IN two days, May 29, it would be a quarter of a century since we began our third journey on the democratic path. Some insist, this is not democracy, but civil rule. It was a bloody process getting back on this path, past three military regimes that brooked no opposition. We lost hundreds of fellow Nigerians whose lives were cut short in our determined fight to kick the military out of power. Today, even the most optimistic of Nigerians would admit, this has been, at best, a bumpy ride.
In his very first hour as the country’s President, Tinubu had announced an end to fuel subsidies. This worsened the living conditions of the people and pushed millions more below the poverty line. If I were the President, I will keep pride aside and revisit the subsidy issue. I will also stop the waterboarding of the Naira that has also greatly devalued life in our import-dependent country.
The same hurry in dissolving the school councils, was again, evident in his September 2023 recall of our ambassadors with immediate effect. There were also embarrassing gaffes such as announcing that the United Arab Emirates had lifted a year-long visa ban on Nigerians. Another presidential story refuted was that Maersk, the Danish shipping company, had agreed to invest $600 million in the Nigeria port sector.
But the basic issues we face are beyond the Tinubu administration. Our country has become a collection of ironical stories by an otherwise progressive people. The reason for government is the welfare and security of the people. On both scores, our governments have scored pathetically low marks. There is general hunger in the land. As for security, the control of the Nigerian state over the means of violence is now hotly disputed by bandits, terrorists and ‘Unknown gunmen’.
To make matters worse, the Constitution tells a grievous lie against itself by claiming to be a federal document when in truth, it is a unitary constitution. A primary problem in Nigeria is impunity and the basic step necessary, is to ensure and insist that for every crime, there must be punishment. In China, stealing from the state can earn as high a punishment as execution; I do not advocate capital punishment, but long prison terms, including life imprisonment for thieving elites will be appropriate.