A totally failed political system and the criminal-politicians in APC and PDP are currently responsible for the poverty and hopelessness in the country and they must be stopped in 2019 by allowing for fresh ideas and fresh minds in our political spaces. Otherwise we, or some other people, will be back in 2023 writing a similar sad story.
The Most Tragic (Untold) Story Of Our Time After The Civil War
By Adeola Aderounmu
”Today, in my personal opinion, the dilemma that face Nigeria and the consequences of absolute misrule (before and) after the civil war are together probably the most tragic untold story of our time.
Over the years, closer to 2 decades, l have written about Nigeria and the ills in the society. More pertinently, as each year wraps up, in the last decade, l continue to emphasise how Nigerians unabatedly waste the opportunities that each year provides or presents.
The biggest opportunity in 2019 is the february presidential election. Historically, since 1966, Nigeria suffered a major setback in the world order. There were 2 senseless coups in 1966 that truncated an emerging democracy. The functional regional system of government that promoted developments across the different geo-political zones in Nigeria was discarded in favour of a useless and senseless unitary system.
The hopes that came with the re-emergence of civilian rule in 1999 has faded into thin air as criminal-politicians in the major political parties especially APC and PDP have hijacked the country and continue to loot her resources, depleting wealth rather than creating and multiplying it.
From 1999 to 2015, the period that l had earlier described as the ”worst years of our lives” as Nigerians, it was the PDP that held sway. A former military dictator, one Olusegun Obasanjo converted the 1999 to 2007 years to his personal rags to riches fable.
He left the position of the president after he was forced out by a combined efforts of politicians and concerned citizens who were against his bid for a life-presidency. He had since denied the allegations despite the several billions of naira that evidently flew around in the National Assembly, where the lawmakers continue to milk the country dry to this day.
It is an integral part of this tragedy that the people of Nigeria, both the enlightened and the unelightened, the educated and the uneducated at this moment cannot see beyond APC and PDP. It is one of the deepest cuts in the soul of humanity today.
When Obasanjo left in 2007, he forced the way of his candidate to electoral victory. In what appeared like goodwill to a friend he had in the military, Obasanjo imposed Umaru Yar’Adua, the younger brother of Musa Yar Adua-his late friend in the army, on Nigerians. Umaru Yar Adua died due to a potracted illness allowing his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan to take over the mandate of power.
Goodluck Jonathan later won the presidential election in 2011 and reigned over Nigeria until 2015. He served 6 years at the helm of affairs. Jonathan is a known drunkard and a very corrupt man from Bayelsa State. On several occasions, his wife had been found wanting on charges of corruption and money laundering. She never went to prison!
Nigerians suffered under a deplorable economic situation even with Mrs. Iweala as the minister of finance. Mrs. Iweala later wrote a book condemning the powers that be in Nigeria who strangulated her efforts and so on. As a social critic l see the presence of Mrs. Iweala in Obasanjo and Jonathan’s cabinet as an endorsement of corruption and ineptitude.
Mrs.Iweala did not blow any whistle and she did not resign to highlight the problems in the Nigerian government. During Obasanjo’s reign, she and her boss could not account for the returned Abacha’s loots. Mrs. Iweala in my humble opinion is one of the problems with Nigeria. If you cannot tell us the problems with Nigeria and the solutions while you serve and you cannot even call the police and the law on criminals serving with you, why bother when you are out of power and out of favour?
Between 2014 and 2015 there was a mass cross-carpeting amongst Nigerian politicians. The senseless phenomenon was repeated in 2018. In 2014/15, many of the criminal-politicians in PDP joined and teamed up with other criminals in other political parties and established the APC. It was at this point that it became more obvious that Nigerian politicians have no ideologies and they are swift in repositioning themselves for the next, and every chapter of looting of the Nigerian treasury.
Buhari is probably the first person in history (or just among the very few that may exist) that spoke evil of his country and downcast her citizens while claiming to be the ruler of the country. It was highly moronic!
A notorious political godfather, one Bola Tinubu, championed the projection of a tyrant who had tried and unsuccessfully attemped the Nigerian presidency on 4 earlier occasions. Tinubu and another notorious politician called Rotimi Ameachi opened up the loots thay had accumulated from Lagos and Rivers state and ensured that the social media was well manipulated. It was the same way an ex-convict named Ibori was used by Olusegun Obasanjo to sponsor the election of Umaru Yar’Adua. The money meant for the development of the Niger Delta always wasted in many ways.
