By Emeka Alex Duru
The mistake anyone would make this time, is to snigger at the Muhammadu Buhari administration with an attitude of, ‘it serves them right’. That would be a huge disservice to fatherland. If anything rather, all hands must be on the deck to rescue the nation from imminent collapse.
All segments of the Buhari administration from the Presidency to the judiciary and legislature, have manifested obvious signs of fatigue. In a soccer competition, the coaches would have been called upon to make necessary substitutions. The structures at the states and local government areas, are not different. They all need assistance. The government is clearly overwhelmed by the enormity of challenges facing it.
I grew up in a typical Igbo setting where a situation of distress by a member of the community demanded others rallying to his support, including those he had issues with. If for instance, one had the misfortune of his house razed by fire or blown off by thunderstorm, all the adult males owed it a duty to contribute materials and expertise in rebuilding the structure. That was pragmatic African socialism in practice.
It called for collective action in support of a troubled member of the community. This is what the President presently needs from all patriotic Nigerians, even without saying so. The government has lost out in all departments in strategy and articulation on tackling the problems confronting the country.
Forget about some of the Ministers as Raji Fashola, Rotimi Amaechi, Hadi Sirka, prancing about in advertising achievements that would at best, pass for a drop in the ocean! Forget about the loquacious Lai Mohammed, tailoring his Information Ministry to propaganda machine for the government rather than appropriately informing Nigerians on issues! Forget about the sycophantic Justice Minister telling the President what he would like to hear and not what he should hear! The fact is that this administration is on its fours.
It is unfortunate that the All Progressives Congress (APC), the much-hyped vehicle through which the President rode to power, has led Nigerians to this cross-roads. Like its facilitators, the party has proven to be a dupe. Sadly, the citizens, including the hitherto vociferous supporters are realizing too late, that they had been lured into what in Lagos street lingo, is called ‘one-chance-bus’ – a euphemism for riding with rogues. Both the party and the president have failed the nation.
As a person, I have not been a fan of the president on matters of administration and public policies. By the time he came to power through military coup in 1984, I was fairly old enough to understand that he was not what many thought he should be. Because coups were then the fad in some African countries and the politicians of the Second Republic so much alienated from the realities of the day, it was easy for Buhari to be forced on the people. The initial excitement that heralded his arrival, fizzled out sooner when it became apparent that he did not have much to offer.
As it is now, hunger and impunity took toll on Nigerians, then. When therefore, he was being repackaged and presented to Nigerians by the APC in the face of the obvious missteps of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – led President Goodluck Jonathan administration, I was not among those that fell for the razzmatazz. Many Nigerians, I guess, must have had similar sentiments.
But riding on the crest of the APC which had made show of its 10-point agenda for a new Nigeria, it was relatively easy to market Buhari, who ordinarily, is a hard-sell. The party’s agenda included job creation; anti-corruption fight; free, relevant quality education; enhancement of agriculture; comprehensive housing plan; and healthcare plan for children and adults. It also listed social welfare scheme for the less advantaged as well as road, power plant construction, among its priorities, adding that it will strengthen peace, security and foreign policy.
The Road map read in part: “The lack of jobs is the most critical challenge facing Nigeria today, hurting every community and preventing us from being the truly vibrant and prosperous nation we deserve. Building a diverse economy that allows every Nigerian to earn a living and better care for his or her family is our number one priority”.
Most of these pledges have been kept in breach by the President and his party, more than five years of coming to power. The country’s economic outlook remains bleak. Youth unemployment has risen from 7.81 percent it was in 2015 to 14.2 percent by October this year.
This must be a conservative estimate. In line with the gloomy picture, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently released the “2019 Poverty and Inequality in Nigeria” report, which indicated that 40 percent of the total population, or almost 83 million people, live below the poverty line. Nigerians lack basic necessities of life. A recent survey by the government with support from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), revealed that no fewer than 171 million Nigerians lack access to safe water. It is thus, hardly surprising that Nigeria has taken over from India as the World’s Poverty Capital.
But what perhaps has mocked us the most before others, is the piteous state of insecurity starring at us as a nation. When issues are therefore made of the abduction of the secondary school boys in Kankara, Katsina state, they are in line with the series of embarrassing incidences that have become the lots of the citizens. Before the Kankara abduction, there was the Zabarmari, Borno State massacre of estimated 110 farmers by unknown gun men. There was the kidnap of the Dapchi girls in Borno.
Bandits and other criminal elements have been running riot in Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna Benue and other parts of the country, leaving blood and sorrow in their trail. Incidentally, at all points in these instances, the government and relevant agencies had been caught napping. Bad as it is, Nigeria has again been classified as the third most terrorized country in the world, for six consecutive years, sharing odious slots with Iran and Afghanistan. The situation is really disturbing.
From whatever angle it is looked at, the Buhari administration has failed in its primary responsibility of protecting life and property of Nigerians. The challenges at hand, have clearly overwhelmed the government. What is needed is a convocation of minds to pull the country out of the woods.
Anyone thinking that he is immune to the disturbing trends in the land, is merely deluding himself. Nigeria is at a tipping point. We are all victims. This is time for citizenship and not partisanship. The President and his orchestra of cheer men, have exhausted what seems their best and can no longer weather the storm on their own. We are now at a critical juncture. Everybody should be involved.
*DURU is the Editor of TheNiche Newspapers, Lagos (08054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)