On my way back from work, inside a cab amidst a traffic lock jam, drivers were recklessly driving, swaying left and right in their bid to join the moving lane, with no traffic warden in sight, and yet policemen were all over the place doing many other duties except controlling the traffic. Most of them in escort vans blazing their sirens and having expatriates as passengers,
One of the occupants in the cab exclaimed, "See how these drivers are moving back and forth in front of cars without indicator lights, not even minding the vehicles approaching behind them."
Another retorted, "Most Nigerian drivers are so reckless that they do not just obey driving rules, as if they just enter the car, start the car, and just kick off; some do not even know that when you are approaching a junction, you slow down. It's as if there should be a law that all drivers must be psychologically and mentally screened before they are allowed to drive every day."
Then another added, "See, the policemen have all turned escorts, and no one is controlling traffic anymore. Well, Buhari has come; he will stop all this nonsense!"
I had to ask myself, which nonsense exactly?
Nigerians have so much expectation from President Muhammadu Buhari, so high that we literally see him as a Messiah. Perhaps, he is a Messiah. We expect him to automatically curb corruption, stop the Boko Haram insurgency, eradicate the scarcity of petroleum products, regulate petrol pump prices, build or reconstruct our refineries, stabilise the economy, reduce unemployment, restore instability in the power sector, etc. If all these expectations are true, we should have therefore cloned someone and then voted for him or maybe made a Nigerian president out of a robot.
Buhari is not a magician; he is a mortal, a human with body and soul, like every other Nigerian, and the sooner we realise that, the better for us. Perhaps, he will reform, transform, and change the status quo of Nigeria economically, politically, socially, etc. But we must realise that all these take a while; it has to be gradual. Corruption did not get to this extent in a day; we made Nigeria like this.
Yes, “we,” every Nigerian, through negligence, commission, omission, practical or outright participation, maximum or minimum cooperation, and gradually, corruption rolled in through our excessive greed to become a lifestyle, a shameless culture.
Even our youths today expect to become rich within a second and will or must get rich even to the detriment of another. We have so thrown caution to the wind that we no longer deem it wise to undertake leadership for the good of others to the level that the most common or cheapest need of the poorest in a country is rarely affordable. Good drinking water in Nigeria today is scarce. We can barely list a couple of states in Nigeria where good pipe-borne water is readily available or affordable. Most residential homes have to live with buying or fetching water from other homes that can afford to construct boreholes in their high-fenced residences. We all made the face of Nigeria this way.
In this 21st century, with the level of innovations and technological development attained in the world today, common social amenities like electricity, good roads, and water resources are still bone of contention among citizens of the “Giant of Africa.” At this level, we expect the federal government to construct our street/community roads, clean our gutter/drainage, provide shelter, create steady employment, bring about development, stabilise electricity, and, to crown it all, provide drinking water and possibly provide our daily meals. What then are the duties of the other levels of government, like the state and local governments? Shouldn't the state and local government officials be assumed or supposed to know the needs of their immediate communities better than the federal government?
Now, will the expectations from PMB be that when he makes a state government allocation, he should also follow them up like kids? If yes, then what are the expectations of Nigerians for themselves towards achieving this ‘change’? Are we not tired of our own shame?
I believe that every country in the world has its level of corruption, yet most social amenities are put in place and managed adequately. You will go to buy fuel even from NNPC, and they will tell you that 100 naira per litre is for buying with a jerrycan, while refuelling directly to a car is 87 naira per litre. Meanwhile, lots of fuel stations in some locations like Port Harcourt sell 120 naira or 110 naira per litre. Very funny! Is Buhari expected to stop this nonsense as well?
We should have some expectations for ourselves too. We should learn to contribute our quota to achieve this development. Every group, government agency, political body, local government chairman, counsellor, education and financial institute, contractor, ministry, political godfather, traditional ruler, elder statesman, woman and youth leader, businessman, trader, importer, exporter, oil marketer, student, young and old, should add your quota for these high dreams, expectations, and aspirations to be achieved in this new transition.
President Buhari may have come to create an impact; we Nigerians have to make this ‘change’ worthwhile to be seen and heard in and among us. Corruption has relegated the face of Nigeria to this level all these years; perhaps, if we change the dance steps and dance style, the change will truly ensue in reality.
Democracy is people-oriented; it is not a one-man affair but rather government by the people for the people. We should therefore make our government what it ought to be, what we the people need it to be; it is everybody’s business. We should see to the smooth operation of our business and let the second stanza of our national anthem (O God of Creation) continue to play in our minds for a fruitful transition.
