Fellow Nigerians, Forget Govts, Fend For Yourselves!

 By Dele Sobowale

I didn’t come to look for money and exploit the situation; I came to work. I asked for the votes, and Nigerians gave them to me” – President Bola Tinubu, September 20, 2024.

Small correction is needed before getting to the heart of the matter. Nigerians gave candidate Tinubu 33 per cent of their votes; 67 per cent did not want him. INEC and the judiciary finished the job for him. Furthermore, no President has ever confessed that he was looking for money. But, why are they always far richer after than before going into office? To the best of my knowledge, Tinubu had no AIRBUS 320, even Tokunbo, before he became President. That costs a lot of money! One of the best attributes of great leaders is leadership by example

LEADERSHIP AND EXAMPLES

“He that gives good advice builds with one hand. He that gives good counsel and example builds with both hands. But, he that gives good admonition, and bad examples, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other” – Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, p5, online.

Two weeks ago, Tinubu announced that “there is no free beer parlour anymore.” Most Nigerians will readily agree that appointing 48 Ministers, most with next to nothing to do, is akin to opening the biggest beer parlour in the nation. One would have expected the President to close those parlours. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its Departments and Agencies are the worst performing. Together, they have kept four idle scraps called refineries at great cost to the nation.

In fact, as a former Marketing Manager of three breweries in Nigeria, and very familiar with the operation of beer parlours, I can state authoritatively that 90 per cent of beer parlours are better managed than the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL. If they are not, they would have been out of business a long time ago. NNPCL collected billions to revive the refineries without success. Madam Beer Parlour has more sense. Everybody can remember the same promise made last year until it was time for the annual Holy Pilgrimage; when N91 billion was suddenly released. Few can forget the plane load of Nigerian officials who attended an international event to which China and the USA sent less than two dozen people. Talk is always cheap.

WHY NIGERIANS SHOULD FORGET GOVERNMENTS — N/E FIRST

“How 6 collapsed bridges disconnected North-East states” – Weekend Trust, September 21, 2024, p19

The North-East zone of Nigeria, perennially the poorest of the six, is so distant from Lagos and Abuja that few of our media establishments – print, electronic or online – pay attention to it until something extra-ordinary occurs. Most often, it is a tragedy. Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, was in the news on account of a disaster which is still unfolding. Water from the Alau Dam, situated about 15 kilometres from the city, not only flooded the city, but also submerged thousands of buildings and structures. According to ReliefWeb, so far, about 40 people have been confirmed dead, 400,000 displaced and over one million people affected so far. The reader should bear in mind that several buildings are still partly under water and hundreds of people are still missing. Crops and stored food items have also been washed away. So, we don’t have a full tally of the damages.

“Only one week before the flooding, media across the country reported the Borno State government assuring – this word again – the country and residents of the city that all was well and there is nothing to worry about” – Suleiman A Suleiman, THE WHITE PAPER, Daily Trust, September 23, 2024.

Ordinarily, the disaster would have been dismissed as an act of God – the sort that can happen anywhere. But, after reading Dr Suleiman’s article, it became obvious that this was a tragedy foretold, preventable and which could have cost far less if it was averted by governments. Now, the entire nation will pay dearly for the serious dereliction of their duties by those elected and appointed to protect citizens from such disasters. Suleiman pronounced, and I absolutely agree, that “For many Nigerians in Maiduguri and environs ravaged by flood in the week before last, life would never be the same again.” No economist can possibly disagree. In fact, it might take decades for Maiduguri’s economy to recover; for reasons to be explained shortly. First, there is a need to examine governments’ role in this catastrophe; because several mini-tragedies have occurred which are creating a pattern of destruction all over Nigeria right now.

ROADS AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURES

“Sad tales as federal highway collapses in Asaba” – VANGUARD, September 24

Just in case you think that the Maiduguri incident was one off. Permit me to draw your attention to one building up on the Asaba gateway to Onitsha in the South-East. Until the Second Niger Bridge was opened, the old Niger Bridge was the shortest gateway to several states in the South-South, South-East, Benue, parts of Kogi, Nasarawa and the North-East from Lagos. The pictures on page 12 of the paper tell more than a million words the story of absolute neglect by the FG since Buhari became President, and my brother Fashola was his Minister of Works. 

Nobody needs to be told that Engineer David Umahi, the current Minister of Works, has been too busy working on the road to nowhere from Lagos to Calabar to serve his own people. There is a bridge at the end of that road; and that entire area will soon be visited by flood water starting from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. Just pray; because no government is thinking of the problems ahead of us.

Meanwhile, in the North, the consequences of neglecting roads and bridges are already creating havoc everywhere. The collapse of six bridges, just six, has already impoverished the people as much as bandits, hoodlums, kidnappers and herdsmen have done. Read first and understand the economic implications later.

“For instance, from Maiduguri to Geidam  was just N6, 000 before the bridge was cut off, but we now charge N16,000 to cover the cost of an additional 350 kilometres…Maiduguri to Kano is now N20,000 against the N12,000 we charged previously, Geidam to Damaturu was N4,000, but, it’s now N13,000…” That was part of the report from officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW. You don’t need to know the cities mentioned as I do, having lived and worked in the zone. 

Just follow the transport fare increases; then remember that passengers and food products follow the same routes, and you will then understand why food prices will remain stubbornly high for a long time to come. Also, remember that what has happened to bridges and roads in the North-East has occurred in all the zones of Nigeria. With very few exceptions, the problems were man-made. Designers of dams, bridges and roads invariably recommend maintenance schedules for safety. Just as invariably, Nigerian governments ignore the planned maintenance schedules until Alau Dam collapsed.

ADVICE GOV ZULUM AND THE PEOPLE ON DONATIONS

“Telling the truth and accepting the truth has been our major problem in Nigeria. Some people will never tell you the truth when you are in power, and, honestly, many of us in power also do not want to hear the truth” – Professor Zulum, Governor of Borno State, 2021.

Governor Zulum, I volunteer to tell you the truth while in power. This disaster will reveal to the whole world whether or not Zulum is a hypocrite or not. There are occasions when only the hard truths must be faced. First and foremost, Zulum must admit responsibility for this tragedy; it occurred during his fifth year and three months in office and despite assurances given that all was well. Second, in more civilised nations, heads would have rolled – of officials who should have raised alarms but failed to do so; even if they were afraid of telling the governor the truth. 

Zulum has appeared in public wearing the solemn look of Chief Mourner, with begging bowl in hand, and pledges have been pouring in. In that connection, let me advise the Governor and the people. One, they might discover that not all pledges will be redeemed. One clever chap, now a Senator, allegedly donated newspaper cuttings in naira sizes to University of Maiduguri in the 1980s!! 

So, the State Government should keep a meticulous record of ACTUAL payments. SERAP is watching and counting. Finally, N21 billion will never be sufficient to take care of everybody; not even N210 billion or N2.1 trillion. Government must let the people know how limited the intervention can be. The people of Maiduguri and Nigeria must accept the truth that governments cannot help most of us. We should just fend for ourselves as best as we can.

NIGERIA GOES TO THE UN WITH BEGGING BOWL AGAIN

“UNGA79: Tinubu seeks debt forgiveness for Nigeria” – Report. 
Nigeria went to the United Nations in 2004 with a begging bowl – asking for debt forgiveness. In 2024, Nigeria is returning to the same UN with another begging bowl. Beggars are not entitled to respect. Nigerian leaders should expect none.

*Dr. Sobowale is a commentator on public issues