By Abiodun Shomoye
President Muhammadu Buhari, my very own supported candidate for the position back then in 2015 has decided to sell me, my children, grandchildren and not forgetting great grandchildren. Hope have not made the choice upcoming generation would blame me for?
As a nation, we might soon tow the line of Osun State where future of the masses has been substituted with gadgets and other frivolities, all thanks to the profligate governor of the state, Ogbeni Aregbesola himself, who is second to himself in league of extravagant and uncalculated spending.
In the absence of opposition party, democracy is bound to fail and collapse. The process further becomes frenetic if sycophants have taken over the space. That’s unfortunately the scenario of my dear country. Pathetic.
The downfall of a nation becomes velocious if the key actors are either weak or not available. In our own case, we have actors like not having, sigh!
It’s laughable but a bitter laughter to say that our economic parasites masquerading as law makers are apparently not witty enough to see the negative prospect of Buhari’s decision to tactically mortgage our future (proposed $30billion loan), if they do, they ought to have summon Mr. President immediately. You will agree with me that, these lawmakers would have had their mojos in the hyper state if the discussion on their desks is surrounded around imported wife material et al, that’s their area of expertise. Their choice of what to debate only shows us who our real enemies are. It’s now more glaring that our problem as a nation is a joint one, a force built by the combination of executive, legislative and judiciary arm of government.
It’s also becoming plain day by day that Nigerians as well are their own enemies, from buying into politicians lies, to defending them, to not commenting or speaking out when necessary, to lampooning those who chose to talk, to segregating ourselves across ethnic, religious and political line. While the poles of our democracy are absolutely inept, it seems we have forgotten we owned this country regardless of the pattern of governance we chose to emulate? Must we fold our arms while these wicked demagogues sell our property without giving a damn about us?
We have problem at hand, this needs to be addressed, accepted, but you shouldn’t give us a more terrible problem in the name of rescuing us. The proposed $30billion loan is an obnoxious gambling.
There is no crime in borrowing especially if you are in a tight situation like my dear country. What is worrisome is the level of transparency. You can’t take a gargantuan step like this one aimed at mortgaging the future of Nigerians by sending an ordinary A4 paper to NASS, then news media, provided it wasn’t leaked to the media, no it’s not done. No matter how stubborn you can be naturally, taking up a servant position should humble you. After the letter was submitted to NASS, nothing stops President Buhari from addressing the nation on how a pin of the money would be spent but such wouldn’t happen. Not in this country.
The issue of trust can’t also be debased. Can we trust a government who had one time fertilized our hopes with Yuan Swap deal, India loan with nothing to show after months? Not forgetting total denial of campaign promises? These are questions begging for answers. Won’t it be a careless decision to trust this government on critical issue of this nature? In a country where embezzling runs in the veins of our rulers? A country where a president during the days of campaign deceived to win votes? Is it advisable to trust a president who is yet to make his asset public after several promises to do so? The importance of trust in governance cannot be over emphasized but sadly ours is like entrusting a cat with fish.
The repercussions of what President Buhari’s administration is about to do can easily be seen in Osun State, where payment of salary is a negotiation process; if you are of so so so level, you will get full payment but if otherwise, manage 50 percent, the state is broke. Should we fold our arms and allow such to happen? What are causes of this awkward silence amidst us?
Now that we have chosen to remain mute, if the unexpected happens, what excuses would we give upcoming generation if confronted? What if they ask us what took away our attention during the daylight slavery? Won’t we be shy to list our distractors to include transgender turn celebrity? Are we going to tell them we were busy introducing people to MMM while our leaders were doing their own version of MMM with our future? The reasons for our collective silence is unfathomable to me and I sincerely hope our problem isn’t metaphysical. Thank you.
Abiodun Shomoye engages on twitter via @MrShomoye.
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