THE LATE Fela Anikulapo Kuti was the one who told us that ‘crisis’ is the plural of ‘cry’. According to him, “when lots of people are crying at the same time, that is crisis.” Today, so many Nigerians are crying at the same time, and there is indeed deep and widespread crisis in the land.
The noose of hardship hanging on our neck is tightening by the day. Our situation is degenerating day by day. Prices of goods and services are skyrocketing; purchasing power is dwindling and it is getting harder and harder to get by.
It appears that the cries of the downtrodden, broadens the smiles of the ruling elite. No matter what Nigerians face, members of the ruling, more appropriately, the ‘looting class’, are not perturbed. They are experts in designing catchy distraction. Whenever serious national issues arise, the deceptive and looting class throws up a distracting episode to keep us busy.
On Monday, September 2nd, Nigerians woke up to find that the pump price of PMS has increased, and by Tuesday September 3rd, NNPCL came out with an official price review from N617 to N897 in its retail outlets. In a space of few hours, prices of everything went up, and the number of crying Nigerians increased immediately.
Whether government hears the cries or feels the excruciating pains of citizens is not known. What is known is that no one’s hope is ever going to be renewed. Rather the misery from Buhari 8-year misgovernance, which President Tinubu promised to continue with during his campaign, has been deepened.
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Nigerian workers who heard of the signing of a new minimum wage of N70,000 are yet to witness the implementation and now prices have overtaken the increment that many think is even a downward review considering the present exchange rate of naira to dollar.
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) feels betrayed by the government. According to NLC, the N70,000 minimum wage was agreed on the premise that the pump price of PMS will not be increased. Of course, the government is well aware that the entire civil society, workers and all Nigerians believed that the NLC betrayed Nigerians by agreeing to N70,000.
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There is serious crisis in the land. Those who have not started crying will soon join the wailing choir of agonising compatriots. Harvest season is here, new yam is out but completely outside the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians. A situation where a moderate size of yam, about 2.5kg weight is sold for N10,000 at harvest season, one can only imagine what the price will be in January 2025.
In most cities in Nigeria, commuters stand for hours contemplating on how to route their movements for cost effectiveness. A good friend of mine, an APC youth leader in Lagos, called me on Wednesday, 4th September and was lamenting that even the LASTMA buses of Lagos State Government are not even being considerate. Some of the drivers, he said, “go empty from Abulegba to Oshodi bus terminals in the evening, while commuters were stranded on the road.”
Security watchers are of the opinion that 2024 harvest may be low by almost 30%, because farmers are running away from their farm lands in much of Nigeria’s farming belt due to banditry and kidnapping. In some places, unconfirmed reports indicate that farmers pay bandits and kidnappers in order to have access to their farms. If you add the cost of transporting food to the market and factor in the shortfall in production of 2024, it is clear that the looming hunger epidemic will be worse than Covid-19 with the unleashing of unbridled neo-liberal calisthenics by the Tinubu government.
I learnt over the years that if a student majors in a minor, he or she graduates without a certificate. Government is busy concentrating on the mundane, leaving serious issues unattended to. I thought after changing the national anthem, Nigerians will become a new nation with all the signals of hope beeping.
On Monday, 2nd September, the Nigerian Army helped to retrieve corpses of 34 people killed by Boko Haram insurgents in Mafa Village, Yobe State, though villagers claimed that the number of people that died were more than that. I watched with bewilderment as government that is supposed to protect people’s lives and property turned undertaker; carrying coffins, digging graves, consoling the bereaved.
It appears that the cries of the downtrodden, broadens the smiles of the ruling elite. No matter what Nigerians face, members of the ruling, more appropriately, the ‘looting class’, are not perturbed. They are experts in designing catchy distraction. Whenever serious national issues arise, the deceptive and looting class throws up a distracting episode to keep us busy. People who were in opposition for almost 50 years, and criticised every government and all their policies and provided theoretical alternatives, have suddenly become bereft of ideas and cannot proffer single solution to any of our legions of problems. It is actually Not Yet Uhuru, or is it that the Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born? Apologies to Oginga Odinga and Ayi Kwei Armah.
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In most cities in Nigeria, commuters stand for hours contemplating on how to route their movements for cost effectiveness. A good friend of mine, an APC youth leader in Lagos, called me on Wednesday, 4th September and was lamenting that even the LASTMA buses of Lagos State Government are not even being considerate. Some of the drivers, he said, “go empty from Abulegba to Oshodi bus terminals in the evening, while commuters were stranded on the road.” Governance has become an art of unending promises. Our situation can better be explained in Bob Marley’s natural mystics lyrics.
There’s a natural mystic
Blowing through the air
If you listen carefully now you will hear
This could be the first trumpet
Might as well be the last
Many more will have to suffer
Many more will have to die
Don’t ask me why?
Governance has been demystified. It is no longer rocket science. If policies of government can unveil light at the end of the tunnel, we will be known at the beginning of the tunnel. The two behemoths in Nigeria today are corruption and insecurity. A government that has not shown serious commitment in addressing these two challenges, has nothing to offer Nigerians. So far, so bad!
Nigerians are only counting dead people and so many other losses. Will we ever see a good Nigeria again?
Amechi, a trade unionist and pro-democracy activist, writes from Lagos.
