As the bleak days finally arrive, it’s possible that the phrase “unbearable” won’t do justice to how Nigerians really feel. There are groans emanating from all directions, and you may have even overheard some Nigerians muttering something incomprehensible about their financial obligations. Above, ominous clouds gather, representing unpredictability; they’ve tried; able-bodied men leave their homes, drive aimlessly, burn scarce fuel searching for jobs; they struggle with every fiber of their being; they’re up against an uphill task; the available jobs have been cornered by the ever selfish, blind, and opaque government; never before have Nigerians been subjected to this type of prolonged sufferings where the citizens are abandoned and left to die; personal debt;
Everywhere else, governments are erecting mechanisms to help their citizens escape poverty, but in this case, leaders are plotting not just to stifle their people, but to inflict unimaginable pain on their subjects. And if all it takes to acquire access to the treasury and pillage wildly is to fight elections, then we must be living in a fool’s paradise—worse than an animal farm. They’ve been in power for seven and a half years, and this is all they’ve got to show for it? That’s not acceptable. It’s just that we’re not being honest with ourselves; those in charge at all three levels of government have betrayed their oath of office in what is, if they don’t already know, a massive conspiracy against the American people.
It’s election season when they put on a show of honesty, but later it’s all a sham. Deception! All the paradoxes here are too great to be ignored. Government, which is intended to be the people’s guardian, has instead become the people’s burden. If they felt bad about their vile motives, that would be one thing, but they don’t, and therein lays the rub! That all is vanity upon vanity; that in due time they shall face the truth — the fragility of human existence; that there is always karma; these are all things that the Preacher in the Bible has cautioned about. The question is, do they pay attention? They don’t learn from history; instead, they assume they’re safe from nature’s ravages.
Not even the border between acceptable and unacceptable behavior is off-limits to them. If you take a look around the streets of Nigeria, you’ll see the negative results of this crisis-plagued APC administration: danger-prone okada riders, rogue Keke Nape drivers, hoodlums, urchins, and assorted vandals; all of them illiterate wandering about in the thousands; no one is safe anymore; you could feel the tense situation in the air; at any moment, a slight provocation explodes instantly into violent confrontation. Moreover, who would exert authority? So terrorism entered our history books, and so did the millions of lives lost to terrorist attacks. Consider also the millions of people out of work because of the skyrocketing price of fuel, which has shut down thousands of factories and enterprises.
What good would it do to make Nigeria a pariah state where crass politics is the only industry? We need to stop doing this to ourselves. Are we seeing the same group of people, with the same motives, wanting to keep running for office over and over again because they have the resources to do so? If Oshiomole’s return to government isn’t to sate his insatiable need, then please explain why he’s doing it. Yet the president seems to have caught wind of the growing discontent, as well as the worsening poverty; maybe this is why he has recently complained of feeling exhausted. The president’s public expression is sometimes nebulous and clumsy, and he seems to have lost his mandate to the people. nevertheless, his followers go on with their prosperous lifestyle as if nothing happened.
The president’s critics have spoken out harshly about the impending doom and inferno of hardship, including the president’s abdication of responsibility. However, the president himself has poured cold water on any future revival by allowing unqualified persons to hijack party machinery and replace him for what could be another 8 years of unbridled stealing. For now, only the God known as Elishama, who has witnessed the hidden tears and heartfelt supplication of Nigerians, can save the country. This is no easy task; the Nigerian people must put together the fragments and liberate their nation from the clutches of these criminals. What the APC administration has become is quite embarrassing.
