Hardship: How govt is prioriting self-preservation over citizen’s well-being -Experts

By Femi Oyelola

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lhaji Abubakar Samaila was once a well-known businessman in the popular Kasuwa Magani in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He was one of the names that comes to mind when talking about grain wholesalers in the market. He Lives in his own house comfortably with his family within the community.

But now, there’s a reversal of fortune. Alhaji Samaila who has now moved back to Badarawa Ward of Kaduna North Local Government Area is now staying in a rented apartment with his wife and two children.

Speaking to Weekend Peoples Daily, he said his business suddenly collapsed because of the increase in  transportation. According to him, the capital invested in the grains-selling business disappeared without a trace  because he kept paying for transportation and buying products without recovering his capital, talkless of making a profit.

He attributed his woes to the unfriendly business environment created by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s policies.

“When my suppliers became impatient with me, I had to put my house on sale to settle them and close the shops because I could not afford the rent.

“I am here living at the mercy of some good friends and I am fast losing trust in the reform agenda of the government because my hope has not been renewed but rather dashed.

“Someone should tell our President that we are suffering and need urgent assistance,” he said.

Similarly, Abel Moses, a teacher in a private school in Kogi State, is back at his family house in Kaduna, saying he is only working without seeing the money.

“My brother, my salary used to be forty thousand Naira, and that is not even enough to pay my transport fare, and I am not talking of feeding and rent.

“I felt sick and was admitted but unable to pay my bill so I was discharged without treatment.

“Instead of dying silently, I ran to my relations in Kaduna for assistance. The level of suffering across the country is unprecedented, only comparable to the period of Nigerian Civil War. Families are struggling to meet basic needs,” he said.

The cases of Alhaji Abubakar Samaila and Abel Moses are examples of what millions of Nigerians are passing through, and there seems to be no end in

There’s no doubt that the recent increase in fuel and cooking gas prices has further escalated and heightened suffering among poor Nigerians.

Reacting to this, Comrade Bako Abdul Usman, the 4th National President of the Campaign for Democracy, condemned the current administration of Nigeria for its blatant disregard for the principles of democracy and good governance.

According to him, over the past years, Nigerians have witnessed an alarming erosion of public trust, stemming from the government’s consistent undermining of democratic institutions and processes.

“The very essence of democracy — government of the people, by the people, and for the people — has been systematically subverted by policies that favor the few, while the masses are left to grapple with poverty, insecurity, high cost of living, and neglect.

“The administration’s frequent policy sommersaults are not just administrative failures but deliberate attempts to destabilize reforms that were painstakingly established to bring progress to the nation. Reforms in education, healthcare, and public infrastructure have either been reversed or stalled, leaving the Nigerian people worse off than they were before.

“What we now see is a government that prioritizes self-preservation over the well-being of its citizens, making a mockery of governance through haphazard policy implementations, erratic decision-making, and a profound lack of transparency and accountability but full of high-handedness.

“This has eroded public confidence in governance and stifled the hope of millions who look to the government for leadership and progress.

“In an environment where dissent is stilled and freedom of expression is suppressed, the Nigerian citizens as a people are denied their fundamental rights to question and hold their leaders accountable.

This administration’s loyalty lies not with the people but with power, control, and the entrenchment of a political elite that has no interest in advancing the interests of ordinary citizens.

“We, therefore, call upon all well-meaning citizens of all States, Nigeria at large, to rise in defense of our fundamental human dignity in a democracy. We must reject this blatant abuse of power and demand accountability and good governance from those who seek to undermine the foundations of dividends of democracy for the Nigerian people.

“The future of Nigeria depends on our collective resolve to stand against tyranny, bad governance, and the erosion of democratic values. Together, we can reclaim our nation and rebuild a government that is truly for the welfare of its people,” he said.

Corroborating, the Deputy Executive Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, Leo Atakpu opined that the recent increase in fuel price and cooking gas has further escalated and heightened depression upon poor Nigerians, on the average Nigerian except the rich, powerful, and the mighty.

Mr. Atakpu idiomatically said the Tinubu administration is likened to King Rehoboam of Isreal when his father died, and the people of Israel went to inquire of him if it was time for them to have relief from the oppressive regime of his father.

