Christmas is supposed to be the season of goodwill towards all men. Christmas 2023 is exactly the opposite. Other than political office holders, fraudsters, corrupt civil servants and bank robbers, Nigerians will suffer through the season in continuation of government’s lack of goodwill towards them. 2023 was supposed to be a year of hope for Nigerians. It was the year in which the nation was eager to see the back of the corrupt, militarily incompetent, plan-less, uncompassionate, and inefficient Buhari administration which had misruled for eight years.
Most Nigerians thought that their circumstances would improve with the exit of Buhari under whom economic decline and shedding of innocent blood became routine. Indeed, he even went as far as ensuring that while victims of insurgency were not compensated so-called “repentant” Boko Haram murderers were feted and re-absorbed into the Nigerian army whose soldiers they had killed! Under Buhari there was massive corruption not only in treasury looting but also in terms of nepotistic appointments, and failure to observe federal character. Indisputably those of his ethnic stock whom he assembled around him took full advantage of his inability to understand financial concepts and betrayed his trust to amass billions in personal wealth.
Alas Nigerians who believed that things would improve once Buhari left have had their hopes dashed. Ever since 1999 with the exception of President Yar‘Adua, every president has been markedly worse than his predecessor, following this trend things have only got worse after Buhari! Rather than increase our love for democracy, the 2023 elections did the opposite. It confirmed to Nigerians that election processes continue to be fraudulent and declared winners are only interested in enriching themselves rather than serving the people.
At Federal level billions are voted for refurbishing the presidential air-fleet and renovating the residence of the vice president while citizens struggle for one square meal per day. The 2024 budgets being presented by state governors illustrate their lack of political philosophy and consequent inability to conceptualise programmes to uplift the circumstances of the majority.
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Elected to improve the lot of the people, our political class only succeeds in improving their personal circumstances. To the detriment of the nation, they allocate billions to their personal comfort and privileges while the quality of life for the average citizen is deteriorating into mass poverty. Their excessively luxurious and frivolous lifestyles exemplified by the recent jamboree of the Senate president’s totally inappropriate birthday celebration has created a growing seething sense of frustration and resentment by the populace who are encouraged to forgo a decent life and suffer for the progress of future generations.
Quite reprehensively, political office holders disregard the necessity of spending to improve the quality of healthcare, education, infrastructure, and security, and instead approve frivolous expenditure on unconstitutional items such as the “Office of the First Lady” because such immoral actions have no repercussions. Until such a time as holding corrupt officials accountable becomes the norm, the nation will not progress socially or economically.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been reduced to nothing more than a cover up for major corruption. They have become a laughing stock because EFCC chairmen are routinely retired and arrested for corrupt practices and they have failed abysmally to successfully prosecute any major public office holders. A fully operational EFCC concentrating only on missing government funds is essential if the nation is to end the consistent abuse of public funds.
The squander mania is not limited to the federal government. At the state level, governors help themselves to hundreds of millions monthly for so called “security votes” even as the nation slips into virtual anarchy as kidnapping has become one of the few lucrative businesses left in Nigeria, deadly bank robberies are routine and there are no safe highways anymore and police are slaughtered daily. The immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, recently said the nation’s fundamental governing instruments have been hijacked by a pack of reckless political actors. Jega, who led INEC for five years between June 2010 and June 2015, declared that the commission has been high-jacked under his successor Mohammed Yakubu. The end result of this foolishness is that all sorts of charlatans who have no idea of how to solve food insecurity, lack of access to healthcare or potable water, poor housing and sub-standard education have been able to find succour within the political system.
The economic hardship caused by poor governance has caused many Nigerians to either flee the nation or take to begging as a means of survival. Begging is now a big industry and a major employer! The nation’s capital city is such a disgrace with street beggars taking over most of the walkways in the city centre.
Nigerian lawmakers and political office holders must ensure that in 2024 they change their behaviour and alleviate the suffering of more than half of the populace who live below the international poverty line, instead of egoistically holding lavish parties and gallivanting around in multi-million naira SUVs all paid for at public expense! The signs are not good and Nigerians cannot afford to be as disappointed in 2024 as they were in 2023.
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