AN OPEN LETTER TO MR PRESIDENT 2
Dear Sir,
I hope this missive meets you in the finest condition of health. You will recall that I did write to you some months back through this medium and I promised to write you again. I am very sure that by now you have acclimatized yourself to the stressful rigmarole of governing a complex state like ours, hence I will not write this time around with the assumption that you are still new in office or still settling as your supporters normally say.
It was the great Greek Philosopher Plato who posited in His famous book ‘The Republic’ that “the state will not see better days until either the stock of those who rightly genuinely follow philosophy acquire or else the class which has political control be led by some dispensation or providence to become real philosophers”. This simply means that the state is supposed to be governed and led by intellect not based on some primordial sentiments.
I am not writing to engage you in a Political Science class or bombard you with abstract theories, but I am writing to simply bare my mind on the direction that I see you navigating the ship of the Nigerian State. Prior to your assumption of office in May 2015, Nigeria was almost in a complete cul-de-sac. Insecurity reigned supreme in the land as we sleep with only one of our eyes open. Education, health, agriculture were all in mess that Nigerians really heaped a high sigh of relief with your coming as the new President of Nigeria. This was enthusiastically demonstrated by some exuberant Youths who willingly trekked long distance to show you love and admiration.
Your speech during your inauguration personally made me optimistic where you declared that You belong to nobody and at the same time you belong to everybody. As confusing as that statement is now turning out to be, we greeted it a thunderous applause. You made so many promises that day that your regime will give zero tolerance for corruption and you prioritized the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents. Personally I was optimistic that finally Nigeria has found the messiah she has been clamoring for.
It is therefore in the light of the above background that I decided to write this letter to you at this crucial time to critically diagnose your fifteen months administration in order to ascertain if we are progressing or retrogressing. Dudley Seers(1969) said three questions need to be asked when one is talking about a country’s development: a. What is happening to poverty b. What is happening to Unemployment c. What is happening to inequality?
Mr. President, I regret to say here that the three indicators mentioned above have risen to unprecedented and unbearable height. I know you inherited these problems from your predecessors (even though you are one of them), but I am yet to see the policy direction that your administration is taking to address these problems. I have tried so hard in the past to justify your actions and inactions to friends and colleagues, but at this juncture I must admit that I am confused. Aside from the adverse effect brought by the rise in the price of petrol by your government, insecurity is becoming something else. I appreciate your effort in reducing the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents, but what about helpless villagers who are attacked, slaughtered and maimed by blood thirsty beasts who can best be described as animals in human skin?
Furthermore, I have more questions than answers on your fight against corruption. I see a lot of kleptocrats within and outside your government walking scot free. I believe the fight against corruption you promised us during the campaign is not cosmetic but holistic, until I see an unbiased, committed, non-political and patriotic fight against corruption, I will only describe your efforts as being tantamount with shooting a mosquito with a gun which is a complete waste of bullets.
Conclusively, I would like to remind you that Nigerians have huge confidence in your principles and integrity and I can only appeal to you not to betray the confidence of the teaming masses who defied all odds to make you President. Accept my apologies if some of my words are harsh but I feel there are times when silence is no longer golden. Kindly do the needful before it is too late. I will write the last version soon.
Many thanks,
Educatedhausaboy.