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In the last 15 years, if not far more, it has been very difficult to single out a particular year in which Christians, especially those from the Southeastern part of the country, celebrated the Christmas without undue hardship and attendant pains. A very difficult exercise to undertake. Not even the officials in-charge of strategic service sectors like petroleum and security can with certainty say which year they offered the country such efficient services that the citizens enjoyed the best of the Christmas festivities. They won’t be able to remember which year such happened. Like we observed earlier, it has been stories of woes and agony.
In terms of fuel supply, despite issues associated with negative policies of subsidy, non-functional refineries and high cost of petrol in the international market, fuel supply will for most parts of a year remain normal, that is, supply will be very available until one or two months to the Christmas celebration in December, then hell will break loose. It will begin with rumours of scarcity to be followed by that of price hike. Before helpless and vulnerable citizens could know what is happening, scarcity and attendant high price become real. Shylock transporters always eager to cash in such opportunities take over from there and go for the kill; they hike fares in the end it is the citizens, ordinary folks to whom the celebration means so much that bear the brunt. Nothing can be more truamatising than this, especially given the season.
The people really groan because of the so many things their leaders have done them and lament how country has become very unfair to them. What is worse is that no one hears them. The authorities who the people should hold in very high esteem are left to run with the feeling that no one cares to find out if there are segments of the population that are seriously hit by such developments and what the circumstances has made of them and their state of joy. Yet, ask the president and governors to speak on the impact of their tenure, the first claim they will throw about would be that of running a «responsible» and «responsive» administration. When you look at it, you can›t find anything near «responsible» in their modus operandi let alone the» responsive» part of it all.
Truth is what we go through in regard to the matter in question ought to be, we are not like most not blessed by divine providence. In our case we have crude oil and the benefits should be widespread, to make festive seasons occasions for maximum merriment and joy to the people. When the critical segment of our population decry the mess and insist things must change for good if not better, all they get from people in leadership is scorn and in many other instances abuse and insults, then lectures bereft of knowledge and sound reasoning. Some government apologists and death mechants who benefit from the chaotic order would tell us the situation is nothing new, after all developed countries passed through the same problems at our age of development. True, but there are things they know also which by deliberate action they won’t say to the hearing of the general public, the first is those societies made mistakes but they had a great culture of never allowing a particular mistake repeat itself.
This is not what we have in our case, otherwise the issue of petrol scarcity especially the up and down developments that go with it during Yuletide seasons would have long been a settled matter. The other would be differences in foundations of those societies and ours and the degree of priority placed on the welfare and dignity of citizens. Before those entities regarded today as developed countries agreed to have a country and government as we know it, they sat down to agree that citizens’ existence, rights and dignity supercede even constitutional provisions. Where there is conflict between the two, citizens’ fundamental rights take precedence.
English, American and French governments would let citizens stay free and win the arguments if the matter in contention touches on citizens rights, comfort and welfare, especially existential threats and assault on dignity. In such situations, the governments would react with utmost seriousness. It would be the priority matter. Few days ago, America which is still involved in a proxy war in Ukraine, exchanged an American sports person, Griner, convicted and sentenced to jail for drug-related offence for a Russian illegal arms merchant arrested and imprisoned in the United States. We can also attest to the level of care their governments give to citizens in distress. This disposition act didn’t just start recently, it is a philosophy put in place a long time ago because leaders knew the crux of governance should be the welfare of the citizenry. This component is missing in what we try to do here.
If our leaders cared as much for their citizens, petrol should not be scarce at such a period as this. It should not be heard of let alone turning real. But it is happening and imposing enormous hardship on the innocent citizens who believe in their country very much. There is the very ugly side to this development: nearly everyone that should say something turns away on account of a very erroneous believe it is none of their business. Those in power are most guilty of this yet this demon they allow to fester will turn around at some point to bite the same people when they leave positions of power and authority to become like the rest of us ordinary citizens.
In sane countries, the point has been made that they won›t allow nasty situations become revcurring decimals, they will do everything humanly possible to reverse the trend and ensure citizens have the best. At such times as these officials will be at their administrative best, those in the commanding heights of power and authority deeply reflect on the situation. Several of them would be out on streets andj roads to ensure situations remain what it should be; they will monitor the transporters to ensure sanity prevails, possibility of sanctions will be so clear and the government won’t hesitate for a minute to release the sledgehammer on any recalcitrant business organization.
The beauty of it all would be in the preparation that goes ahead of anticipated mass movement of people. It is not about talking and issuance of press releases, it is about hands-on kind of administrative inputs, with officials at all levels of government and agencies checking and rechecking facilities with a view to ascertaining on time what could go wrong or whatever holds a potential to cause travellers any iota of discomfort. Security, safety and smooth passages on highways would be the priority areas. Police in particular since they are the front line organ in peace time and other paramilitary organs would line out their men, officers and rank on 24-7 duty schedule across all roads to enhance safety and smooth traffic flow. This is what we see elsewhere but not in our country. Our case is in the contrary.
At a time governments should be helping, they do the unnecessary. By Christmas time the federal government will suddenly remember it is time to earn more revenue. So, Customs, Immigration and Police even personnel of the Army waylay innocent travellers in the hinterlands, mounting road blocks to ask for vehicle particulars and other documents unknown to citizens. Between Sagamu in the Lagos axis and Onitsha in the South East, one can count over 100 check points, put there by various forces. All the state officials are busy to create more bottlenecks for innocent travelers, extorting huge sums of money from them under different guises. Many have lost cars and goods genuinely purchased in Lagos from accredited dealers and traders to some felons at those checkpoints. Some of those on me at checkpoints are rogue characters recruited into the aforementioned serviced without proper scrutiny.
Citizens are bleeding from their nefarious activities, the people of South East are the worse hit. As the Christmas festivities begin this week, most young Igbo have their hearts in their mouth because of the inconvenience they will be put through in the bid to go home for the celebration. It is customary to return to their places of nativity to show that their orchestrated exit from their region didn’t prevent them from achieving their goals in life. They also earnestly desire to see parents and siblings left in the villages, they desire to find out if renovation works or new buildings for which money was sent home were done and properly too, they have this inner joy and look forward to the occasion. But this state of excitement hardly lasts as activities of the Nigerian state almost always have a way of putting a halt to the flow. It kills it off.
South East governors and the governments in place do not help matters. They hardly realize what the season holds out for the area. If they did it would show in the kind of preparation they put on ground. They should work with the security agents to man the roads, dismantle the checkpoints on each 500 yards of the highways, help to direct traffic and more importantly create a real holiday ambience by removing extortionist agencies that suddenly file out on roads and streets to hunt down people on one account or the order. South East governors help to kill the joy of their people. Their actions contribute in making their areas of jurisdiction very hostile for living or holidaying.
The last two weeks have not been easy for travelers and intending ones. This writer asked the sister in Lagos to ferry home some bags of rice and turkey protein from Lagos since those items are said to be cheaper in megacity. She agreed they were far cheaper but insisted Customs would confiscate them on account that they are imported food items under ban. This is the point. Is Buhari aware? Are the governors in the know? How come it has become cardinal sin for a citizen to pick along with him some food items not in commercial quantity for domestic use in another location? This is the country we have built for ourselves and yet our leaders wonder why we don’t have peace. Peace comes from sown seeds. Hoping this Christmas would be different.
• MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL MY READERS.