“Rehoboam dismissed them and told them to go and come back after some days, and when they returned, he told them his father chastised them with the whip, but he would chastise them with scorpions.

“He told them that they should be prepared to suffer and die in pain and penury and that is exactly what the APC government has foisted on Nigerians.

Since they took over power, President Buhari used whips on Nigerians, and they were shouting,

“What kind of government is this? Heartless and wicked government,” Now, after eight horrendous years of Buhari’s regime, Tinubu has taken over, and from then till now, Nigerians have been on the edge.

“So many people have died and others are in terrible conditions. Nigerians cannot feed well anymore, and poverty has escalated, yet the government claims to be reforming, but I don’t know what they are reforming.

“They are reforming policies that are not working, and they know it yet; the same government that says they want market forces to lead the downstream sector of petroleum will still come out and announce new prices of petroleum products even after saying subsidy is gone.

“It tells you that this is a wicked and heartless government that doesn’t know what they are doing. I don’t even know who those are advising them; if it is the World Bank or IMF, they should call themselves to order and leave Nigeria alone.

“The current situation is unbearable with Nigerians on the edge. This government must retrace its steps and take measures to ensure that the current widespread poverty, hunger due to food inflation, and other basic issues of life are addressed.

“People cannot move from one place to another, even vehicle owners, except a few, because of transportation that has become so high.

“This government should retrace its steps and come up with measures that can reduce the suffering of Nigerians because they cannot continue to afflict the people with the kind of hopeless policies that have brought us to this level.

“Nigerians are sick and tired, so the government should do the needful because they will push Nigerians to the point that they will rise against them, and we hope and pray that such a situation does not occur cause it will be very dangerous even for the rich.

“It will be bad when the poor that they have impoverished, rise and fight back, they won’t be able to survive it.

“So this is the time for the rich that have held this nation down to wear their thinking cap and take decisive actions to address this poverty that they have afflicted this nation with.”

But in a sharp reaction, a veteran Journalist based in Kaduna, Alhaji Tajudeen Ajibade,  said the difficult time the nation is going through at the moment is not exclusive to Nigeria alone but a world phenomenal.

The veteran journalist observed that the major problem (s) in Nigeria is the failure to prepare for a day like this, and when it comes, the impact becomes unbearable to many of us.

“We failed in the past to sustain our hereditary, and offer to go after oil at the detriment of agriculture. Another area of our failure is the lack of continuity in the policies of the government by another government.

“How can Nigeria import rice when the nation is blessed with arable land all over, and the country turned to a dumpster for all types of commodity?

“A case study is the inability of past government to look into the stage of our industries and what went wrong and put them into use. The hardship is part of our past failure as a nation, who failed to prepare for a tomorrow.

“A Federal Government in recent past dole out over one Trillion naira as agriculture loans, to plant rice, those who are connected obtain the money, and there was no rice. What happened to our five motor assembly, and no one is asking.

“What is the condition of our Industries in Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, among others? And we didn’t know there would be a time like this. So the policies we are facing today, are children of necessity, and will take time to give positive results. However, no policy, no matter how good on the drawing board, can achieve its goals without the contributions of the citizens.

‘Reforms and Policies are interwoven, and they require time to bring results that will be of benefit. Before these policies become fruitful, it may become necessary for all of us to embrace farming and at least produce what we want to eat to survive.

“Some may be using the issue of bandits and farmer herders clashes to continue to wait for government largesse, which cannot go around.

“Bandits and banditry are human creations, and a time will soon come when it will come to be history. I recalled with regrets about the period in Northern Nigeria when, during the farming period, the town became empty.

“Today, young men have abandoned farming for the old ones, and agriculture is left undone.

“On the issue of fuel pump price increase and others, the situation we are in started over thirty years ago when we agreed to devalue our currency and accept the policy of IMF and SAP, and here we are today.

“Finally, the Federal and state governments should look into the possibility of how to cushion the effects of the new policies for the people to benefit. It is also the responsibility of all citizens to give support to those in authority to move the nation forward,” concluded.