There is no more time to waste. This editorial is written in haste; Mr President needs to come off his self-imposed cocoon and face realities. The country is adrift and realistic steps are needed to halt the degenerative slide. Imagine running a business without a strategy; it would be akin to driving blindfolded, to building a house without a blueprint, heedless of the strategies that pave the way for the modern corporate world.
When the history of this current administration is written, it would not be populated by the number of projects done, but by the repulsive gale of lopsided political appointments, pervasive tolerance of mindboggling corruption, official cover-ups, systemic failure, huge loans and borrowing, incessant blackouts and incidentally, loss of discipline. There is nervousness in the land; hysteria has taken hold of a once loving people; you may call it paranoia but the bitter truth is that majority of Nigerians are now living in absolute fear—and jittery.
Five years ago the APC administration, promised change but today the signs of chaos, anarchy is all over. Nobody is safe. When you look around what you see is poverty, hunger, shame and struggle. Ordinary travel, people can’t because of sudden death that lurks in the highways; public officials steal so much your ears are dumbfounded. The Police are trying, so also the army; what is missing is the lack of will to be decisive.
Sometimes one wonders how is it possible for soldiers to be killed in the manner we read off randomly. This has got to stop. Again, under the freezing cold of unemployment, politicians boast openly of election outcomes as if the people’s votes no longer matter; moreover, how do you allow people who are supposed to retire to remain in office for this long? Shocking as this is, there is no cogent explanation for allowing it.
Sceptics have actually attributed this strange acts to inferiority complex, but that is not true. What is correct however is that your actions are inconsistent with civilized norms. The APC led government should be very careful not to drag Nigeria into ethno-religious conflicts, for that is what their action portends. These are symptoms consistent with injustice. The nation voted collectively for this government, why now only a section is deemed fit to reap the bounties?
Nature abhors cheating; it is disgusting appointing one Umar to replace Ibrahim and so on and so forth. There can’t be any rational reason for this except sheer wickedness. Coming at this time 60 years after independence—can only be attributed to madness. It is boring, hateful and negative. There is no short or long term advantage for this. Whatever informs that decision should be discarded. Nigeria is made up of diverse tribes; they have equal rights to government positions; that’s when you can talk of credibility. The APC government must tell themselves the truth: this is not the change Nigerians yearned for. Mr President must reverse the trend now—not wait till 2023!
