By Afam Echi
August 1 is pregnant for Nigeria and those driving the affairs of this country are certainly jittery over what the pregnancy will yield. There is palpable fear which can be felt everywhere that the proposed hardship protest might snowball into something the authorities would not be able to handle if the Endsars protest is anything to go by.
Some of the leaders at the regional levels who may have contributed to the hardship are trying to play the good boy by urging their ethnic nationality not to join in the action. According to Gov. Hope Uzodimma, he is yet to see a clear reason and agenda on why Ndigbo should join in the protest. The leadership of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo which the governor midwifed is also trumpeting same.
He spoke like the typical Nigerian politician who will see black and say that it is white. They are only after themselves and no other life matters to them. What other agenda is he looking for when the purpose of the action has been spelt out? If one must remind him Nigerians want to draw the attention of the authorities that the level of suffering is unbearable and this they want to do through a peaceful protest. Or is he denying too that Nigerians are suffering?
I wonder if he is sincerely sincere in that utterance credited to him. The first question that fires up the mind is why those government lackeys and buccaneers would want to exclude Ndigbo. Are Ndigbo living in a different clime and shielded from the hardship imposed on Nigerians. If there is any ethnic group that have suffered the hardship more it is Ndigbo, the most marginalized tribe, notwithstanding that their never say die spirit, ingenuity and their Chi have continued to pull them through.
Ndigbo should be part of the action by choice if they so desire and should not be talked away or coerced from exercising their inaliable right which is enshrined and protected in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN). There is a right to free protest. Those who enshrined this aspect in the statute book which has a global acceptance recognize the fact that you don’t beat a child and force him not to cry. This is what Nigerian leaders do.
Why are our leaders afraid of simple protest action? Those who are pleading with Nigerians to shield their swords are surprisingly the same people who have supported and promoted protest actions in the past. History is replete with their records including when they went on exile for fear of being held accountable for leading a protest group.
Nigerians have not forgotten the comments of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu before he got to this point especially in 2012 under Jonathan when the then president upped the price of petroleum products. The subsequent action that erupted forced the lily livered Jonathan to withdraw immediately the new price regime.
Tinubu on ascending power was more reckless than Jonathan. BAT in my own thinking was a bit tipsy, I would not say my president was intoxicated, because in the first place he is Muslim and I believe he doesn’t take alcohol. So the tipsy nature of the new found position which he described as “It was like I won the Mundial” got him to yank off the controversial subsidy without first thinking of how to assuage the effect.
This was how we all got into this sinking ship of hardship that wants to drown all of us. Many have already checked out to the beyond through suicide and inability to cope. Nigerians have spoken, written, shouted, cried, and the government keeps tightening the noose. Perhaps a street protest may send deeper the message and bring about the Jonathan’s reversal action.
Why would Nigerians not protest when our leaders are not amenable to change? They hardly learn from experience which they say is the best teacher. This is because they are all focused on themselves and see others as woods or animals. Sometimes when you watch their conduct you will wonder if there is any humanity in them.
After the holocaust of the Endsars protest one thought they would be humanized to empathize with the people and use their God given huge resources to meet their needs. Instead they will be burnishing their luxuriant lifestyle buying jets, building state of the art mansions, procuring expensive luxury cars and huge sums they cart away at the expense of the masses. They live a roguish life to say the least. They should be told to stop.
It looks like the language our leaders understand quickly is the language of force. Violence is an ill wind that blows none any good. Yours sincerely would never subscribe to violence because you cannot use fire to quench fire. I pray that the security operatives will be at their best to stop those who may want to step out of the line to hijack the protest.
The need to stem or eradicate corruption is another reason Ndigbo and indeed all Nigerians should mass out to drum it louder. Corruption is worse now under the Tinubu administration and the impunity sends the signal that it is an official manner of doing business. If people did not protest how would government get to know the feelings of the people they are governing having walled themselves off from them.
The government people are hard of hearing. Primate Ayodele had months back before the protest was conceived warned the government in a prophecy that a protest will arise between August and September and that they should do everything to avert it. He urged them to provide food and do all possible to reduce the hardship. It was like it fell on a deaf ear and here we are.
It is not enough seeking to muscle up people and throwing wild accusations against political foes. There are consequences to every action. Buhari came and Nigeria nosedived. Tinubu said that it was his turn and we never knew that it was his turn to deepen the suffering. It seems Buhari’s regime was a rehearsal of the real thing from BAT. PMB just dey play then. Haba APC people.