True, Jonathan is a crook. True, Nigerians were suffering and Jonathan had no clue over the affairs of Nigeria. One woman, a very silly and corrupt person called Diezani Alison-Madueke, literarily took away Nigeria’s crude oil earnings and kept them as personal belongings. She was flying in jets with her children and family members and they were buying houses and merchandise around the world. Jonathan was either very weak or just a woman wrapper. It was a tragic regime.
Sadly, the change slogan that APC sold to Nigerians in 2014 and which brought Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015 had turn out to be the biggest fraud of the decade in Nigeria. The Buhari government is at par with the regime of Jonathan, if not worse. One of the most obvious corruption charges under the nose of Muhammadu Buhari-the grasscutter scandal-was never visited or sent for prosecution. Till today, the police have not made any arrest and the judiciary is working like zombies.
So invariably, we got ourselves (what we thought was) a new government with old attitudes. When l wrote about the status quo after the emergence of the APC in 2015, many thought l was in a hurry. But l knew that the morning shows the day. Buhari is a puppet too in so many ways, serving the interests of Nigeria’s slave masters (popularly called cabal) and self.
The old orders continue to reign. Almost all the criminals who have looted Nigeria since 1999 are free men and women. Murders and assassinations, latest of Alex Badeh, still have the approval of the presidency as they pretended nothing big happened. Mr. Buhari, contrary to the belief of gullible Nigerians, has no integrity. He should be arrested and tried for crimes dating back to the years before the Nigerian civil war.
In Nigeria, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Those who reigned with Obasanjo and Obasanjo himself are enjoying their loots. Those who reigned with Yar adua are enjoying their loots. Jonathan and those who reigned with him are mostly enjoying their loots. One criminal called Dasuki who mismanaged funds with the approval of Goodluck Jonathan is not so lucky. He has been in prison since Buhari emerged and he had not been left out on bail even with court injunctions in his favour on the matter.
In many cases and on many fronts, Buhari (whose identity is under probe by the IPOB) remains defiant and military-styled. In comparison to the other governments since 1999, this Buhari government is the most clueless. It is out of touch and the man (Buhari?) does not have the mental capacity to rule Nigeria. He is dull, lifeless (in the words of Trump) and lacks the intellectual abilities to lead a tribe, how much more a country.
He remains a stooge, a clog in the wheel of progress of Nigeria since 1977 when he started looting oil revenues. Buhari cannot be absolve of the Abacha loots either as they were the crude oil revenues whilst he was the chairman of the PTF. Buhari is probably the first person in history (or just among the very few that may exist) that spoke evil of his country and downcast her citizens while claiming to be the ruler of the country. It was highly moronic!
As the 2019 presdiential election approaches, both the APC and PDP are doing minimally in campaigns and reaching the people. They know that elections don’t matter as long as they can manipulate the electoral commission. That is where the real fight would take place as usual.
The summary of the situation in Nigeria that l presented above is in my very own personal opinion probably one of the most tragic stories of the 21st century. After almost 60 years of bad governments, spread of poverty, spread of illiteracy (with 13 million children out of school) and a political arrangement that pitch one religion against another and one ethnic tribe against the rest, Nigerians have arguably lost their senses of political identity and several millions have no idea about the state of global affairs and where Nigeria is on the scale. A country without a stable electricity for example is probably 400 years behind the others.
Nigerians are supposed to be living as royals. They deserve to be alright in all aspects of life. But sadly, and regrettably, only a handful of Nigerians are alright economically. But it is hard to even state that there is a Nigerian who is not living in poverty regardless of their wealth. Nigeria as a country is a depiction of poverty and penury. It oozes of hopelessness.
To be sure, Nigerians are amongst the poorest people in the world despite the fact that the country is spread upon the richest combinations of mineral resources in the world. This is because a few greedy people are mismanaging the wealth of the country and they have refused to allow the wealth to grow. We are practising a senseless and useless unitary system of government since the 2 useless coups of 1966. We are allowing one person to steal 12 billion dollars and still be in public light contesting for political office or sponsoring candidates.
One stupid question that l always have to try to address everytime l write an essay is: what then is the solution? I am tired of the question but still try to mention one or two hints. The shortest cut to recovery will be something very close to a (bloody) revolution where all the criminals holding the country to ransom can be arrested, surrounded and brought to very quick judicial judgements. This will change the course of history in Nigeria forever.
