote remains relevant today as it was forty years ago. It has been a frustrating, anger-filled period in Nigeria today. On deep reflection, it’s as if the country had lost its soul. There are loads of broken hearts in the land. Across the country, tensions flare, protests against government’s hikes in prices of electricity tariff and patrol have rocked some states. And you begin to ask: What went wrong? Has this government that rode to power a little more than five years ago like a knight on a white horse lost his direction and the agenda that brought it to office?
When you ask many Nigerians today: Are you better off than you were five years ago? They will tell you their experiences today are like a pin on the lips. Very painful, very suffocating. How come a political party that promised so much has delivered too little? How come a President that looked so ready, very prepared and capable on the campaign trail, is now being accused by some to have lost focus and the rhythm and cadence that made many Nigerians to vote for him in 2015 and reelected him last year? These are compelling questions that trouble the mind. It’s now clear that there’s a huge difference between campaigning and governing. When a governing political party fails to understand that the people are central in politics, and that politics is a human enterprise, the result is a grim, despairing situation that sticks at the heart and soul. That’s when the citizens begin to feel disillusioned, divided and cynical about the performance of their political leaders and institutions. That’s is where we are today.
A few days ago, a scuffle broke out in front of a kiosk near my house in Lagos. Three men were involved. Passers-by watched in disbelief, wondering what could be the cause of the disorderly fight. It turned out the men were fighting over a loaf of bread. As they wrestled themselves to the ground, the bread was broken into pieces. None of them had a better share of it. It was like the classic case of a broken family whose members would rather destroy their father’s inheritance than share it. On enquiry, these men were labourers working at a nearby building undergoing renovation. If you are not aware, bakers increased the price of bread last week, citing hikes in prices of essential items. The anger in the country is a reflection of the hardship and extreme poverty in the land. Prices of food items are rising beyond the reach of ordinary people. Five years ago before the Buhari administration came to power , a litre of patrol was N87, today, it’s about N160. A 50kg of rice that used to cost N8,500 is now between N23,000 and N25,000, a paint(mudu) of garri that was selling for N300 in early 2015 is now over N1,000.
All of these are in spite of government’s diversification efforts and investments in agriculture and agro-processing value chain, and border closure to prevent smuggled goods boost local manufacturing. Inflation has risen to all-time high in four years, dollar is now N440/$. It was N200/$ in early 2015, while national debt is now N31trillion, a N18.89trn rise since 2015. These challenges may have been worsened by the novel Coronavirus pandemic which has crippled economies, upended lives and livelihoods. But Nigeria’s current crisis predates the emergence of the pandemic. As any student of history and political economy will tell you, a country begins a steep decline when it starts to have debt explosion, slow growth and high spending that’s not in proportion to revenue generation. Is that not where Nigeria is now? As former President Goodluck Jonathan said in his memoir, ‘MY TRANSITION HOURS’, “If you embark on digging a hole for your enemy, you better make it shallow, because you might end up in the hole yourself”. If yesterday is a guide for tomorrow, that has come to haunt APC. Hypocrites lose their footing the very moment they begin to hold others to the standards they cannot keep. I wish Chief Tony Anenih was still alive to witness what’s going on now . You know why? At the pinnacle of his political career, Anenih, fondly “Mr. fix- it” of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) thought he knew how to mend a broken heart. He was asked by reporters in 2005 if he was not aware that the economic condition of most Nigerians had started to deteriorate under Obasanjo presidency. Anenih was angry at the question and reacted just as much. Looking at the reporters, he said, “you journalists can write whatever you like about our great party, but we should do whatever we want with the party and how it governs Nigeria”. When reminded that he had not answered the question, Anenih, responded in cold anger, “Have Nigerians started fighting themselves on the streets?” Could that be where we are now? Is that where APC expects Nigerians before it will accept that indeed the inequality in the country is widening every day? Truth is, the fautlines that divide us are widening every day.
How much does this government care for the people and ready to do what will uplift their well-being? Nigerians have been so tolerant with this government. It should reciprocate by alleviating their problems rather worsen them. One is not saying that Buhari presidency is responsible for all the crises in the country. He should do much more than he has done to solving them. That’s leaders are not judged like ordinary men. The truth is that when the government and leaders lack vision, they lack the stuff of political life to move the nation forward. This is why our country is getting progressively worse rather than making better things to happen for the citizens. There’s always a good place in history for any leader who wants to succeed.
The starting point is to define his goals and vision in a way that gives coherence. He cannot achieve these goals, this vision and purposes if they are packaged in a mishmash manner. That’s why many of the policies and programmes of this government are not yielding the required dividends despite how progressive and lofty they appear on paper. Recall a year ago, we hailed President Buhari when he lamented the level of extreme poverty in the country. He said that the situation makes him uncomfortable. He spoke during the breaking of fast at Ask Villa in May last year. He noted that too many Nigerians were unable to find something to eat. His exact words as reported by the media:”When I drive round the country, what upsets me most is the status of our poor people in this country – you see the so-called Almajiris with torn clothes, with plastic bowls, begging for food…” If you ask me how Buhari Presidency has faired in five years, I will say the President’s knowledge of the way government works is superficial at best. Let’s get this fact straightaway : Nobody is saying that President Buhari has the magic wand to make Nigeria great overnight or eradicate poverty with the speed of light. In other words, it will be unfair to blame the President for all the problems. But since the buck stops with him, he must take a chunk of the blame. His policymakers are also not doing well enough in giving him the right plans to solve problems in critical sectors that will produce optimal benefits to the people. It’s even worse at the state levels.
Those in authority should bear this in mind: that they are in power as a matter of luck and courtesy rather than by any divine rights. No matter what anybody may say about the Obasanjo presidency (and I did write an awful lot about his administration), the former president has always spoken truth to power since he left office. He didn’t start it with the Buhari government. He didn’t spare President former President Goodluck Jonathan whom he “installed”. He has almost always expressed the minds of most Nigerians concerning the failings of the present administration and the need to stop the drift that the country appears to be headed . His latest comment that “Nigeria is becoming a failed state”, is not new, but the warning comes with the tempers of the time. He said, among other things, “today, Nigeria is drifting to a failed and badly divided state. Economically, our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and socially, we are firming up as an unwholesome and insecure country, and these manifestations are the products of recent mismanagement of diversity and socioeconomic development of our country…”
Obasanjo presidency might not be much better than the present administration, nonetheless, it will be unfair and unkind to dismiss his comments and describe him the way the presidency has done, as “divider-in-chief”. I think , the government should see it as a timely advice to refocus some of its policies that are not yielding the expected results.
