Nigeria is the most populated African country with more than one-seventh of the continent’s people. The people belong to many different ethnic groups. These groups give the country a rich culture, but they also pose major challenges to nation building. Nigeria is richly blessed in natural resources, which make her the envy of many nations. In fact, Nigeria belongs to almost every international organization that matter in the world.

Nigeria is being courted by almost all the world powers because of her abundant natural and human resources as well as strong labor force and the large population which provides international market for nations.

Nigeria was the pride of and the gateway to the African Continent. However, since the discovery of petroleum 1956, that glorious miscegenation of races and colonial experimentation of the Great Britain has become a shadow of herself failing in almost every indicator of what accounts for a viable nation.

Nigeria’s falling off grace has been gradual and consistent. Although, some administrations have demonstrated capacity in revamping the key developmental sectors, however, a few other administrations have displayed gross shallowness in the understanding of what Nigeria requires to be back up on her feet. Needless to say that in recent time, Nigerians have never had it this rough as under this administration. Nigerians have to work their fingers to the bone or spill blood to eke out bare existence.

Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church during the 2022 Shiloh said in one of his ministrations

“What Nigeria needs now is a deliverer not a leader…..there is practically nothing in Nigeria currently working enough to bring over 64 nations of the world together in Nigeria apart from the Church.”

For the next thirty minutes after he said that, I could barely concentrate because I was curious to disprove that assertion. How would there be nothing else worthwhile enough to bring over sixty four nations together in a country of over 200 million people? To my surprise, I could not finger anything fundamentally worthwhile. Like they say “research begins from the known to the unknown”, right from that spot, I knew something was boiling inside of me so much that if I didn’t exercise restraint; my pen was on the verge of sending me to the gallows. After all, Nigeria under this administration would leave no stone unturned to silence any toe holder. Every writer in Nigeria today is politically sponsored no matter how genuine and plain the write-up. Nigeria seems to have fallen from grace in the comity of nations that are developing.

In 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari contested and won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress having promised a revamping of the security architecture and the fight against corruption. Nigerians were eager to vote for a retired General whom they believe could secure lives and properties of the people, salvage the State from all sorts of threat to her sovereignty and infuse a little bit of discipline to the service sector; the resume PMB was believed to hold and the unfortunate deficit of the Presidency of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. In the end, the campaign promises turned out to be undeliverable, confusing and unavoidably impossible.

Nigerians wanted a quick fix to their challenges; they became vulnerable to the packaged ruse they were sold of the identity of an “infrastructuralist” General presented as a welfarist Democrat.

Today, PMB has committed all the errors of GEJ’s administration only on a larger scale and with impunity. There is no forgiveness for PMB’s failure to secure Nigerians from what seems to be self induced insecurity

Between 2015 and 2022, out of so many unthinkable incidents, three are inhumanely striking: the death of Deaconess Eunice Elisha of RCCG while preaching in Abuja, the freak car accident that killed Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot Tolulope Arotile and the extrajudicial killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto.

Like the biblical Abel, their bloods are still crying for vengeance with our leaders particularly the President and the Vice President fiddling around unperturbedly. Indeed, our insecurity is self induced.

Wealth distribution is largely Northern Nigeria focused. Our industrious brothers from the South enjoy little or no support from the Federal Government. Innoson for instance is being suppressed and marginalized despite great innovations and employment opportunities for Nigerians while the same Federal Government is painstakingly advocating Rural Grazing Area ( RUGA) scheme. What a poking nuisance!

More than ever before, in an alarming rate, there continues an uncontrollable exodus of middle class and highly skilled Nigerians of different professions; the most recent target being teachers.

The best graduating student in my set is currently in the United States. The second best graduating student is in the United Kingdom. In fact, he recently offered to help another ten of our colleagues on our social media platform to the UK. The United Kingdom and other developed nations are tactically draining Nigeria of her best brains without a corresponding commitment to her growth, yet this administration offers no sauce for scoop.

Nigeria under this administration does not have capacity to enforce laws. What constitutes a contravention in the West seems not one in the North even though of a federal policy. For instance, in Abuja, I noticed the hawking of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise called petroleum among the youths in broad day light on Federal roads in the corridors of national powers. A socialite who distributed petrol in jerry-cans in Lagos as souvenir bagged two years while hawkers in Abuja are kept in business.

Someone once said if you want to know how a nation is doing; just check the national team. In other words, a national team is the reflection of the nation.

For example, in a manner like never before, PMB’s administration has successfully strangled the volkgeist , that is, the national spirit of Nigerians which has unfortunately transcended to the national teams. Leaders have through lack of genuine national agenda destroyed the patriotism of players.

How could D’Tigress for example whose victory in 2019 the Minister of Sports described as a tonic for basketball growth, whose Afrobasket victory in 2021 he described as an Independence Day gift, be a victim of suspension by the Federal Government in 2022 for two years–before reversing itself of its unpatriotic insensitivity- thereby occasioning the unlikelihood of D’Tigress from attending the September World Cup despite having qualified and equally likely preventing D’Tigers, the male counterpart from attending the 2023 FIBA World Cup but for the reverse, citing unending crises in the management as the rationale. A government that reverses itself is ignorant, dissident or careless. The Super Eagles; which is the national football team remain unapologetically heartbreaking.

The greatest achievement of this Nigeria is infrastructure underhanded done for unfair advantage. The infrastructure that did not save many states in Nigeria from flood despite warnings; the Infrastructure that did not change the faces of many Nigerian consistently plied roads from the death traps that they were; the insecure train infrastructure of billions mopping; the infrastructure of railway line from Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic valued at US $1.8 billion with visible and strong political will deployed by Mr President to complete the project on time.

Why close Benin Republic only to open Niger Republic? A great philosopher king once said “the best manifesto is that which evolves directly from the electorates because, a politician who spends his entire life couching one for them, would be judged based on that which is amassed from the people”. Any time any day, no infrastructuralist- please note, not an institutionalist- can successfully, without manipulations win a welfarist in a free and fair election. Building infrastructures is not the same as building institutions. Many religious organizations have structures but not necessarily a working system. It is practically a waste of time to build a nation and not build the people. That is exactly what this administration has done for more than seven years. May this kind of Nigeria never happen again.

MAY NIGERIA NEVER HAPPEN TO YOU

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