Nigeria is a land of forgetfulness. We live in the bubble of the present. Everything about us is in the present tense.
When General Babangida in his first broadcast to the nation as a Head of State said “I know Nigerians very well” he meant to say that Nigerians forget things easily. How true?
We have forgotten so many grievous things that have happened in this country. A phantom coup that led to the summary execution of General Maman Vasta a classmate and best friend of Babangida.
We forgot the killing of a generation of brilliant young army officers in a plane crash. We forgot the first and only parcel bomb that took place in Nigeria that killed our beloved Dele Giwa. We forgot the settlement syndrome that institutionalised corruption in Nigeria. I know you forgot the annulment of June 12 and the “stepping aside” broadcast. Yes, we forgot Maradonna and the Evil Genius which was why he even tried to come back again as a civilian president.
If you forgot that the sum of two billion dollars of NNPC was” inadvertently” paid into a private account in those days when money was money, how can you remember who was the minister of petroleum then? We forgot that an army General overthrew a legitimate civilian government and years later we rewarded him by electing him as President. We forgot the a thousand and one mystery boxes of an Emir under that administration. We forgot the execution of Thompson and the other young man for drug trafficking. Yet and this under the same man a senior police officer is a drug baron and we are just quiet because we do not remember history.
We forgot that Nigeria once operated a quota system as this was the only way to stem nepotism and sectional domination but here we are benumbed and hypnotised under the most nepotistic and parochial administration ever in the history of Nigeria doing nothing.
I know you forgot the one-million-man march for Abacha who was adopted by all the five political parties as their presidential candidate because he was the only qualified Nigerian suited to lead us. “He who the cap fits”.
You have forgotten the third term agenda and the selective corruption cases pursued by Ribadu. Do you remember what Ribadu said about his current master? They are laughing at us because they know we will not remember.
We have had numerous high profile corruption cases and probes over the years in this country but you will struggle to name or remember even three of any of such cases and how they ended.
I’m not even sure that you remember that the chairman of one of the political parties in Nigeria still has a corruption case on his head. You will not remember that many of the looters in PDP are now the henchmen and women in APC. Oh yes we forget that Adams Oshiomhole told us that their sins have been forgiven because they switched to APC.
We have forgotten that PDP was so brazenly corrupt and inept we all yearned for a change. The reason they are presenting themselves to us again is because they know we have forgotten the lootings that took place under their party’s administration. Of course they look so angelic now because of the horrendous and calamitous disaster called the APC administration.
And why do you think APC is calling for our votes again? It is because they know we have forgotten their promises contained in the 2015 manifesto.
They failed in over 62 of them according to a research group MPV. Here are some teasers.
They told us they would ban government officials from going abroad for medical treatment. They promised us state police. They promised to declare their assets and liabilities publicly. What about National Gender Policy and offer of 35 percent appointment to women, creation of three million jobs per year and the promise to end insecurity that has ravaged the country under their watch.
They promised to end fuel subsidy. They promised the generation, transmission and distribution of at least 20,000 MW of electricity within four years and increasing to 50,000 MW with a view to achieving 24/7 uninterrupted power supply within 10 years. They failed to revive Ajaokuta Steel Company. What about their promise to create a Social Welfare Programme with a minimum payment of N5000 paid to beneficiaries?
They promised to build one of the fastest-growing emerging economies in the world with a real GDP growth averaging 10 per cent annually. They promised us the empowerment scheme to employ 740,000 graduates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and creation of 720,000 jobs by the 36 states in the federation per annum (20,000 per state)
I know we have forgotten that before this administration came into power in 2015, the price of a bag of rice was N8,567; now the price is N27,000. A bag of beans sold for N23,000 now it sells for between N40,000 to N50,000. Universities were closed for nearly one year in 2020 due to strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and for a better part of 2022 universities in Nigeria were shut due to strikes embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The Naira was N199.0151 to the US Dollar now its real rate is between N900-N1000 to the dollar. They failed. Insecurity is worse than before. Corruption has gone nuclear under this administration. Our economy lies comatose fighting for dear life. And yet they have the temerity to come out again to ask for our votes again. Are we cursed?
I know you forgot what El-Rufai was quoted to have said on May 11th, 2019. He said, “I cannot be running mate to a drug baron, most corrupt Nigerian.” If you cannot remember that, how would you know who he was referring to? I know you will not remember that Raji Fashola once pontificated on keeping campaign promises when on 12 March 2015 he said “they did it in Ghana, (revolution). The reason they did it in Ghana is because when the moment came, they did not turn their backs. If you do not turn your back and you change this government (PDP) and you elect General Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo, you know what you would have done? You would have taken power in your own hands. You know what would then happen? You will be sending the clearest message to politicians that they must come prepared each time to make promises to you. Because if General Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo, also do not perform, you know what you would do? You would vote them out”. He knew that we will forget. He did not mean a word of what he was saying and that is why he is now going about shamelessly marketing this failed and most corrupt government and selling to us a damaged product that would perpetuate the suffering of Nigerian. What a heck?
They know we have forgotten about the hundreds of our young men and women killed during the End-SARS imbroglio.
You forgot that the 2011 Christmas Day Bomber Kabiru Sokoto was found in Kashim Shetima’s house. Yes the one who ( God forbid) would become the de factor President if we are so gullible enough to vote them into power. He failed or refused to report the kidnap of over one hundred girls from a school in his state. Because he knew that even the parents would forget that their children are missing.
There is a consequence to our acts of forgetfulness. According to George Santayana, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And this is precisely what defines us as a nation. We live in the bubble of the present. Everything about us is in the short- term. We live in the now. Whereas serious countries like the UAE not only remember their past (history), they have already built a museum of the future( vision).
I am happy with the body language of the President so far. He wants to leave on a high and if he can conduct a credible election for us, we will forget and forgive him of all his shortcomings.
Change has eluded us in this country because we forget too soon and it is at a cost. The coming election is the most consequential in our history and its outcome will show our mental state. It will define who we are as a people.
