The truth is always a bitter pill. For as long as we continue to lie, pretend, play to the gallery, hope and follow blindly that the unitary system of government will get us somewhere, these outcomes (pain, anguish, sorrow and disappointments) to different degrees will remain our common denominators.

We have not declared an official war in Nigeria but we live in a war situation everyday of our lives.

2017: Yet Another Disappointing Year For Naija

By Adeola Aderounmu

This is my evaluation of 2017.

The year 2017 turned out to be a very devastating one for several millions of Nigerians.

The sad chapters in the annals of this (should-have-been-great) country got longer.

This country Nigeria was destined for greatness as a conglomeration of regions but it had since 1966 remained trapped in a unitary system of government that is useless and nonsensical. Subsequently the country was sapped into poverty and penury by the lucky bastards in form of tyrants and criminal politicians who are not keen on reverting the country back to regional system of government.

In recent years l have written a number of ”end of year” messages through my blog posts. For this year and for the previous ones, these posts were written with my heart filled with rage and anger. I am still extremely disappointed in how the country continues to go deeper in hopelessness.

Already in the year 2007, that was 10 years ago, l wrote an article titled Christmas in Hell. The article chronicled my experience in Nigeria in 2006. One december day that year l drove early to a gas station to queue for fuel. It was my turn after about 5-6 hours of wriggling through the queue.

I will never forget the experience because as l waited in the car, l was crying uncontrollably. I cried for Nigeria. I cried for the suffering and devastation in the land. I cried for all the ignorant people and even the knowledgeable people who together were suffering, celebrating and smiling.

A few hours to that agonising experience, I’d flown into Lagos from Sweden where l could drive to a gas station, fill my car with fuel and pay by credit card and drive away in zero time. Then l came to a country flowing with oil and other uncountable natural resources and l had to queue for more than 5 precious hours of my life. I cried until there were no tears left to shed.

These types of experiences which have sadly become recurrent in Nigeria, even since 1977, showed that Nigeria is one of the worst places to live in the world. We have not declared an official war in Nigeria but we live in a war situation everyday of our lives.

In our country Nigeria, the people have completely lost it. There are no common interests for a national agenda and the political restructuring of the system has not been taken seriously so that prosperity and wellness can be in focus. If we restructure Nigeria today,  perhaps 50 years from now the generation of people that would be called Nigerians can be happy and fulfilled.

Unfortunately, the present Nigerian system continues to promote survival of the fittest. The system thrives as if we are in a rat race. The system runs a manual that ensures that people prosper either through some elements of luck or by connections to the largely corrupt and fraudulent elites and politicians. There are rare rewards for excellence and honesty.

The system breeds hatred in the hearts of men and women. The system ensures that there is a struggle between people in such a way that one group of people under the excuse of the slightest provocation would not hesitate to kill or main the other group. It’s still about the survival of the fittest. There are too many examples of people killing one another instead of negotiating and finding a common solutions to problems.

The effects of more nearly 60 years of bad rulership in Nigeria are too numerous to state.

In fact the present government is full of propaganda and cannot see anything wrong with all its failures and shortcomings. It’s that type of government comprising people who do not see beyond their noses. For, ordinary common sense dictates that the bulk always stop at the door of the person who is assumed responsible for the task (done or undone).

Buhari is the Minister of petroleum resources. He is the ruler of Nigeria. Irrespective of his lines of defenses, the shortage of fuel in 2017 means that the government has failed in performing one of his statutory obligations to the citizens of Nigeria.

But Buhari has been here many times before in his life. He was the Minister of Petroleum in 1977 and Nigeria had fuel shortages then. It remains to be seen if this shortage will lead to increase in the price of petrol per liter in Nigeria.

How long can Nigerians continue to tolerate failures and a system of government that seals more than 100m people to a permanent life of poverty and impoverishment? How long will everybody continue to hope and pray that in a system that is malfunctioning, that some divine intervention will be their hope for a happy life?

It’s complete insanity to hope on divine intervention.

Nigeria is not working and drastic measures need to be taken to turn things around. The most evident sign of failure is that one person cannot steer Nigeria. In how many ways do we want some evidence that this is not going to be possible?

Obsanjo failed, Yar Adua failed, Goodluck Jonathan failed and Buhari has already failed. What other signs do we need to know that we must try something else? That we need back regional government.

Just to ensure that l bring this article to an end, my suggestion is for the young people of this country to come together and wrestle their future and the future of their children and unborn grandchildren from the status quo.

You don’t need PDP or APC in 2019. You need to go back to your regions and harness the best brain to move things forward. Nigerian youths need to throw away all their affiliations to PDP and APC. There is no difference between the two parites. The politicians cross party lines annually because of what they will eat and gain. They have no ideologies to bind them. The people can remain slaves in Nigeria for all the politicians care!

 

There is no future with either the APC or the PDP.

With the numerical advantage on the side of the youth, they need to do something and very quickly too.

2018 will come with new opportunities and new challenges, the young people must unite and wrestle this country from the criminals in power across the country!

Follow me on twitter @aderinola

aderounmu@gmail.com