The Great Mistake? Part 3.

The beginning of the Nigerian pledge goes like this “ I pledge to Nigeria my Country, to be faithful, loyal and honest…”The pledge is taught to every Nigerian from as early as primary school. In Morning assemblies every day during the school year, young kids with their hands to their hearts proclaim this promise. A promise to serve Nigeria with all your strength and defend her unity. Unfortunately, it is quite evident that these words are merely empty assurances. Assurances that the very nature of Nigeria hinders you to achieve and its leaders have chosen to ignore since time immemorial. The word to describe the Nigerian political sphere in 2017 is strange. The year started off with the decline of the health of the President when In January President Buhari had to be flown out of the country to the UK for medical treatment on an illness that Aso Rock refused to disclose. Despite the 2016 budget allocating as much as N787 Million for the State house clinic (More money than all the teaching hospitals in Nigeria received), the President did not use what is the best government funded clinic in Nigeria. A President who had promised to end medical tourism during his electoral campaign, found himself breaking his promise. Buhari had written to the National Assembly that he would be embarking on a 10-day Vacation from January 19th, only to have it extended to the point he would not return till February 9th. The secrecy that shrouded his illness sparked many questions. Why wasn’t Buhari being upfront about his visit to the UK? Is he not the top public servant of the nation, emphasis on servant? What made the whole thing worse was the job his media personnel performed. Nothing short of atrocious efforts to keep his illness a secret. From stating he had an ear infection to stating he was hale and hearty, nothing seemed to make sense to Nigerians. This government that had promised to be different promised to bring change was no different from any other government military or democratic that has ruled Nigeria since 1960. The Icing on the Cake was when Buhari did finally return, he himself stated that “I have never been so sick in my life”.

In the midst of what Honourable Patrick Ogbahiagbon would call “Political Higgi Hagga”, Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen rampaged across northern and central Nigeria while Nnamdi Kanu was released and the Biafra Movement erupted. The economy remains in the gutter showing no signs of improvement, the ministers have all been virtually useless; some defter at being useless than others a la Solomon Dalung, Abdulrahman Dambazau etc. For many Nigerians the actions of this administration(or lack thereof) have simply been a revelation. Nobody needs to tell you that Nigeria is not a democracy, but rather a Bizarro Democracy. Bizarro for those who never read Superman comics was an exact copy of Superman;with the exception that he did the complete opposite of what the man of steel would do. Nigeria is exactly like that. At face value we are a democracy but the truth is we are not. This occurs because our leaders do not see Nigeria as a place that all Nigerians own but rather a place that the elite consider their personal property.

So what now? President Buhari returned from his second medical vacation, one that was longer than the first. It is quite evident that he is not well and in saner climates, he would have tendered his resignation. Unfortunately, this is Nigeria and as it stands the present political dispensation is already looking towards reelection in 2019. Whether Buhari will run or not(or even live to see 2019) is yet to be seen but the electioneering has already begun. Men like Abubakar Atiku and Donald Duke are beginning to position themselves as if they were Ruth and the Nigerian people Boaz; Saying the right things and prepping the Nigerian public for an official declaration of the highest office in the land. The main issue in Nigeria right now is the topic of restructuring and there is a high probability that restructuring will be the centre the 2019 elections. Although the present administration presented restructuring in their party manifesto(Section 25), they showed that it was only an empty promise when APC senators turned down a Bill in a show of shame that would have led to a devolution of powers. Those who know Nigerian politics know why it was turned down( a reason I will write about later), but this topic of restructuring of Nigeria has to be attributed to the ever growing tensions in the South East.

The rise of Nnamdi Kanu since his release from prison in April has caught the country by surprise….(To be Continued)
