It is a pity that President Buhari and his APC party are not ashamed of talking about coming back to power after they had plunged Nigeria into darkness with their lack-lustre leadership style.
For the past seven years APC had been in power what it had succeeded in achieving is the encouragement it had given to herdsmen, Boko Haram and religious fanatics to slaughter innocent Nigerians for no just cause.
It is estimated that over 150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand) Nigerians had been killed by herdsmen, Boko Haram and hoodlums humorously called “unknown gunmen”.
Let me not bore you with statistics, but massive slaughter of Nigerians, particularly Christians have been reported in Kaduna, Borno, Sokoto, Benue, Plateau, Kano and Imo by the amorphous unknown gunmen.
Recently, Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education was killed by religious zealots in the same institution on alleged blasphemy. Seeing that no punishment was meted to those who killed her, religious mobs again attacked and killed another innocent Christian in Bauchi for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Mohammed.
Infact, it was like religious mobs were waiting for the whistle to be blown on Deborah’s death before they unleashed mayhem, as subsequent killing of innocent Christians on alleged blasphemy was reported in quick successions in Abuja, Plateau, Bauchi and some other Northern parts of the country. Few days ago, 35 Christians were killed in a church at Ondo by unknown gunmen. As usual Buhari and APC came out vociferously to condemn the killing.
But what is highly irritating to Nigerians is that President Buhari and the APC would come out to condemn the killings, but would not do anything concrete to apprehend the killers and punish them. And so, the harvest of killings have continued.
If it was only a legacy of killing of innocent Nigerians that the APC and President Buhari would leave behind, the citizens could still stomach it as the handiwork of leaders that were blinded by tribal and religious bigotry, but the party has added economic hardship and poverty to its legacy of killings.
Poverty and economic hardship now stare Nigerians in the face. Sixty percent of Nigerian citizens barely get enough food to eat these days as they had no tangible source of income. Those who had something doing do not derive value from their income/earnings which can only purchase two, or three food items in the market because of the sky rocking prices of things. A measure of garri which sold at N250 under President Jonathan is now selling at N1000. A bag of rice sold at N9,000 under Jonathan now sells for N30,000.
A kilo of frozen chicken which sold at N550, now sells at N1800, a measure of beans sold at N900 under Jonathan, now sells for N2,500. In the same vein, prices of food condiments have gone so high that they are almost unaffordable.
It is even worst in the building industry. A bag of cement which sold at N1,500 during Jonathan regime, now sells for N5,000, a bundle of zinc sold for N7,000 under Jonathan, it now sells for N30,000, a trip of sand sold for N9,000 under Jonathan, it now sells for N40,000. Other materials required for building construction have also escalated.
Meanwhile, no junior worker in Nigeria’s Civil Service earns above N100,000 salary per month as the system still retains a minimum wage of N30,000.
Despite this lack-lustre performance, voodoo economists in APC have been bandying about what they call Buhari’s achievements. And Nigerians have charged back and asked: where is these achievements that have not translated to good life for the citizens?”
The APC not bothered by the darkness it has plunged Nigeria into, is still plotting to retain power in 2023.
Look at the shenanigans that was witnessed during their presidential primaries in Abuja. There was intense horse-trading, back-stabbing and satanic lies being traded.
Their leader, President Muhammadu Buhari after appealing to governors elected under its platform to allow him choose a consensus aspirant, or is candidate, made volte face, denying his earlier request after the party’s national chairman, Abdulahi Adamu announced that he had chosen Ahmed Lawan, the Senate President as their consensus candidate.
Tinubu’s group had corked their guns waiting how the consensus would play out whether it would be to the detriment of their principal. In the same vein, the South-East aspirants in the party were insisting that power should shift to their zone.
What this means is that if the leaders of the APC fail to resolve the lingering issues in favour of the agitators, APC might implode before the 2023 presidential election. And APC that is divided cannot go into the election hoping to win.
Would the implosion of the APC be a good omen that would be to the advantage of Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar?
Obi’s supporters think the door of success has been opened for Peter Obi to become president as aggrieved Yoruba, South-South and even middle Belt will switch their support to Obi in order to spite the Fulani who do not want to relinquish power.
With this scenario, Atiku would now rely for support from the remnants of the Fulani who may not be enough to vote him into power.
With the support of the South-East, South-South, Middle Belt and even the Hausas who the Fulani have alienated politically, Peter Obi has the brightest chance of becoming president.
APC, even if its house was put in order should not think of coming to power again in the face of its glaring failures. That’s the verdict of Nigerians.
