Guarding presidential billboards

Initially, I didn’t believe the story that heavily-armed security personnel, comprising officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the police, the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Authority (KASTLEA) and plain-clothes operatives were deployed to guard the campaign billboards and posters of President Bola Tinubu in Kaduna. I wondered why a wonderful and reform-minded leader needs such protection for a common billboard. It has turned out to be true. I find it incredible.

According to the story, the deployment was done ahead of the launch of the President’s campaign in Kaduna last Saturday. It was to watch over major roads and strategic locations across the metropolis to prevent vandalism of the campaign materials, particularly at night.

At the rally proper last Saturday, some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) massaged their egos and praised the current government to high heavens. They said the North would give Tinubu 101 per cent support in the 2027 election.

The President himself sought the votes of the Kaduna people for his second term. He assured them of continuity, prosperity and progress.

He said, “I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did. They created the hunger, they created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it.” He said his political opponents were failures, and that they had nothing to offer Nigerians except empty claims. I doubt if the President understands the level of anger Nigerians harbour against his government.

No other action displays that anger and the rejection of his policies more than the deployment of security agents to protect his campaign billboards. It shows that there is no love lost between the ruling party and the majority of the Nigerian masses. Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, put it succinctly when he said, “Bola, you claim Nigerians love you, yet your billboards in Kaduna require security guards. Bandits raid villages, terrorists attack communities, and families live in fear. Your posters enjoy protection that millions of Nigerians can only dream of.” He urged the President to protect Nigerians with the same urgency he protects his image.

I agree totally. The spate of insecurity in Nigeria has been on the upswing. Citizens are being kidnapped for ransom. Many have been killed, and many others have ended up in internally displaced people’s homes. Terrorists have attacked and continued to attack innocent citizens in some parts of the country. Security men are overwhelmed. There have been calls to beef up the numerical strength of these security men so they effectively challenge terrorists and bandits in our midst.

Besides, vandals are destroying critical national assets in many parts of the country. Recently, the Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, announced a ban on metal scavenging and scrap-trading in his state. This was after scavengers allegedly stole electrical wires from over N3 billion electricity distribution line project connecting Damaturu in Yobe State to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. This scrap metal trading network allegedly has links with insurgents who use the scrap dealers to dispose of their looted metals. Vandalism of public assets is a major problem in many other parts of the country.

The major security agency empowered to protect critical national infrastructure is the NSCDC. If the personnel of that agency are now deployed to protect campaign billboards, how many will be available to protect national assets? And who will protect the billboards of other presidential candidates?

This simply gives clue to how the 2027 general election will go. Obviously, the ruling APC and its leaders have greatly disappointed most Nigerians. They have lost the favour and love of the majority of the people and are now afraid of even their shadows.

In any case, who will love someone who gave them scorpion instead of bread? Nigerians demanded bread. They demanded change from the misrule of the past. Tinubu came and promised them renewed hope. He promised to fix the electricity problem within his first tenure in office. He pledged to tackle insecurity, to improve the economy, and sundry other promises.

Unfortunately, he did not do as pledged. Rather, he increased the plight of Nigerians. So far, nothing has changed in terms of electricity generation and distribution. The situation appears to have even worsened. The national grid frequently collapses. Recently, the power generation reportedly dropped from about 3,840 megawatts to about 476.70MW.  Meanwhile, the person who said we should not vote for him for second term if he failed to fix the electricity problem has engaged the campaign gear again, soliciting for votes from the same people he has short-changed.

In the other sectors of the economy, it is the same sad story. Before May 29, 2023 when Tinubu came to power, the highest amount of money I had spent to fill my car fuel tank was N10, 000. Today, it takes me almost N100,000 to fill the same tank. If you run around for a few days within town, you will need to refuel. How many people can afford this kind of expenditure every week?

It is understandable when this administration boasts of taking a bold decision to remove fuel subsidy. The subsidy regime had been abused and the money derived from there diverted to some personal pockets and inglorious ventures. The President removed the subsidy on his inauguration day. “Subsidy is gone,” is how he casually announced it. The price of fuel jumped immediately from less than N200 a litre to over N1,000 a litre. This had a spiral effect on the prices of other commodities. There was no concrete plan on how to manage the effects of the removal on the masses.

The floating of the exchange rate happened the same way. From about N400 to a dollar, the exchange rate jumped to over N1,500 to a dollar. This also affected prices of goods and services, especially imported goods. Naira as a currency became almost worthless. Even now, the value is still nothing to write home about, as it is still over N1, 300 to a dollar.

Government of the day gloats over increased revenue and external reserves. Occasionally, it will make noise about positive comments about the country’s macroeconomic gains from such institutions as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. But the question remains, how has this macroeconomic gain impacted on the lives of the people? What can a N70, 000 minimum wage do in today’s Nigeria? Are the poor masses better off today than they were four years ago?

No doubt, the masses go through excruciating hardship while the leaders clink glasses while enjoying expensive champagne and whiskey. They share exotic cars among themselves and acquire property in choice areas of the cities with reckless abandon. Of course, they don’t bother about the education sector because their children are all in schools abroad. When they graduate, their parents flaunt it on our faces on the social media to show class.

It doesn’t bother them if medical doctors are frequently on strike or moving abroad for greener pastures. They have access to the best doctors in France and London where they always go for medical treatment. The poor masses, on the other hand, resort to drinking herbal concoctions because they can’t afford the cost of even routine malaria drugs in a pharmacy shop.

If the money derived from the removal of subsidy is ploughed back to make life easier for the people, Nigerians will understand and will not complain much. But before their very eyes, they see corruption walking on all fours. They see contracts being awarded without due process. They witness half-hearted prosecution of the war against terrorism and other forms of insecurity. They see lawmakers taking home huge sums of money for doing very little. A report by a civic organisation, BudgIT, indicated that the National Assembly inserted 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the signed N54.99 trillion 2025 national budget. These allegedly included 238 major projects valued at over N5 billion, 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion, and thousands of constituency-assigned items. As expected, the leadership of the National Assembly dismissed the allegations, saying they were politically motivated.

Go to pubs and other public places, you hear more of curses against the leadership of this country. Visit the market to buy things, you hear traders heaping insults on those who have brought this unbearable hardship on them. Even worship centres are not spared of people who curse and pray that God should intervene in Nigeria and give us leaders who will turn things around.

Nigerians are patiently waiting for January 16, 2027. That is the day they will show their disaffection with this current government. That is when they will show the ruling party the exit door. And that is when Nigeria’s liberation from the stranglehold of poor leadership will start. Don’t be dispirited. Go out and vote and stand by to defend your vote. Nigerians have suffered enough. It is time to say, enough is enough!