PMB, PBAT: When the past is better than the present

By Kehinde Aderemi

Last Saturday was July 29. It was exactly two months into Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s administration as President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Unfortunately, the last two months have been very difficult as Nigerians have been struggling to come to terms with the reality of the sudden removal of subsidy and the spiral effect on the economy of the country.

Barring any last minute intervention, the Nigerian Labour Congress will embark on an industrial action on August 2, 2023.

This is to press home their demand for the reversal in the prices of petrol. The situation in the country in the last two months has confirmed my worry. It has also confirmed my position and that of many Nigerians said the country was far better during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration than what we have seen in the last two months of President Tinubu.

During the Buhari’s eight years as president of Nigeria, we saw hell. There was tension everywhere as the spate of insecurity across the country skyrocketed. The Buhari administration set the trap for his successor by embarking on foreign loans spree. It was during the Buhari administration that corruption, religious and ethnic crises and nepotism became the norms. It was God that saved the country from the hands of the Daura farmer who nearly tore the nation apart with policies that had no human face. Until he vacated the oval office on May 29, Nigerians have had enough of his tough policies that were targeted at pauperising the masses.

As the baton of leadership changed hands from PMB to PBAT, Nigerians thought we were off the hook with a new administration coming on board with a renewed hope. But we were wrong! With Tinubu at the helm of affairs, we believed erroneously that the Nigeria of our dream is here. We believed the spate of insecurity will reduce across the nation. We believed it is bye-bye to poverty in Nigeria. We believed Nigerians would heave a sigh of relief from the hardship imposed on us by the past administration.

But with the present situation in the country, it seems the Nigerian past is far, far better than the present. Nigeria is daily sinking deeper into the downhill with little or no hope. In the beginning, President Tinubu was emphatic in his inaugural speech. He promised a renewed hope. PBAT told us that his administration would bring about the much needed succour to Nigerians. He promised to lift our spirit as we reclaim the lost glory of this nation.

He never told us that there are hard times ahead. That things would be this bad. That a litre of petrol would be sold for over N600 as against the N187 that it was sold prior to his inauguration. He never told us that a bag of rice would be sold for almost N50,000 as against the usual N30,000 within the first two months of his administration.

With the high cost of living, it is no doubt that Nigeria is presently in a mess. And I pray this country survives this trying period because the Renewed Hope slogan has turned out to be nothing but renewed suffering.

Since he came to power, Tinubu’s administration had come up with policies that have received more applause. But the sudden removal of subsidy and the increasing prices of petrol had become his greatest undoing. It is sad that Nigeria is moving out of frying pan into fire.

If we are to compare the Buhari’s administration to that of President Tinubu now, undoubtedly, Buhari’s administration would be considered to be better than what we have now in the country. Unfolding events now indicate that none of Tinubu’s policies is geared towards alleviating the suffering of the mass of the people.

We were told that subsidy was a scam that was orchestrated by a few powerful cabals to frustrate and eat the country dry, yet it is sad that the same scam is beginning to grow wings as nothing has changed to better the condition of Nigerians.

The greatest sin in life is to be silent in the face of injustice and hardship. It is also a sad reminder that many of our leaders in Nigeria have been silent, pretending as if things are going on well with the country. Leadership failure remains the tragedy of Nigeria. However, the present situation in Nigeria has turned the country to something else. Nigerians are now desperate.

The Emilokan must be told that “Igboro’ o r’erin”. That the situation in the country is not smiling at all, even as there are more beggars in the country than ever before. Our graduates have no job. Those that are lucky to be employed are losing the jobs by the day. Many of our youth have become Yahoo boys (fraudsters) and they are desperate to do everything that is possible to make it in life. Some of them that are up and doing have become certified Uber drivers, Okada or Keke riders or even Point of Sale operators.

The Nigerian future looks bleak as it is evident that the hardship is hitting the entire country. You move on the road now and you are inundated with people seeking one assistance or the other from you. It all boils down to the biting economy.

In Nigeria today, there are ghost workers and there are ghost walkers. The ghost workers get paid for the work they don’t do, but the ghost walkers walk down the road without destination. Today, it is 360 degree hardship in Nigeria and the temperature is tense and even higher.

How can we explain to our children that this is the country we can only call our own? How can we explain to the younger ones that the Nigeria of our dream is no longer here? How can we explain to those that believed in Nigeria that this present administration is not a failure?

I was enjoying my siesta at the weekend when my telephone rang. It was a friend from the United Kingdom that put a call through to me. After exchanging the usual banters, he went straight to the business and asked how we have been coping with the present situation in the country? Before now, my friend had been a staunch supporter of Tinubu’s presidency. He reminded me of how he supported the Tinubu presidency, but he was disappointed that the country is drifting under PBAT’s watch. He lamented that the present situation in the country has been very difficult that he wondered how President Tinubu allowed the situation to get so worse.

My friend stated further that there had been a huge lacuna between Tinubu’s dreams of a better Nigeria and the reality of the present situation in the country. He admitted also that there is a huge gap between Tinubu’s administration and the mass of the people. He noted that for an administration to succeed in this country, the policy of the government must have a human face.

The government must be ready to bridge the gap between the administration and the people through a masses-oriented programme. I agreed and later told him bluntly that those that are very close to President Tinubu must tell him to his face that Nigeria is suffering under his watch. For instance, the stories of some of the major Saturday and Sunday newspapers in Nigeria said it all.

Truth is: You cannot say you are the president of a blessed country like Nigeria and about 80 million of the population of the people are now suffering because of the biting and harsh economy policy of your administration.

Finally, I think it is better to remind President Tinubu to stick to his renewed hope mantra and do everything that is possible within his capacity to translate his renewed hope agenda to reality. And unless he looks beyond the N8,000 palliatives scam and make positive impact in the lives of Nigerians, his life-long ambition to be successful as the president of Nigeria would be nothing but a complete flop.

. Aderemi writes from Lagos.