A Nation is dying, No rescuer seems to be around -By Akingboye Babatunde Samuel

A Yoruba adage says, “A man who does not know where the rain began to beat him, can not say where he dried his body.”

The 2014 presidential election warm up that eventually brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power is what we should not forget in a hurry. Then, there were flood of promises to the poor Nigerians who seemed helpless at that very critical time in the political history of the country. Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was one of the astute crusaders for the All Progressives Congress, APC change mantra reiterated that, ” Nigerians, the only way to have steady light and fuel is to remove Goodluck Jonathan, who was the incumbent president and flag bearer of Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential tussle. And I promise you in six months, Nigeria will be swimming in crude oil and fuel. Buhari will pay you all #5,000 monthly for been jobless, our youth will be gainfully employed with our 3000,000 jobs a year.”

Akingboye Babatunde Samuel

Though, I do not write with the intention to appraise President Muhammadu Buhari’s three years of reign in office, neither do I wish to speak ill of his administration nor castigate the lukewarm nature of his beloved All Progressives Congress, APC in favour of other political institutions. But, I actually want to critically examine the state of nation in the last three years vis-à-vis the developments made so far, hiccups and probably proffering the way forward.

Martin Luther King once wrote, ” We begin to die the day we become silent about the issues that matter in the society.” President Buhari three years in office meets with mixed reactions. It has become a state of diverse reception. There are many who praise him while there are many who dislike him. But, I see no reason why I should hold side without carefully considering the situation of the country in the last three years and hold unto the truth.

As a matter of fact, ” A man is said to be a man, whenever he makes an utterance in form of promise and stands by it.” Everyone is expected to be held responsible for his words. In other words, every individual is duty bound to be accountable to his words. No amount of excuse on earth worth redeeming unfulfilled promise. There were several promises made by president Buhari and his beloved All Progressives Congress, APC back in 2014 during presidential election warm up. But today, these promises seem like an illusion that will never see the light of the day. Prior to president Buhari’s inception of office, there were prevalent issues such as insecurity, gross corruption, unemployment, epileptic power supply and lots more that called for urgent lasting workable solutions. These prevalent issues formed the chief parts of president Muhammadu Buhari’s manifestoes for the election, which actually wooed the mind of Nigerians as they met the national needs at that point in time.

Consequently, like many, I “welcomed” Buhari’s presidency upon his return to power as a democratic president after a prior stint in the 1980s as military dictator. Despite campaigning on a strong anti corruption record and winning popular support, I want to categorically say, Buhari has wasted his chance to boldly reshape Nigeria’s path, given his sluggish start to office, notably shown by the “unusually long time” it took to appoint ministers.

For much of his presidency, Buhari has been faced with difficult economic headwings as low oil prices robbed Nigeria of a chunk of earning from its main export. But despite the difficult reality of Nigeria’s earnings, president’s economic and monetary policies were archaic which exacerbated the crisis. His intentions, good as they might be, are rooted in an outdated economic model and infantile view of Nigerians.

Also, Buhari’s security record calls for assessment. While the Book Haram insurgency in the Northeast has been largely crippled, another security challenge has been posed by rampaging herdsmen from the same ethnic group as the president who have reportedly killed hundreds in violent spats over land. Buhari’s response to the killings has been distinctly lacking in urgency.

Under the watch of Buhari, there have been several breeches of law. This has utterly put democracy in question in the country. On several occasions, courts’ decisions have been truncated. Likes of Nnamdi Kanu, Dasuki Sambo were denied of the bails granted to them by the court, where justice is believed to be purportedly administered. Military invasion of the Southeast is not excluded. It is crystal clear that there has been no respect for rule of law in the last the years in our dear Nigeria.

Ogbeni BSA once opined that, ” Democracy in Nigeria can not solve the problems and challenges confronting her as a state.” This is contingent on the lukewarm nature and parochial interests of the personalities handling it. Naturally speaking, democracy should be a principle for determining the legitimate decisions taken within a political society, but reverse is the case in Nigeria.

Though for a very long time, I did not show interest in putting this administration under scrutiny, but what actually caught my attention is the fact that, Mr Buhari has not completed his 4-year tenure, yet he has started canvassing for second term/ 2019 presidential election. Now, the questions we should carefully consider are:
★ What are the feasible achievements can this administration vouch for in the last three years?
★ Why should Buhari vie for presidency again?
★ Why should Buhari be voted for come 2019?
★ Does he have anything to offer us having utterly failed us in the last three years?
★ Why do so many youth and Nigerians at large believe he should still pilot the affairs of this nation for another four years?

From the last question above, I drew a holy inspiration and perception of ” Nigeria being a dying nation with no one to rescue her.” The crop of politicians on board now look outdated. Likewise, the youth look too conservative, myopic, naive and uncivilised. Like they say, ” Youth are the leaders of tomorrow. ” With all sense of seriousness, I am afraid if this is justifiable as the case is with our country Nigeria. Are the youth serious enough to break out of the shackle of hopelessness they have long be kept by the cruel politicians in the country? The answer is capital NO! Then, ” who will rescue dear Nigeria from dying?” For sometime now, I have been observing Nigerian youths’ comments both on social media and newspaper platforms. In fact, comments I saw in recent time have made me to doubt the truism of youth being the leaders of tomorrow. Perhaps president Buhari was right for branding Nigerian youth, lazy youth? Why on earth should a rational thinker (youth) be blindly following or supporting second term ambition of a man who has utterly failed us in all ramifications. A man who has failed to live up to his promises. Well, we all have right to freedom of expression and opinion. Notwithstanding, it must be within the context of societal normality and functionality.

A former governor of Jigawa state, and a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has warned Nigerians against repeating the mistake of voting the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and president Muhammad Buhari, come 2019. We should not forget that, ” It is not a mistake to make a mistake, but it is a costly mistake to repeat a mistake.” Let us assumed 2014 presidential election that brought president Buhari on board was a mistake, are we going to repeat the same mistake, come 2019 having let us down in all dimensions.?

According to him, ” Today, Nigerians are not only suffering under the yoke of Book Haram, but also under ‘Hunger Haram’ and APC people do not seem to have a solution to any of the problems, therefore they should be sent away in 2019.”
We should not forget in a hurry;
★ The removal of fuel subsidy that has no positive effect on the economy rather it leads to spate of hunger in the country.
★ The scourge of economic recession that is still well felt today.
★ Persistent massacre by the Fulani herdsmen with impunity.
★ Nepotism suffers by Buhari in appointing his cabinet without taking federal characters into consideration.
★ How our precious youth were branded lazy youth and lots more.

As it stands now, things are badly falling apart in the country. The ” Nation is bleeding.” I therefore summon all and sundry, our dynamic youth as well as every party concerned to this clarion call of salvaging Nigeria, most importantly our future from the quagmire this present administration has drowned it. It calls for revolution, not by going violent. But, a common sense revolution. This may be actualized by voting President Buhari out of office, come 2019. ” Who knows failure to awaken to this clarion call might bleed our dear nation to death?” A nation is dying, God please do not let her die.