In less than six agonising years, Nigerians have looked on with shock and utter disgust as the Muhammadu Buhari-led government frittered away the goodwill and optimism that greeted his emergence as winner of the keenly fought 2015 general elections. Gradually but surely, the deafening ovations of change and a break from the norm have doused into whispers of unprecedented nepotism, ethnic chauvinism, mind boggling corruption, skyscraping insecurity and overall executive clannishness. Looking over one’s shoulder, it is easy for members of the opposition and those who, ab initio never had the conviction that Buhari had the answers to Nigeria’s questions to arrogate to themselves the gift of clairvoyance that they saw this disaster coming; but truth be told, not even his most ardent critic could have envisaged it would be this monumental.
Not oblivious of the fact that this administration didn’t inherit a bed of roses, it wasn’t bequeathed a mattress full of thorns either. In comparison to 2015, all performance indices indicate that things have gotten worse and to compound our woes; it looks like there’s more misery ahead as we head into the final lap of this administration. Staying true to characteristic Nigerian fashion, proper governance takes a back seat in the twilight of any government and politicking for the next elections is all that matters. Without being harsh, the negative achievements of a 30-month long civil war under a military junta has been supplanted by an incompetent democratic rule in just double the time.
The hitherto hushed tones of secession in the South East now sounds like good music in the ears of those in the South West. All that seemed unimaginable to advocates of “One Nigeria” suddenly appears inevitable. Lame excuses, propaganda and subterfuge remain their most employed tools. To those who think we don’t have a war on our hands, how do you explain a country like Benin Republic playing host to thousands of displaced Nigerians who fled their homes in Ogun state because of incessant and unrestrained herdsmen attacks? Are we unaware that criminal elements (bandits, herdsmen, terrorists) now have the government by the balls and get rewarded handsomely for kidnapping innocent Nigerians? For the first time in our history, we have a “Presidency” that appears more powerful than the President. We have an executive that reacts more than it proacts. Under this government, when you hear statements about “the full weight of the law”; be rest assured that it refers to selective justice. To some, it will come lighter than a malnourished goat, while to others; it is usually heavier than a well-fed bull grazing in the open.
