ANOTHER OPEN LETTER TO PMB FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES ENGINEERING STUDENTS ASSOCIATION, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES, EFFURUN, AKA NSE FUPRE

Dear PMB,

Today is one year and five days since we celebrated our victory, a common sense revolution, the birth of a new nation with a new possibility of living without regional and tribal walls and barriers, a nation that succeeded in placing ‘office of the citizen’ above ‘office of the president’.

We then fought tyranny and oppression with you as center of political gravity, it was easier then; when a bad leader messes-up he gives his people a new hope to unite against him. But it is more difficult now because when a good leader messes-up he creates hopelessness; the kind that is making many of us prefer to live in denial of our present reality and think there is still future under current situation.

We will be unfair to you if we ask for tiles and marbles at this moment in time but we at least need to see clearly where we are going. Our country cannot be run by patience and goodluck, and not by mere goodwill, hope and expectations, it should be run by good actions.

I prefer not to remind you of the implications of your failure on the region where you came from because the lessons of your victory shows that Nigerians can go any length to get what they want. I rather remind you that your failure will spell doom for the pride of Africa.

Remember how people got bombed in polling stations and yet others continued to vote, pregnant women delivered on queue and yet caste their votes. Remember how our legislators had to climb gates to their own chambers, how state governors had to jump airport walls to escape impunity and how 16 became greater than 19. How a reserve-bank governor relinquished his job, a state governor became a hostage, a former president became your spokesman and nearly ended his watch, elder statesmen took side, a soldier took exile and a reporter risked his life.

Remember how Nigerians in Diaspora lived with their bodies in another country but their minds at home, your supporters from east and south lived as traitors in their own lands, those from west lived as competitors sacrificing their own choice, those from the north became a target, and how people that cannot afford food were rushing to support your campaign with funds. Remember how Nigerians all over welcomed u with chairs and with tears and how they celebrated crazily at your victory.

Today probably someone has told you that all these people do not want your success or that they do not matter. It is absurd that “the same government which received the tumultuous welcome now became alienated from the people”.

In a world where 1% population is richer than the rest a socialist president with a high sense of integrity is no doubt a jewel. In the past 366 days you have done well in some aspects; fighting terrorism to a standstill, fighting institutionalized looting to a retreat, and living modestly as a humble and cherished president, but the way you run our economy is the example of how not to run an economy, completely isolating the bond between people, their economy and their governance. An analysis of how your idea has never worked will be left for another day in order not to bore you with figures and mathematics, but it is clear that your economic policies are impacting negatively on domestic production.

"The last twe*lve months have not witnessed any significant changes in the national economy. Contrary to expectations, we have so far been subjected to a steady deterioration in the general standard of living; and intolerable suffering by the ordinary Nigerians have risen higher, scarcity of commodities has increased, hospitals still remain mere consulting clinics, while educational institutions are on the brink of decay. Unemployment has stretched to critical dimensions."

‘After dutifully intervening to save your country from collapse the economy has not been given a new impetus and better sense of direction’. The spirit of unity that you came with has long been turn on its head, Buhari boom has become Buhari burst, and the ‘change begins with you’ campaign due to high spirit of the populace is no more there. Favoritism has continued, with recruitment scam in CBN and elsewhere. Economic injustice has been institutionalized with a financial cabal taking our economy hostage.

In your first coming you did many of the things you are doing today and eventually they failed, not only because your friends betrayed you but because the people had reached their natural limits and had to create a political opportunity to at least change their state of mind and create a new hope for themselves, and to avert what your brother in 1985 called ‘a systematic denigration of that hope’, subjecting the common man to ‘intolerable suffering’, insinuating that “initial objectives were betrayed and fundamental changes do not appear on the horizon”.

The common man you wished to protect was forced by you to create an opportunity for your enemies, our enemies- to enslave us further, premising that “The principles of discussions, consultation and co-operation which should have guided decision-making process” were disregarded.

Could it be possible that a man hasn’t learned anything in decades?

As I approach dropping my pen I remember growing as a child, how our parents could afford decent life despite been modest civil servants, farmers or business men and women. I remember how I used to buy a gum for 1kobo and received 499kobo change which I could not spent.

The results of your good intentions-highly mismanaged gave criminals the opportunity to ruin our lives. Our parents who served their country with all they have, had to live in the same economy with thieves who stole in millions and billions. I fear getting held-up in the middle of a vicious circle, but I fear even more for my children and those children unborn.

The Archer will never fail on his promises, and not on a promise of change, but he is too forward thinking on his target that he forgets his own cover, missing the links of the future from the present, and too naïve that he forgets he is not alone in this world of opportunism. Knowledge is key since it fuels his broad-minded approach to life, the best way out is to talk to people and find some answers.

My prayer as I say goodbye is that you will meditate on the consequences of your failure, realize the greatness of an opportunity that will never repeat itself again and begin listening to people that made the huge sacrifices, do the simple things that make the difference, the simple things that can make everyone happy, those things that will keep us together as a nation.

We have experimented ‘politics of religion’, ‘politics of ethnicity’, ‘politics of regionalism’, and ‘politics of belief’ and they have all failed. It is time we experiment ‘politics of nationalism’, ‘politics of patriotism’ and ‘politics of reason’.

May the lives of our patriots that died in the good cause of bringing positive change rest in perfect peace, the wounded relieved by God’s special grace, and may Nigeria live forever and prosper.

"This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no other country but Nigeria. We must all stay and salvage it together"

Your fellow citizen

Ogara Chidi Israel

cc: Muhammadu Buhari