BAILING OUT NIGERIA
One year in office is not enough to assess the President, argues Kene Obiezu
Who is to blame for Nigeria’s many woes? President Bola Ahmed Tinubu? Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan or former president Muhammadu Buhari? Or is it Nigerians themselves? Just who?
As protesters pour out all over the country and cast banana peels in the path of the new administration, brigands wait in the wings, ready to pounce on a fraction of a second’s notice, and unleash mayhem whether at the instance of the government, or as their contributions to the protests.
At a tricky time, there is very little the country can afford in terms of chaos and carnage, but it appears that Nigerians are fed up, belatedly so. The protests which have resonated across the country speak to pent-up anger at the hunger harassing the country.
It is not so much the astonishing cost of a cup of garri and other staple foods than the chilling nonchalance of those who should wear the apron of explanation and stand morose and remorseful before Nigerians.
It is not so much about the noisy war insecurity continues to wage on the country as it is about the loss and lethargy of those to whom Nigerians have renounced the means of violence in exchange for safety of their lives and property.
Nigerians are right to be enrobed in rage. It is callous to beat a child and ask them not to cry and Nigerians have been beaten not just once, not even twice, but countless times. Nigerians are not just shy now, shame has lost its hold on them. To protest is to be vulnerable, to bare a wound. It is to be shameless, to show wounds that should be covered.
Between Nigerians and Nigeria’s policymakers, there is a standoff. The battle lines are drawn around the themes of timing and treachery.
For the government of President Tinubu, one year two months is not enough to fix a country that is not broke but broken. On this score, the government has a point, no matter how sore it sits with Nigerians.
Nigeria gained independence in 1960. The problems Nigeria experienced before 1960 were well contained in the cage of colonialism, where future problems cooked unchecked. At independence, what Nigerians received was a poisoned chalice, which frothed in 1966 before completely boiling over in 1967-70 with the civil war. Nigeria has never recovered from the war. Biafran troops may have surrendered in Lagos in January 1970, but the war has continued on many levels. Nigeria has never really worked since then with episodic dalliances with progress brutally interrupted by devious destabilization.
In May, Nigeria marked 25 years since democracy returned to the country in 1999. A watershed in the country’s history of hell and high water had a rarity in the presidency. President Tinubu is arguably the first democrat at heart to become Nigeria’s president. His unmistakable commitment to democracy fetched him exile following the annulment of the 1993 elections. His first real crisis as Nigeria’s president and the chairman of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) came when the military in neighbouring Niger Republic bludgeoned its way into the government house in Niamey. President Tinubu’s trenchant criticism of the coup plotters and defence of democracy in the country and sub-region cemented his commitment to democracy.
The morning tells the day and so far, there are signs that the president is not cut from the same cloth as his predecessor. There have been signs that he is determined to address the problems of the country. Some of his key appointments have directly addressed the exclusionary politics of his predecessor. He has tried to be fair to every region of the country, strongly resisting the temptation to victimize any part of the country relying on voting patterns during the last elections. Insecurity has fallen sharply in Kaduna and Benue States which fed the country with vast killing fields during the last administration.
The clear signs of progress may be blurred by the removal of fuel subsidy and the sharp spike In the cost of living and the president’s perceived extravagance in lean times, but the point that sacrifices were always going to be made seems lost on many Nigerians.
Nigerians are making the point that the government should not ask for sacrifices when it is not ready to make any. They argue that the fuel subsidy was peeled out without any plans, plunging Nigerians into debilitating hardship. They also question the government’s wisdom in purchasing new aircraft.
It is okay to feel a sense of betrayal but at this point, blame is, if not exactly, misplaced, mistimed. Nigeria is no doubt in a deep mess.
The country is steeply sunk in the muck of corruption. Corrupt syndicates which run many MDAs well predate the current government. There are many state governors who remain committed to incompetence and ineptitude. The fuel subsidy syndicate is committed to some sort of fightback. Those fueling insecurity won’t go down without a fight. Oil thieves are still sharpening their tools. While it is the responsibility of the government to give these groups a run for their money, one year two months is not enough to muster an effective response. Time is the enemy here.
It is understandable that Nigerians are impatient. Having woken up from their slumber during eight disastrous years under Muhammadu Buhari, they are itching to make amends for their docility. They expect a quick fix. What they need though is a dose of reality.
President Tinubu is not a miracle worker. He has never held himself out to be a miracle worker. To mold Nigeria’s myriad problems into a mound and expect him to be impaled atop less than two years into his administration is mere wishful thinking.
At present, even a miracle worker would struggle to pick through Nigeria’s rubble. Since something appears to be stirring under President Tinubu, the least Nigerians can do is to wait with impatience but with mercy.
