NIGERIA: A FAILED STATE THAT PRIORITIZES ELECTIONS OVER PROTECTION OF ITS CITIZENS

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It is better to be a foreigner in Nigeria than a citizen. This is ironic but real. Foreigners, especially whites, are given maximum protection. Though foreigners are not to be hated; the point is, humans are humans. Yet when Nigerians find ourselves in foreign lands, they are treated as second citizens at best or as unwantedly despised human species at worst.

Therefore, a crime to be a Nigerian? Many have considerably considered it a crime. To them, asking this kind of question is trite. It should not be asked in the first place. If asked, the answer is known—the question is intrinsically rhetorical.

This genre of people who hold that being a Nigerian is a crime are entitled to that opinion and I personally do not have problem with that. The implication is: one does not have to complain about whatever one experiences in form of hardship, poverty, killing, denial of basic needs and other essentials of life. This should be understood to be the consequences of one’s crimes for which one must be punished.

It is for this reason that many Nigerians are desperate to leave Nigeria to foreign lands where—even if treated as despised species—they are better off than being in Nigeria where it is calamities upon calamities, punishments upon punishments for crimes unknown to them to have ever committed.

I, for one, do not believe one is a criminal who deserves punishment for being born in Nigeria as Nigerian. We are only unfortunate to have terrible leaders whose greatest achievement and primary goal is to remain in power. More unfortunate are the masses who unquestioningly and disappointedly sing the praises of these political leaders at every turn of election. Way more unfortunate are clerics of the both leading faiths who continue to junket and wine and dine with the problematiques (bad leaders) of this country just to ensure the continuity of their sustenance which they never believed comes from God. Gladly, there are exceptions.

I have failed to learn how to suppress my frustration each time I see the languishing masses forming a mammoth crowd around these failed leaders for crumbs at the turn of every four years. If you have problem understanding the dictionary definition of poverty, such scene could be of a great help. It is abject poverty that makes Nigerian masses to continue to adore their tormentors, though hypocritically, for crumbs.

This possibly sends wrong message to some foreign leaders who wrongly think all is well with Nigerians in Nigeria. In case you are not aware, Nigerian most diligent and most accomplished President is in Portugal for national honour—probably first of its kind. It is a ‘well deserved’ honour, for one cannot give wings to kidnappers and share governance with bandits without being honoured. It takes patriotic leadership to allow one’s country’s universities to remain sealed for months while millions of students roam the street. Any leaders who subject researchers, eggheads, and intellectuals to poverty by withholding their salaries for 4-5 months (and still counting) actually deserve national honour. In this regard, I congratulate our President.

Can we just say the more you are able to impoverish and pulverise the masses who enthusiastically vote you into power with the hope of positive change, the more you are honoured in foreign lands? If that is right, we should expect many more invitations for national honour to be received by our workaholic president who weaponizes hunger as a policy against the masses and—funnily—its intellectuals.

For the masses who still adore these leaders for crumbs, one might find some excuses for them. When leaders weaponize poverty and hunger, the impoverished followers practically become slaves. But when poverty is real and natural, the masses, no matter how poor, do not lose their sanity. In other words, Nigeria’s poverty is contrived—courtesy of bad leadership.

This is why election period is a time the unthinking masses myopically think they can get their share of national cake through money distributed for vote. Though this is the height of foolishness, it is yet understandable. Similarly, our elected leaders whose administration could be best described as beehive of inactivity immediately wake up from their slumber. It is this period that these do-nothing-leaders go back to their constituencies to distribute money to people whom they have, through their beehive of inactivity, turned to hungry dogs.

For smooth conduct of election which is their priority, they ensure protection of lives and property. Recall our most hated-turned-heroic former President Jonathan who brought Boko Haram to its knee within six weeks in Borno State just for the purpose of election. Anyone still in doubt of Nigerian military capacity to crush these criminal elements who continuously carves out government within government and expanding day by day should please wake up. The Nigerian military is not feeble but enfeebled by government lukewarmness to prove its monopoly use of force.

Let’s take the recently concluded gubernatorial election in Ekiti State for example, NSCDC supposedly deployed 9, 747, Police 17, 374, deputy inspector-general of police (DIG), 4 assistant inspectors-general of police (AIGs), 3 commissioners of police CPs, 5 deputy commissioners of police (DCPs), 18 assistant commissioners of police (ACPs), 4 helicopters, 5 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs). As if that is not enough, the IGP further noted as reported that the personnel, comprising conventional police officers, Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), special Forces Personnel, Explosives Ordinance Unit (EOU), Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), INTERPOL, Special Protective Unit (SPU), Force Public Relation Department (FPRD) as well as police medical teams will be on ground to guarantee credible election.
This is not to mention SSS and Nigerian Army. All of these for a day election in a small state. Imagine these forces being deployed to launch offensives against bandits, kidnappers and other dangerous elements; Nigerian insecurity would have (most likely) become History to be taught to next generations in classes. But this has never been a priority.

Now, the priority, the debate, and the discussion is the fruitless Christian-Christian ticket which impacted only negatively on the people of Imo States and others; and the Muslim-Muslim tickets which brings no benefit but have rather turned Zamfara and other states in the north into mass graveyards. May we get it right.

Abdulkadir Salaudeen
Salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com
@salahuddeenAbd

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