However in the absence of the courage to unite because Nigerians have been divided in so many ways and along so many lines, choosing another path (other than the criminally-inclined APC and PDP) is presently the best option for Nigeria and Nigerians. It is an integral part of this tragedy that the people of Nigeria, both the enlightened and the unelightened, the educated and the uneducated at this moment cannot see beyond APC and PDP. It is one of the deepest cut in the soul of humanity today.
The tragedy is far-fetched. In the face of the evidence provided, mostly by switching of political parties, that both APC and PDP politicians are part of a common criminal organisation, our people-Nigerians are still members of APC and PDP. I am in shock that people still attend APC/PDP rallies. It reminds me of why and how slavery in the hands of the Europeans and Arabs lasted more than 500 years.
How can we be free if we (all) belong to criminal organisations like APC and PDP? How can slavery ever end in Nigeria if the majority are still inclined to the old ways or the ways of the APC and PDP?
It is also a great shock to me as a writer that the memberships in APC and PDP are still massive. With the ways and manners that these parties have failed Nigeria, one would think that they should have faced dwindning membership and that the judiciary should be lining up criminal charges against all the key members and actors of these criminal organisations called APC and PDP. By now Nigerians ought to have pulled out and down the National Assembly which is also notorious for sharing the wealth of the country amongst its members.
APC came with the change slogan and amongst the changes we expected were the implementation of the restucturing agenda on her manifesto and the drastic reduction in the salaries and allowances of politicians from the local to the state and national levels. None of that was done. We will never know what APC meant by restructuring which was the first point on its agenda. Buhari does not even want to hear the word restructure. He is that dull and insolent.
In 4 years of the APC, we did not see the re-emergence of the public schools, we did not see committments to public health as the politicians continue to travel overseas for treatment. We can go on to analyse what could have been done in 4 years but the APC keep blaming the PDP for its non-performance whilst still allowing criminals to parade the national landscape.
Nigerians should not make the mistake of committing the next 4 years (2019-2023) of the country’s fate into the hands of either the APC or the PDP. There are options. There are newer political parties that will perform better than APC and PDP. But the truth is that the problems facing Nigeria have gone beyond mere political parties. Still a new phase must emerge.
The political system is wrong and senseless. Before the 2 useless coups of 1966, there was a structure that promoted healthy competitions among the major regions in Nigeria. It is something very similar to that structure that would be fundamental to the resuscitation of the economic survival of Nigeria. The current unitary system of government is baseless, useless and should only be promoted by people of low mentalities and nonetities-and that is where the APC and PDP politicians are. They are criminals and so they adopt and promote this useless system of government.
Under the political structure similar to the what Nigeria had before the 2 useless coups of 1966, there would be no federal character and there will be no Abuja politics. We will all be busy promoting our regions educationally, healthwise, technologically and infrastruturally. This is what we must preach. We cannot go on with a failed system and expect development, unless we have no brains!
Apparently, the essay is inexhaustible because there is no way l will be able to address the solutions in a single essay. The essay grew by the day since the summer of 2018 just the same way my anger grew as you can see from the tone/language of the essay. It is very intentional and meant to provoke. This is why l run this blog and for over a decade l have been shouting and still on it. I also run an instagram blog that updates daily. Check out @thygloryonigeria on instagram for my daily reactions to our problems.
The most significant change that must happen soon is the taking over of government from APC and PDP politicians and making sure that they are prosecuted for all their crimes since 1999. Some politicians and military men have been around since the 60s or 70s. They should be taken care of by the laws of the land. They must face the music.
Our problems are many. However, we must take the bulls by the horns. We will not develop even in the regions if we don’t elevate the rule of law above the rule of men.
Apart from the Boko Haram war in the north east of Nigeria, there is yet no official declaration of war in Nigeria. This is why l consider the life we live in Nigeria as probably the worst hidden tragedy in the world today. Against the backdrop of the potentials in the regions and to see more than 100 million people living from hand to mouth, unsure of the next meal: l see no greater tragedy today in the world outside a war zone.
A totally failed political system and the criminal-politicians in APC and PDP are currently responsible for the poverty and hopelessness in the country and they must be stopped in 2019 by allowing for fresh ideas and fresh minds in our political spaces. Otherwise we, or some other people, will be back in 2023 writing a similar sad story.
aderounmu@gmail.com
instagram: @thygloryonigeria
twitter: @aderounmu
