“A people who believe in nothing; a people who have no standard of judgement; a people for whom anything goes are bound to end up disastrously. This is what is about to happen to Nigeria under Tinubu’s voodoo administration. Who or what created this breed that lives only for the moment?”
The voodoo situation that has been playing out in Nigeria since Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed the reins of governance as the president of the country compels an inquiry into the character of the typical Nigerian. I have, as a matter of fact, been wondering what the Nigerian makes of himself or his kind. Do Nigerians reflect on their country and their association with it? Our monotonous attitude to matters Nigeria does not suggest so. Reflection provokes action. But Nigerians are so static in matters of state or governance that a casual observer could be tempted to dismiss them as imbecilic proles. But those who have taken a little time to reflect on Nigeria cannot but be stupefied, as I am, with the character and characteristic of the people that populate the geographical area called Nigeria. In recent years, I have, in my private moments, tried to pigeonhole Nigeria and all that appertains to it. The effort has, repeatedly, been frustrating. This is borne out of the fact that the Nigerian character is decidedly protean. You cannot put it in a straitjacket. In other words, trying to understand the Nigerian could be a wild goose chase. You could end up more perplexed than you were when you began the quest. What this tells us is that it is futile trying to predict the Nigerian character. You just cannot. What is sensible to do is to approach him with a blank cheque so that you can fill the gaps and voids as they unfold.
Let us consider the confusion that Nigeria and its peoples face at moment. It should be recalled that Nigerians were deeply scandalized when Bola Tinubu took over as the president of their country. They did not believe in the transition that produced him as president. They said it was fraudulent; that Tinubu did not win the election; and that he was merely foisted on the country.
Nigerians were still dealing with that when Tinubu came up with his anti-people policies. He had, on assumption of office, and without reflection, ventured into the unsettling terrain of appropriate pricing of petroleum products. The outcome has been disastrous. As the pump prices of petroleum products shot sky high, so did the prices of other goods and services. Within weeks and months of Tinubu’s ascension to the presidential seat, Nigeria could no longer recognize itself. Cost of living became unmanageable. Inflation galloped freely. The Nigerian currency, the Naira, plummeted to an all-time low. It could not compete favourably with major international currencies in the foreign exchange market. Nearly three years since Tinubu grabbed power, the situation has not changed. Nigerians are still trapped by the Tinubu-induced mess.
As hardship was ravaging the land, Tinubu journeyed along nepotism’s freeway. He ensured that only his ethnic brothers and sisters were appointed to the most sensitive offices in the country. No Nigerian leader before him had been that biased in favour of his ethnic group. Tinubu is still carrying on with the impunity. While this was happening, many Nigerians swore by anything imaginable that Tinubu would never return as president for a second term. In the northern part of the country, the situation came close to an outrage. Tinubu was written off as an enemy of the north. Then the region, ever ready to flaunt its numbers, swore that Tinubu would end up as a one-term president. In fact, one of them, a prominent one at that, told me that Tinubu would never secure a second term even if he made his son the chairman of the electoral commission. We are still waiting to see how this will play out in the coming days. But it is important to note that Tinubu has never been swayed by whatever anybody is saying. He has remained single-minded in his parochialism.
Then, as the president played the ostrich, insecurity was busy tearing through the country’s landscape with the devastation of a scud missile. The level of insecurity in the country at moment remains unprecedented. Never before in the history of Nigeria has human life been this cheap. Bloodletting is now a pleasurable pastime. Terrorists of all hues and complexions have seized the land. Yet, the Tinubu administration remains clueless about what to do.
But has any of these hangups affected Tinubu’s negatively? I do not think so. If anything, he is making gains. He is winning souls to his side. It is under this unimaginable condition that almost all the governors of the federation thought it fit to team up with Tinubu. What did they see? What message are they sending to Nigerians? Are they out to redeem or to ruin their country? I am as perplexed as many are over the dishonorable action of the governors.
But the governors are not alone. The entire country appears hypnotized. Memory appears to have failed everyone. The people have forgotten where they are coming from. No one remembers anything anymore. It is because the people have forgotten that they are approaching the forthcoming elections without recourse to what Tinubu has made of their country as president. The energy crisis, the crippling hardship, and the grinding poverty are no longer of any consequence. The president’s nepotism has faded away. Nobody sees the aberration anymore. Not even the killing field that Nigeria has become is considered an issue. Nigerians appear to have chosen the path of complacency. In fact, the oddities that Tinubu inflicted on the Nigerian landscape have melted into thin air. He is no longer being assessed on the strength of his performance in office. Rather, Nigerians are preoccupied with issues of second term for Tinubu without recourse to anything. Who stole the soul of Nigeria? Why are the people ambling along so absent-mindedly?
Now, the elections are almost here. The country is, more or less, a one-party state. All that the president has been plotting in the last three years or so is how to cripple the opposition. He has succeeded to a large extent. Even what is left of the opposition has not been able to organize itself into a formidable platform for electoral contest. In the absence of a vibrant opposition, Nigerians are packaging Tinubu’s second term as a done deal. If this happens, it means that Tinubu has got away with his misdemeanors. If he succeeds in returning for a second term, it means that Nigerians are just a bunch of rabbles without substance. Right now, Nigeria is looking too cheap for Tinubu. He has ridden roughshod over the landscape. He appears to be coasting home with a victory song. Can a people be this helpless in the hands of one man? But the problem is not Tinubu’s. It is that of Nigerians. A people who believe in nothing; a people who have no standard of judgement; a people for whom anything goes are bound to end up disastrously. This is what is about to happen to Nigeria under Tinubu’s voodoo administration. Who or what created this breed that lives only for the moment? I am wondering aloud.
