We the people, for a better Nigeria

While the outcome of the oft referenced ‘Arab spring’ uprisings was a change in governments across much of North Africa, it is important to note that the spark for the demonstrations was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi over the loss of his fruit merchandize to corrupt police officers in Tunis.  The man did not set out to change the government. He simply wanted to make a statement, I believe, about the government’s assault on his fundamental right to be economically self sufficient as a citizen.

In much the same way, while the reason for the current uprising in Nigeria is the government’s most recent assault on our collective livelihood and existence as a people through its removal of the subsidy on petrol in Nigeria, we need to recognize that this is an opportunity to elevate our protests, agitations and discussion beyond just the reversal of the subsidy removal, to the other more germaine issues of corruption, lack of government accountability and the basis of our national existence.  As the people of Nigeria, it is time to demand a better Nigeria.
This crisis should not go to waste! It is imperative for us as a people to seize this moment and make it defining for Nigeria. Ancient and recent history is on our side, the time is right! We must make this moment count! If a single fruit seller’s sacrifice could ignite the whole of North Africa, then our collective effort can change Nigeria. This should not be about tribe, religion or political ideology. This is simply about a better Nigeria, founded on equity and justice, in which the citizen’s only limit is his/her imagination. It will not be an easy task but we must persevere. The first demonstrations began in Tunisia on 18th December 2010 and did not end till March of 2011. Change will come if we persist!

A few things are needful: We need to elevate the discussion beyond the fuel subsidy to the leadership responsibility of government. A leader that asks for the sacrifice of the people must first show itself sacrificial. We need to demand specific and measurable IMMEDIATE cuts in the cost of running government. The 2012 budget of the government is available on the budget office website (http://www.budgetoffice.gov.ng/2012_budget_proposal.html). Let everyone who is able read it and make submissions about where we can cut waste. It is both immoral and absurd that a government calling for our sacrifice as citizens plans to spend 1billion naira on feeding in the presidency (president and vice president primarily) in a country where over 80% of the people live on less than $2 a day or that they intend to spend almost 400billion naira on furniture maintenance and read 45million naira worth of newspapers. These kinds of spending must be challenged and cut. Gains from the cuts must be publicly declared and redistributed to areas of critical need.

No policy of government (irrespective of how brilliant it sounds) will ever produce meaningful impact in a country where individuals can pocket billions of naira and walk away.  We must insist on the investigation, arrest and prosecution of individuals who have fleeced the nation through this fuel importation business, as a start. In presentations made by the PPPRA to the senate last year and in evidence made public by Senator Bukola Saraki, PPPRA claims that the subsidies paid to marketers in the first three months of last year averaged 22 billion naira. Going by this average, the government would have spent 264billion naira on subsidies for the entirety of 2012.  The subsidy paid however shot up to about 100billion a month from April 2011 till the end of the year, leading to the astronomic rise in fuel subsidy experienced last year. It does not take a genius to observe that there is a likely correlation between last year’s April election and the increase in subsidy paid to marketers. By government’s own admission, the corruption is monumental. What we must do however is demand that the government demonstrates its willingness and ability to punish the corrupt rather than the entire nation by bringing to book the marketers who fraudulently enriched themselves through this process. If they cannot do this, they cannot guarantee development and should resign. If they do not resign voluntarily, we must stay on the streets in protest until they do. In the longer term, other beneficiaries of obvious corrupt transactions must be persecuted. This is important both for symbolic and economic reasons.

Lastly, we must insist on a discussion about the ideological basis of our national existence and a new constitution. We the people must decide why and how we want to live and be governed as Nigerians and we must fashion for ourselves a constitution that helps us achieve this. The present constitution was hurriedly written by the military and is in many ways responsible for the difficulties we face today as a people. We must insist on an opportunity to discuss the collective enterprise called Nigeria and our responsibilities and benefits as citizen.

In conclusion, we the people stand on the throes of a moment that will either be transformational or terrestrial in our history. We have the power, in this struggle and in this season, to hold a government to ransom that has held us to ransom till we get a better Nigeria. It is in our hands. Like our forefathers before us; Raymond Njoku, Remilekun Fani-Kayode, Anthony Enahoro, Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo  and Tafawa Balewa, who stood, young  as they were,  for our freedom from the British, we also must stand for our freedom from the feudal masters that run our country. Our time is here. It is time for We the people to stand up for a better Nigeria.