Not too long ago, the National Leader of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu pleaded with
Nigerians to allow President Buhari use his first 100 days in office as
his “honeymoon” period, to study the state of affairs in the country
before executing his “change agenda”. And characteristically,
they did. Nigerians would do anything their leaders request for them to
have a life.
But now, most Nigerians are getting worried. Is the honeymoon not over yet?
So many things which should have happened to usher in the sort of
change Nigerians dreamed about and voted for more than a year ago have
not happened. And so many things which shouldn’t have
happened have happened in recent times – things that
bring the seriousness of the change Nigerians voted for into deep
question.
One thing is obvious though. The men and womenNigerians
have so unfortunately saddled with the mantle of leadership, to take the
responsibility of managing the affairs of the country, are a group of
selfish party cronies whose only interest is in making money and more
money and more money out of the sufferings and penury of their less
fortunate countrymen and women. They are neither interested in building
up a united nation where justice would reign, nor are they interested in
the welfare of the ordinary citizens of their country.
Many Nigerians had expected that by now PresidentBuhari would have
put in place the first blockstowards a genuine unity of the country by
building a bridge across the ethnic differences which made it difficult
for Nigerians to merge properly all these years. No one knows this
better than those in public office. They know that one simple but
effective way to build that bridge is to legislate on the three main
Nigerian languages being made compulsorily taught at primary school
levels across the nation. In such a way, young Nigerian children will no
longer be able to see themselves as Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba. And in about
10 years’ time, the foundation would have been laid for a meaningful,
painless integration of the ethnic groups that Britain lumped together
as Nigeria. That is one thing that should have happened to usher
in the change that Nigerians dreamed of. But it has not happened.
Nigeria is the only country I know where the servicing of the needs
of the people starts from up and flows down. In many other democratic
countries, whatever money is available goes to service the lowest
segment of the country first and moves systematically up. Public schools
are serviced. Public libraries are serviced. Government ensures that
roads, public transportations, water supply, electric supply and basic
essentials like amusement parks areserviced and that the ordinary people
lack nothing that would have made them happier and more confident in
the government they voted to take care of their affairs. But in Nigeria,
available funds first go to service the office of the President, then
the Vice President, down to the senators and the members of the House of
Representatives. Then it runs down to the office of the governor, and
the members of the State Houses of Assembly. By the time it comes to
servicing the needs of the ordinary citizens, the money has run out. And
they are left to suffer as usual. That is the number two change
Nigeriansexpected to happen. But it has not happened.
Nigerian legislators are widely known as the highest paid in the
world. Many people have asked them to deny or accept the allegation as
true. They keep evading public knowledge of their income and how it is
made up. In many democratic nations, they would either obey their
constituents or their mandate would be withdrawn by the same people who
voted them into power leaving no doubt that the voter is politically
stronger than the voted. Why are Nigerian legislators afraid of making
their income public knowledge? If by public estimation they are milking
the national economy dry through their oversize wages, why would they be
afraid of cutting their wages to a normal
and nationally acceptable level.For instance, if they take the income of
a legislator in America, one in the United Kingdom, one in Saudi
Arabia, one in Australia, one in Israel and one in South Africa and take
their average as the maximum pay for a Nigerian legislator, what could
possibly be wrong with such an arrangement? That is the
number three change Nigerians wanted to happen. But it has not happened.
Rather, President Buhari tells the world change should start from
him. And the question is why? What is there to change in a man who has
been there and practically seen it all – from being a military officer,
to being an oil minister to being a military head of state and now a
“civilian” head of state.
Since his inauguration, the President has been chasing after corrupt
politicians and businessmen. No one knows after these months how much
has been realised. No one knows where the money is meant to stay or
what use the government wants to make of it. But Nigerians know that
similar “recoveries” in the past have always gone back into the pockets
of the ruling cabals. That is why the military kept striking, either for
the greed of money or for power and the spoils that come with it, or
for reprisal, to square up with a sworn opponent. But now, it has become
necessary to remind President Buhari and his APC government that
recovery of stolen money cannot be categorised as change by any stretch
of the imagination. Recovery of stolen money was not exactly what
Nigerians had at the back of their minds, or what they bargained for
when they voted for change.
Oh yes! From the look of things, Nigerian leaders will eventually not
implement the change Nigerians desired and voted for because they have a
mission. They have a mission that is partly a legacy from the
country’s military bosses who mastered the ropesafter so many years of
interference in the democratic evolution of the country. While, I do not
wish to stoke any fire of discontent among Nigerian citizens, is it not
necessary to observe for instance that ever since the case was made to
investigate the Senate President on certain charges, nothing seems to be
happening? Is anyone in doubt why this is the case?It is because birds
of the same feather must congregate in unison. The mission is somewhat
obvious. But the road is definitely more obvious.
Nigerian leaders know that if those in public office and their
criminal-minded business accomplicesbalkanise the country by creating a
two-class system of very rich families and very poor families, sooner
than later they would hit their target. For the rich families,
millions of naira or dollars or even pounds must be like peanuts. In
such a way, they can always intimidate, bluff or swagger their way. In
some instances, they could even apply the use of impunity to get what
they want.
Those of us in the Diaspora who spend sleepless nights working
ourselves out for a mere pittance know how it feels to save enough to be
able to come back to Nigeria on vacation, just to see and be with our
people for a few weeks. And we know that theleaders in Nigeria are not
sincere about building astrong and united country. They are only serious
about setting up a high class of very rich families and a low class of
very poor families. And that is why the country has become a paradox
– the richer the country is, the poorer the citizens. The money is
shared up there.
Down there, the people have not only to accept their fate as
God-ordained, they are also expected to sing the praises of the rich and
influential in their society.The reason is what Professor Chinua Achebe
rightly observed in his last book: ‘There was a Country’ that“once a
people have been dispossessed and subjected to dictatorships for such a
long time as in Nigeria’s case, the oppressive process also effectively
strips away from the minds of the people the knowledge that they have
rights.”
After the bruises military interregnum inflicted on the
country, Nigerian leaders still do not want to unite Nigeria despite
their claim that to keep Nigeria “one” is a task that must
be accomplished. I guess it is because it pays them to operate as
sectional or ethnic leaders. Then they can negotiate. Then they can be
paid off. Then they can stuff their pockets with plenty of money. For
them, any talk of building a genuine one Nigeria with a central identity
will rob them of wealth and they would not, even in their
dreams, support such an idea.
So, who is deceiving who? The United Nations will soon host a
meeting along with President Obama to find ways of appealing to freer
nations to accommodate the over 64 million people worldwide who have
been displaced from their homelands by insurgencies across the
globe. Nigerian refugees could be among them, displaced by the
activities of the dreaded monster they call Boko Haram.
If members of the UN knew what is actually going on in some of these
countries as I believe they do, would merely appealing to nations do any
good? They need to study the true situation of things closely to be
able to find the right panacea.
In a country like Nigeria, since the ethnic type of leadership cannot
go away, why should the Hausa, the Igbo and the Yoruba not go their
separate ways and negotiate proper as ethnic identities? Since what is
actually happening is that ethnic leaders are finding it impossible to
break with their ethnic authority and allegiances, why must the
international community not recognise the truth and stamp it with the
authority of legality? Why must ethnic leadership continue to
define Nigeria’s uncertain political terrain or for that matter,
Buhari’s change agenda?
Mr Asinugo is a London-based journalist and publisher of Imo State Business Link Magazine
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