It’s no longer news that the present economic performance of the country is at an all-
time low. The sky-rocketing rate of inflation is so appalling that one begins to ask
himself, how did we come this far?
Ranging from the shameful rise in the exchange rate of the dollar to the naira, the
frequent fuel scarcity and long queues of automobiles that besiege the feeling stations,
adding to the already-annoying traffic congestion in urban areas, to the pocket tearing
inflation rate and rise in the cost of every commodity, including our locally-produced
garri and sachet water, it is obvious that our economy is bleeding and in need of a quick
and thorough surgical operation. Perhaps, a first aid treatment will do for now.
There are two interesting hashtags trending on social media recently that relate with the
topic and concern of this article: #WakaWakaBuhari and #BringBackOurCorruption.
Through these hashtags Nigerians have been lamenting the present bedridden state of
the Nigerian Economy and what they perceive as the lackadaisical attitude of the
Commander-in-Chief. While one may be quick to dismiss the second hashtag,
#BringBackOurCorruption, as myopic and mediocre, we cannot ignore the disturbing irony
it represents and portrays; the irony of the present state of the Nigerian economy and
the popular pre-election mantra of change.
Talking about #WakaWakaBuhari, it’s interesting to discover that President Muhammadu
Buhari is being accused of the same act of “excessive and frivolous” traveling which he
campaigned against during Obasanjo and Jonathan’s regimes. However, someone should
tell President Buhari that while he is busy globetrotting and spending two billion naira to
maintain presidential jets within six months and budgeting about one billion for the
acquisition and maintenance of his automobile fleet Nigerians are suffering and waiting
for the fulfilment of his campaign promises.
During the 2008 Obama Campaign the two major slogans of that campaign were “Yes we
can” and “The change we need”. The circumstances that surrounded the American
presidential election of that year are in many ways similar to those of the Nigerian
presidential election of 2015. Both nations were facing serious security threats and
economic setback.
However, one major difference between the Obama Change campaign and the APC/
Buhari change campaign was that the latter and her supporters failed to define the
change we wanted. While Americans chanted “The change we need,” Nigerians simply
chanted “Change.” The popular sarcasm that now describes the present state of the
Nigerian state is “Yes, change has come.” But is it the change we need? Is it the change
we wanted?
I had the opportunity of engaging in a political discussion with a group of colleagues
about the state of the nation. While arguments and counter arguments raged on, a friend
said and I quote, “If elections were to be held today and I am presented with the options
of either voting GEJ or Buhari, I will vote Buhari over and over again.” That is how solid
and unshaking the confidence Nigerians have in this administration is. Obviously the
administration is yet to live up to those confidence and expectations. But there are a
handful of Nigerians who are still very hopeful that the light will appear at the end of the
tunnel. At another time, after a colleague had painstakingly enumerated the different
challenges Nigerians are facing under the present administration and ended his long
statement with the question, “Is this what you call change?”, another colleague was
quick to say, “Yes, leave it. We like it like that.” The question that I found hovering over
my flabbergasted mind was: do we actually like it like that or we have willingly lost
ourselves in a self-destructive effort of justifying the outcome of a decision we made
about a year ago?
The administration has made some giant strides in fighting the Boko-haram insurgency,
but the suffering of Nigerians has increased in the last six months. I thought I knew what
fuel scarcity meant until this government came to power. Before now the queues we
used to experience at the filling station are that of vehicles and people with kegs. Now
people queue up with their power generators. Since the power supply in the country is
now at an all-time low, business owners find themselves in a pathetic situation where
they have to carry their power generators about looking for fuel. It’s now the case where
you can’t have the electricity that you paid exorbitant amount for and you still can’t buy
fuel to power your generator. Gone are the days when instances of fuel scarcity used to
trend on the social media and you will find people expressing their grievances and
disappointment in the government. These days people are even tired of talking about it.
It is no longer something unusual. It has become a part and parcel of our life as a
nation.
Senator Ben Murray Bruce, the common sense senator and fast rising twitter celebrity
and legislator, recently re-posted a tweet of President Muhammadu Buhari during the
last presidential campaign. In the tweet that went viral on the internet, the then
presidential aspirant said, “The countless man hour that will be spent at petrol stations
today, will reduce our productivity as a nation. This should not be so.” Maybe someone
needs to tell president Buhari that Nigerians now spend more hours at the filling station
than they have ever done. Fuel scarcity and queues at the filling station have become so
frequent that it has now become a part of our everyday life as a people. We have moved
from scarcity usually during the festive period to fuel scarcity every other week. I would
say that’s a landslide achievement if you ask me.
After listening to the president’s recent interview with Aljazeera I discovered that
President Buhari may not really understand the weight and gravity of the recent rise in
the value of the dollar against the naira on Nigerians. I have lost count of the number of
retailers who have had to close their shops recently in my area due to the high price of
goods and services and the devastating economic realities of “the largest economy in
Africa,” realities that have now gotten worse under the watch of the present
administration. I can imagine the disappointment on the poor women’s faces when they
heard President Buhari say, “Those who can afford it should afford it.” Well, the lack of
electrical power supply may have saved them from having such insult added to their
already sustained injury.
Yes, change is a gradual process, but do we have to suffer meaninglessly and aimlessly
to achieve change and progress as a nation? I am sure incessant fuel scarcity is not
part of the change process. That’s only a symptom of obvious incompetence. The
recent harsh financial policy of the government to mitigate the rise in the price of the
dollar against the naira has more negative effect on the middle class and lower class
than it has on the high class in the society. President Buhari and other well privileged
Nigerians can still afford to send their children to school abroad. The importation
business moguls can still afford to import goods from foreign countries, Nigerians will be
the ones to pay double the former price. That’s why this government must stop looking
at national issues from only her narrow myopic perspectives and think of the devastating
effect these policies will have on the less privileged Nigerians on whose wings it rose to
power. Government has to be efficiently proactive.

https://www.thecable.ng/the-travelling-president-and-a-nation-at-standstill

FTC sha.

gerrardomendes:
FTC sha.

Swear say you read the article



STC

Ok

It seems more and more people are joining the wailing team

walk walk walk walk Buhari suppose feature rihanna for the remix

E dey pain you say the man the travel. Sorry, more travel still they come.

ItzTun3chi:
walk walk walk walk Buhari suppose feature rihanna for the remix

abi,tell him

That we are stuck with Buhari till 2019 is very scary.

amaechi1:
E dey pain you say the man the travel. Sorry, more travel still they come.

wats d outcome

SleekMallam:
That we are stuck with Buhari till 2019 is very scary.

dere will b a change in 2019

President Buhari said, “Those who can afford it should afford it.”

That day I just shake my head, why can't we have a people's leader, that always think before they speak
From PDP,APC, KOWA... have that same problem

I;m surprised the tourist President hasn't announced his latest trip.

I heard he is considering a trip to Trinidad and Tobago. But Aisha wants to come along because that country has wild chics.

Thank God we were not fooled

#YorubasWhoVotedBuhariHaveBeingScammed

So many noisemakers these days. The President is doing is job to tackle insecurity and boost economy by wooing investors. Why not hold your Governors and LGA chairmen and councillors accountable as well, or didnt u vote for them

Its Buhari's job to travel in line with Nigeria's foreign policy and economic development. If you dont like it, wait till 2019 and vote him out. But we can already see results from the trips these wailers keep nagging about. We saw how dubai stopped nigerian looters from moving funds out of d country, we saw china's desire to purchase nigerian oil, we saw support for insurgency war from US and germany and the list goes on and on. These countries didnt suddenly wake up with nigeria on their mind. The president did his job!