Every regime in our democratic journey after completing their four to eight-year tenure has had one excuse or the other to give. This has continued to impact negatively on the society, leading to undemocratic tendencies, occasioned by high-handedness of the leaders, especially and disregard for the rule of law, both by the led and the leaders, unfortunately. This development, so to speak, has made it practically difficult for the country to move forward as it should, resulting in absence of genuine and meaningful growth as in some countries in the sub-region and continent. Where we are as a country simply tells everyone that the efforts of the political class who are the ones plotting the political cum administrative graph of the country is not good enough, and may have failed the masses in a nation endowed with human and natural resources.
Some concerned citizens have described Nigeria as perpetually in ”motion without movement”, given the unfolding drama of policy somersault on the different fronts of human endeavour. That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his nationwide broadcast blamed the woes of the country on the few elites without exonerating himself was not unexpected. Analysts who took turn to dissect the presidential speech on the media space said he dwelt more on how to empower and ameliorate the sufferings of the citizenry and resuscitate the ailing and decaying economy, again proved that the country is still at a crossroad. What this also means is that the dilapidated infrastructure which is evident in the country needs every attention, else it would be the same old story, except this time words are matched with actions.
Some commentators are of the view that the provisions of mass transit buses which the federal government is planning to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal can only be realised if the touts and the street urchins running after yellow buses and other heavy duty trucks, especially in Lagos are completely removed from the roads and made to engage in meaningful ventures. Given the circumstances the country finds itself and the sufferings of the people which is visible, expectations are that the present administration must be forthright in its day by day policy formulation. Sadly, the ministerial list submitted to the 10th National Assembly by the president, in all intent, did not speak well of the present government.
Among those nominated for ministerial post is a man who can only boast of two credits in his School Certificate Examination. Surprisingly too, some of the governors who just served out their eightyear term, instead of taking their rest and give other people a chance, equally made the ministerial list. This development may not be what the generality of Nigerians bargained for at this time. The nominees are not inspiring because they are part of the reason the country is where it is today. Rather than upward movement, the vicious cycle of bringing back the old brigades continues in the country. There is absolutely nothing to cheer about under the present circumstance.
The so-called war against corruption may be a day dream if care is not taken. How the country got enmeshed so deeply in such political quagmire without solution in sight beats our imagination. The nationwide broadcast by Mr. President should inspire hope. Today, we live in a country where the distinguished senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria make caricature of the poor, whom they claim to represent. That shouldn’t be the case in a true democracy where the citizen’s right is sacrosanct, guaranteed and never toyed with under any situation.
In all, we do concede to the president’s prerogative to choose those he wants to work with, but where an individual is not qualified and there are serious opposition against the appointments, the president should have a rethink. Caution however should be the word in handling sensitive issues that affect our national life. That done, Nigerians would not have much reasons to criticise their leaders at every turn. Our democracy should not be on trial and error.
The looting of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warehouse in Adamawa State by yet to be identified persons recently is a pointer to both state and federal government to know that the people are becoming agitated and that things are hard for everyone in the society. Enough of these experiments with the lives of the people by our leaders. Democracy is supposed to inspire the people in any society. Ours should not be different. It should be a blessing and not a curse!
