NIGERIANS AND THE YOKE OF SUFFERING

MONDAY PHILIPS EKPE writes that the people’s sorry living conditions can become tools for holding the ruling elite accountable When President Bola Tinubu declared to his guests at the Villa the other day that hunger and poverty had been in Nigeria long before he assumed its highest office, he inadvertently opened the gates of hell. Accusations and insults were thrown at him freely. Insensitive. Inhumane. Clueless. Opportunistic. And more. Truth be told, the only wrong thing about that statement is the mouth that spoke it. He, the “Asiwaju” of Lagos, now Nigeria’s Asiwaju, wasn’t supposed to utter that, at least, publicly. When a national football team’s top striker misses a critical penalty, it isn’t his responsibility to remind his compatriots that such an error is not peculiar to him, that even the world’s greatest footballers do fumble during crucial moments. After all, Tinubu swore on May 29, 2023 to, among other duties, create an environment for his people’s happiness. Rather than bear grudges against the president, the substance of his Freudian Slip should sober those concerned about the country’s intractable socio-economic conditions. The perennial paradox of suffering in the midst of plenty ought to engage the minds and hearts of people who are genuinely desirous of concrete positive changes in the indices that portray the good life – comparable to other progressive places on earth. Despondency is certainly not Nigerian by origin. Not even the present unfortunate ranking of being the nation with the largest number of multi-dimensionally pauperised people on the planet should suggest otherwise. China, India and some other countries once achieved that ignoble tag. Today, they’re proud global frontrunners in various spheres. Nigeria’s current characterisation too can be altered. But doing so would come at a price. Leaders and followers must decide on the goal and be determined to reach it. Wishful thinking won’t do. Neither would finger-pointing, country-bashing, self-defeating mindsets, surrender, bland promises and grandstanding. These negative energies have conspired to keep Nigeria on this spot for too long. Sadly, the political elites have over time used the despicable state as instruments to hoodwink the populace to either elect them or accept their incursion into government. Yes, soldiers in the bad old days also knew how to mine the people’s frustrations to further their self-apportioned messianic pursuits. The December 31, 1983 coup announcement by the then Brigadier Sani Abacha captures that succinctly: “You are all living witnesses to the great economic predicament and uncertainty which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation for the past four years. I am referring to the harsh, intolerable conditions under which we are now living. Our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged; we have become a debtor and beggar nation. There is inadequacy of food at reasonable prices for our people who are now fed up with endless announcements of importation of foodstuff; health services are in shambles as our hospitals are reduced to mere consulting clinics without drugs, water and equipment. “Our educational system is deteriorating at alarming rate. Unemployment figures including the undergraduates have reached embarrassing and unacceptable proportions. In some states, workers are being owed salary arrears of eight to twelve months and in others there are threats of salary cuts. Yet our leaders revel in squander-mania, corruption and indiscipline, and continue to proliferate public appointments in complete disregard of our stark economic realities.” The junta headed by the late Major General Muhammadu Buhari carefully identified the sore needs of the land, put them in fine prose and delivered same to the masses who had been substantially disillusioned by the government of the late President Shehu Shagari. That was 43 years ago. Perhaps, the only item on that list of systemic failures which may have now been solved, at least appreciably, is the salary bit – if the federal government’s claim to have channelled the huge subsidy removal proceeds to state governments for that purpose is to be believed. Shagari’s initial term heralded the Second Republic in 1979, nine years post-civil war and 13 years after the military first tasted political power. The timing of his administration was, therefore, historic and strategic. The nation urgently required a stable, visionary and focused leadership to forge ahead and thrive. Shagari and his crew tried their best but it was clearly not enough to engender faith in the future. The underperformance of the first four-year outing of his National Party of Nigeria (NPN) didn’t stop it from attempting a return, however. And, more disturbingly, with virtually the same set of pledges to the Nigerian people. An archived newspaper advert that has resurfaced on the internet titled, “Shagari for All Reasons, Programme for ‘83”, tells us some of the pledges the politicians of that era made to their fellow countrymen and women: “Free qualitative education guaranteed plus/Electricity and water for every town and village/More houses for the masses/Effective medical services plus/Industrial transformation of Nigeria/Self sufficiency in food production”. This direct appeal to the necessities of the people and the deft moves of the masters of the game handed NPN its “landslide” victory which became short-lived via that khaki-powered intervention or interference, depending on where you stand. So, as Nigerians would say, “Nigeria wahala nor be today!”. The famed June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief Moshood Abiola happened for a number of reasons, principally: the personality of the candidate which had an unprecedented nationwide fascination, the relative integrity of the prevailing electoral system, and the relatability of the SDP campaign headlined, “Farewell to Poverty: Hope ‘93”. Ten years of dictatorship by Buhari and General Ibrahim Babangida had brought Nigerians to despair. Babangida’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), in particular, ensured that even average enjoyment could no longer be taken for granted. Nigerians were in desperate search for a better tomorrow which Chief Abiola preached so well. Instructively, the people had good reasons to believe his intentions. Politicians haven’t changed, especially in telling the electorates what they want to hear. Abiola’s outing resonated so distinctly with Nigerian voters that when Tinubu came up with his “Renewed Hope” slogan in the runup to the 2023 poll, he was accused of plagiarism and opportunism. As another election cycle beckons, he is now struggling to convince the people that he hasn’t taken them for a ride; that his scorching reforms will eventually come to fruition. Members of the opposition club too, as usual, are selling poverty-alleviation vows like ice-cream. But what will save those at the receiving end? Majority of voters are poor. Ordinarily, they should be in a position to decide their own fate. Unfortunately, politicians continue to take advantage of their weak memories, worries for the belly, resort to nostalgia and class scepticism to perpetuate the status quo. A day could still come when penury would cease to be a weapon in the hands of conscience-less souls. Someday! Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board X: @monday_ekpe2