National Issues
The Father Christmas Nation -By Muhammad Yasin Yahaya
Though the road ahead may be fraught with challenges, victory shall ultimately be ours. History has taught us that no triumph can be achieved without sacrifice, and it is through our collective sacrifices that we shall revel in the fruits of this decision.
Behold, the land of the Father Christmas Nation, where the ostentatious display of wealth holds no benefit for its possessors. No longer shall we assume the role of benevolent gift-givers, for we have fed the West African region for countless decades, even to the detriment of our own people. The irony lies in the fact that these very nations, who have reaped the spoils of our Christmas bounty year after year, have dared to compare their development rates to ours and mock us in their jests.
Consider this: West Africa, with a staggering population of 413.92 million souls, where Nigeria alone accounts for half with over 200 million people. Our neighboring brethren, such as Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, combined, have a population of a mere 65 million.
Can you fathom the magnitude of Nigeria subsidizing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) for over 30 million individuals, half the population of these neighboring lands combined, alongside our own beloved Nigerian citizens?
The exorbitant sums of money we have poured into this role of Father Christmas is truly mind-boggling. Decades of misplaced efforts have resulted in a government incapable of presenting accurate statistics on daily and monthly fuel consumption in our beloved nation. It is a grotesque absurdity, indeed.
Here we find ourselves, wallowing in the clutches of poverty, while trillions of Naira are spent on Christmas parcels, even when the season has long passed. From January to April alone, Nigeria has extravagantly dispensed a colossal 1.46 trillion Naira, as declared by the Budget Office. Oh, if only this immense expenditure were directed towards eradicating poverty and alleviating hunger, the tale we would tell would be vastly different.
Though the road ahead may be fraught with challenges, victory shall ultimately be ours. History has taught us that no triumph can be achieved without sacrifice, and it is through our collective sacrifices that we shall revel in the fruits of this decision.
Insha-Allah, the divine decree shall guide us on this path.
Muhammad Yasin Yahaya,
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.
June,2023.
Email; muhammadyasin3890@gmail.com
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