By Nwamkpa Modestus
No doubt, this is a very tough and challenging period for many Nigerians.
The past one year under this APC led government in Nigeria has been dotted with lamentations, gnashing of teeth, full of disappointments, unimaginable hardship, dashing of hopes and complete reversal of promises.
Certainly, the present despicable and lamentable situation in the country was the least thing Nigerians particularly those brainwashed 15 million Voters who voted for President Buhari bargained for.
Even though I can raise my head high and say that I was not among those bunch of ignoramus voters who were deceived into believing that President Muhammadu Buhari has the capacity to turn stone into bread as I never fell for those white lies that the party gushed out to Nigerians.
However, much as I had expressed skepticism and have continued to be skeptical as to the party’s genuine capacity to lead the country to a safer shore but what actually baffled and keep surprising me is the level at which the party is struggling desperately to use the same lies or peddling of falsehood they used to get to power to also remain in power.
Or could this be the reason why there is this maxim that one needs another lie to sustain one lie? Perhaps, unknown to them that there is this popular saying that ‘you can deceive some people some of the times but you obviously cannot deceive all the people all the times’.
When in 2014/2015 the APC members and leaders were aggressively seeking to supplant former President Goodluck Jonathan and his party- the PDP accusing the former President and PDP members of being clueless, incompetent, weak and corrupt among other spurious accusations, very few discerning and informed minds knew then that APC as a party and its leaders were playing on the intelligence and psych of some vulnerable Nigerians.
They promised to make light to shine across the country, water to run on dried taps, three millions of jobs to be provided yearly, 25 million unemployed Youths to receive five thousand naira stipends yearly, NYSC members to have their alowee increased, one dollar to equal to one naira, Chibok girls to be rescued within six months including the automatic stoppage of Boko Haram madness within six months.
They also mesmerized us with the sweet promises that pump price of fuel would be reduced to N40 per litre, that Nigerian school Children would start enjoying one free meal every school day, that workers and pensioners would receive their pay on or before 25th of every Month and above all, that the cankerworm called Corruption would be fought to a standstill among other promises.
General Muhammadu Buhari who later got ‘baptized’ by charging to President Buhari was so much repackaged to the point that the dummy was sold to Nigerians that the Daura born former Army general was the only clean and incorruptible Nigerian existing.
They told us he was the ‘Messiah’ to come and the only one that has the panacea to our economic cum political travails in this country. We were told that even as a former military head of state, he had no other house anywhere in the world except the moderate bungalow in his village.
They said Buhari has the magic wand to exterminate corruption in Nigeria. Funny enough, we were meant to believe that the only reason why there is huge unemployment, epileptic power supply, continued abduction none release of Chibok girls, hardship and other crimes was because Buhari was not the President.
In all, they said Nigeria only needs a specie of a man in the image and likeness of Buhari and things would start working again. Surprisingly, some people believed this cart while there were few discerning minds like yours sincerely who took the entire gambit with a pinch of salt and dismissed the whole lies as balderdash.
Now, the Chicken has come home to roast. The breeze has blown and Nigerians have seen the Buttocks of a foul. One year is gone and yet there is nothing to show that we are heading to the world of Eldorado. On the contrary, Nigerians are getting the direct opposite of all that were promised. Instead of employing 3 million Youths as promised, there has been millions of job lost.
Instead of improving on the five thousand mega watts of electricity that the previous administration of Jonathan left it, there has been a decline in electricity generation that it now hovers around I,450 mega watts of electricity with its attendant blackout across the country even when there is a hike of about 45% of electricity tariff.
Instead of buying fuel at least at N86.50 that the last administration bequeathed with the availability of the product, we are now faced with an astronomical increase of N145 per litre and scarcity of the products.
Instead of enjoying a downward slope Change in the prices of food stuffs and transportation, Nigerians are faced with an upward arbitrary change in the prices of food Stuffs and transportation.
• Nwamkpa (morest4u@yahoo.com) wrote in from Owerri, Imo State.
