By Abiodun Komolafe
Bonnie Honig, political theorist and
author of 'Emergency Politics: Paradox,
Law, Democracy' wrote: "Democracies
must resist emergency's pull to focus on life's necessities (food, security,
and bare essentials)" as they "tend
to privatize and isolate citizens rather than bring us together on behalf of hopeful
futures." Emphasizing the
connections between contemporary food politics and the infrastructure of
consumption, among others, Honig argued that though "good
citizens with aspirational ideals"
are needed to make good politics, infusion of citizens with idealism is
also a product of good politics.
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| *Buhari |
All things considered, our major priority beyond the
billions of naira approved for various
portions of the budget is how the contents of this working document will in the
end be utilized in a way as to mitigate
the sufferings of a vast majority of Nigerians who had, with the
commencement of this administration,
expected programme redirection and policy implementation that would vigorously
improve their standard of living. As things stand, Nigerians are no longer
interested in moonlight tales on
the impunity that took the better part
of our immediate past or the flourish of trumpets that heralded Muhammadu
Buhari into office as president. After all, Nigerians were not unconscious of what the future under the now-expired
Goodluck Jonathan administration possibly portended before they decided to
speak with their thumbs a year ago.
Archbishop Adewale Martins beautifully summed up the mood
of the moment when he noted: “There is
too much despondency, poverty and suffering in the land, and if care is not
taken to remedy the situation, the people will one day stand up and revolt
because their expectations from the government have not been met." Needless to repeat that Nigeria currently
suffers from dwindling resources in the face of unshrinking responsibilities, a huge corruption scandal and an opportunistically overstretched texture of Nigeria's politics. Gold diggers and fortune seekers are at work and a
resource-rich nation like Nigeria
