This paper is a sincere interpretation of the Nigerian experience in the last one year under the APC led government. After one year, these big questions have emerged from almost every Nigerian.
1) What is Change?
What is the definition of CHANGE in respect to the APC agenda:
a) Was it change for change sake or a concrete, decisive and successful departure from the failing status quo?
b) Was it just the change from PDP to APC, influenced by religio-ethnic and regional affiliations?
c) Was it the punishment by ejection of a stubborn god-son former president by a powerful and influential god-father?
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2) Were they prepared for Leadership? Or Did they Understand the Demands of Leading Nigeria
If yes
1) Why is there so much confusion and disarray in system since they came in?
2) Why has the overall policy direction still remain the same as previous administrations?
3) Why is the naira weakening and still in a free fall?
4) Why were they so much confusion about the budget, that warranted the use of ready-made budget?
5) Why do we have the prolong problem of fuel scarcity?
6) Are they surprised by implications of the global fall in oil price? Because they don’t seems to be on top of it.
7) Why the resurgence of insurgence in the oil producing Niger-Delta?
8) Why the menace of Fulani Herdsmen?
9) Why the issue of Shitte in Kano?
10) Why the resurgence of Biafra agitations?
11) Did they understand that Nigerians expected positive results and not excuses?
3) What are the benefits or successes of the current Anti-Corruption War?
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| President Muhammadu Buhari at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London |
a) Is the war on corruption a sincere one or only a camouflage or useful distraction for administrative and systemic weakness of the government?
b) How many corrupt public officers that were indicted of corruption have been successfully tried and sentenced one year after. Nigerians expected to see many ex-governors, ministers, and public office holders behind bars, what is the government waiting for?
4) Did they have a Plan?
If yes
a) Why do they look surprised by the state of things in the Nation and the world over?
b) Did they foresee and anticipate what is plaguing the nation, thus making plans to handle the problems?
5) Do they have a consciousness of time or a sense of urgency?
If yes
a) Why did take so long to appoint ministers?
b) Why did it take so long to pass the budget?
c) Why is it taking so long to solve the fuel crisis?
d) Why is it taking so long to rescue the naira?
e) And so on
Or is the CHANGE agenda being affected by “Nigerian time”
6) Is the first instinct of this government to cause more pain before easing it?
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| Fuel scarcity |
If no
a) Why was it that before the ministry of power could even begin addressing the power problem in Nigeria, they increased power tariffs and introduced estimated bills?
b) Why was it that before the minster of petroleum could even bring reform into the sector, they had to be fuel scarcity?
c) Why did the government ban the use of gallons to buy fuel? Was that the only way curb fuel black marketers? It only escalates the problem.
d) Why is that before the fuel scarcity could be solved the government has increased fuel price?
e) Why is that before they could help our economy and currency, they had create forex difficulty that has hurt many Nigerians and their businesses?
f) Why is that to solve our cash problems, the government had to borrow?
g) Are we being punished for bringing in Change or are we being punished by Change itself? So What and Who is Change?
I understand that change does not come without some pain, but change must not also come with a greater degree of pain that it becomes unbearable for survival. If all Nigerians die because of change, what is the good of the change? Who will enjoy it?
The member of National assembly in Kaduna accused the governor Nasir El Rufai for deliberately punishing his people by implementing many people unfriendly policies in his short time in office, this can be said to be the case with the Change movement.
7) Is this the fruit of a “Common Sense Revolution?
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| Alhaji Bola Tinubu ( Party leader of the All Progressive Congress) |
Alhaji Bola Tinubu and the APC call the change agenda a common sense revolution, forgetting that nothing special, powerful, successfully comes out of common sense, common sense is equal to average or mediocre. But even what is happening does not make sense at all, not to think of common sense, it is close to, if not nonsense. We don’t need common sense to lead Nigeria to her destiny as a great nation, we need Wisdom.
8) After one year in office has the promise of CHANGE changed to a CHANGE of Promise?
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| Chibok Girls captured by Boko Haram |
If no
1) Where are the Chibok girls?
2) Why is security in Nigeria getting worse?
3) Why the increment in the pump price of petrol?
4) Why the difficulty in the payment of salaries?
5) Why the continued failure in power supply?
6) Why is there no payment of the promised N5000 to every youth?
7) Why is our National image dirty?
8) Why is the blame game still going on, with the new government not yet assuming responsibility after one year?
9) The list goes on and on.
10) Is this what we overwhelmingly bargained for?
9) If Mr. President were to answer these questions, what percentage of his answers will comprise of excuses (both understandable and lame)?
CONCLUSION
The one year in government of APC and President Buhari has generated more questions than we expected. But the President has 3 more years to prove to Nigerians that he was worth the trust, for this first year, it is a fail grade.
Even after saying this no one should even think of hoping, praying for the failure of the Buhari/APC government, it would be foolishness engendered by myopia and selfishness because if they fail, Nigeria will automatically roll back to ten years. Can this government succeed and rewrite these questions? I believe they can, should we be calm and be a little more patient, I believe yes, will it be better? I believe yes, because it is no use expecting for the worse, we have to hold our hope of a better tomorrow strong.
We call on President Buhari and the APC to proof themselves else, after 4 years, the big broom will be sweeping its original owners. One year later, Nigerians are surprised by CHANGE.
Drop your comments, we would like to hear from you.
By Elijah Okon
Co-Founder of DBliss Media
linkelijahon@gmail.com
