The All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2015 Presidential elections in Nigeria because the party promised to bring about positive change in governance. Before the elections, it was generally agreed that corruption was the nation’s number one enemy which must be aggressively fought. President Muhammadu Buhari’s well known disciplined character gave everyone confidence that he would make good his avowed promise to deal with the subject. However, since May 29, 2015 when he assumed office as President, Buhari must have been shocked at the several attacks on him for doing what influenced his election victory.
Could it be that the President misread the people’s wish or is it that critics no longer want change? Perhaps the puzzle explains why some ministers were assembled the other day in a town hall meeting in Lagos to enlighten us all on the challenges and prospects of governance. Unfortunately, the forum could not produce much change because like the one done in the Jonathan years, it did not speak to the common man. How many people got into the town hall; how many people could buy newspapers or afford radio and television to follow what happened there?
Indeed, how many had light to listen to or watch the broadcast transmissions? Again, the Central Bank Governor was not there to throw light on the issue of foreign exchange. Otherwise, the Nigeran Labour Congress would have been better informed on how the exchange works. That didn’t happen so labour leaders imagined that the old minimum wage of N18, 000 is now in dollar terms worth N56, 000 which should be the new minimum wage. Interestingly, 24 states are having difficulties with salary payments of the old rates despite the bail-out funds provided to them by the Federal Government. One change that the nation earnestly wants is an end to fuel scarcity. But from what is happening in our petroleum sector today, there is doubt if stakeholders in the sector want the problem solved. In essence, do those hoarding petroleum products want fuel scarcity to change? Last week, officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Ilorin were told by residents that a fuel tanker with covered logo belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) diverted fuel to a private station which was selling the product at exorbitant rates. Those involved in the act cannot claim to want change. This year’s budget is yet to see the light of day as the nation entered the 5th month of the year.
A few days after it was delivered by President Buhari last December, it was declared missing. It was later found but allegedly doctored in many areas. In several ways, it has taken the same pattern of previous budgets. So, the relevant officials of government in the executive and legislative arms cannot be among those who want change in Nigeria. In earnest, those for whom expensive jeeps have been purchased cannot be our change agents since they cherish lavish spending even during a recession which is one long standing problem in Nigeria. The Nigeria Police does not have enough men to police the nation but it is still forced to provide the elites with security operatives on guard duties.
Thus, the police can hardly be part of our desired change. For example, in election matters, it can only announce tough measures. On the eve of the recent Rivers state re-run elections, the police said: “If it would require us to use a mortar pestle to kill a mosquito, we are going to bring any erring person to book. We are not here to plead; we are not here to beg; we are not here to beseech or to request. We are here to tell you that, should there be any problem, wherever it rises from, we will deal with that problem with the full weight of the law.” So, 6000 conventional Policemen and 14 Units of Police Mobile Force personnel (MOPOL), were sent to compliment the personnel of Rivers State Command during the election.
Alas on D-Day, ballot boxes were still snatched. Surely, Nigeria’s political class cannot be classified among those who want change as many people are still dying during elections so that the sponsors of political violence can “win” elections. It happened in Bayelsa in January and Rivers in March 2016. Boxers and wrestlers who double as legislators in Kogi and Nasarawa states remind us that fighting over material gains subsists in our lawmaking bodies. With little or no change in political behaviour, INEC is left to resurrect its famous slogan of ‘inconclusive’ election. As for local elections, the ruling parties are unwilling to allow their partisan electoral umpires allocate some seats to the opposition.
For instance, in Ondo state, local government elections have just ended with the ruling party sweeping all the seats. Hopes that the handling of election petitions by the judiciary might bring change dimmed the other day when eminent lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay articulately bade farewell to the subject. In the past, prudent management of resources eluded the nation as several ghost workers were always included in the pay roll of many government bodies. In the last few weeks, the media have been replete with fresh reports of ghost workers here and there. Does it mean Okonjo Iweala’s technology didn’t delete them or are these newly born ghosts? Consequently, where is change coming from? If it is the rural areas where the common man lives, that is not likely to happen soon, because governors and their caretaker committees are in partnership in misappropriating local government funds from the federation account hence they donot want elected local councils President Buhari probably thought the change Nigerians clamoured for was to be led by him with the active support of patriots. It is getting clearer that what we really want is for him and only him to solve all our problems including the bottlenecks we create for the system. Not being a military leader any more, Buhari has to contend with Nigeria’s type of democracy especially its convoluted justice delivery system. Under the circumstance, it seems unfair that we are all expecting change which we are not prepared to allow.
VANGUARD
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