(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba, Yilgak'ha, July 21, 2023; 0811618263)*
EndSARS protest was a youth based response against Special Anti-Robbery Squared (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force which was believed to be overstepping its bounds within the context of Nigerian Laws. It was technically and operationally an anti-government mass protest which took place in Nigeria in October 2020. In other words, EndSARS was a populists, anti-establishment protest which conveyed the pregnant anger of suffering Nigerians, especially, to the, then, Buhari government. It was a stealth and deliberate expression of cumulative anger of Nigerian youth over the reality of institutional corruption and failure of government to solve many hydra-headed problems facing Nigeria. EndSARS was a desperate revolutionary move to displace the country's leadership and reorder the nation which has over 200 million citizens.
Nigeria is the most populous black nation on earth. The country is blessed with enormous human and material resources that are not common anywhere in the world but the citizens are liteally suffering in the midst of plenty. Hence, the release of an epistle titled: "TO ALL NIGERIAN CATHOLICS INVOLVED IN POLITICS AND ALL WELL-INTENTIONED NIGERIANS" jointly written and signed by Chairman "Catholics in Politics and Busines" Prof. Pat Utomi KSG and Founder, Catholic Action Nigeria, Sir Peter Ikponmwosa Agbontaen, KSJI.
The epistle observed: "That the current situation in Nigeria underscores the principle that no government should govern in a manner that exacerbates the hardships faced by the poor, and advice governments at all levels to recognise and uphold the inherent dignity of all citizens and reassess their policies, and promote greater social justice and well-being for all. The outrageous allocation granted to the National Assembly and the purchase of luxury cars by executive branch, which should be suspended immediately, are more than sufficient to alleviate the hardships faced by our most vulnerable citizens." This joint position note calls for prompt action towards protecting Nigeria's toiling masses from further hardship as contained and taught by the church's social policy or principle.
The Catholic social principle, emphatically, emphasises the need to ensure the the welfare of the poor and their protection from continous hunger and social inequality.This postulation by the faith based organisation is quite apt considering the situation of the poor in Nigeria today. It awakens the consciousness of the powers that be about the untold hardship being faced by the poor and vulnerable as a result of the current subsidy removal which has jacked up the price of premium motor spirit (pms) with that of other commodities to all time high level. Utomi and Peter 'call upon citizens to actively inform themselves about political issues and to responsibly hold government officials accountable for their actions and decisions through legitimate means.'
To say that Nigerians are suffering, especially, the poor is an understatement. There is so much poverty in the land. There is so much unemployment in the land. There is so much inflation in the land. All economic evils are moving in the same direction in Nigeria. The country's economic situation is that of stagflation which is defying conventional economic solutions. Nigeria has since become the poverty capital of the world from 2019 after overtaking India and more and more of the country's citizens are railroading into abject poverty every passing second!
In the face of high insecurity, unemployment and widespread poverty, prices of goods ought to be controlled in the country by all means. The untamed application of neo-liberal economic policies, as currently being pursued in Nigeria ought to be moderated by the provision of visible parliatives to the citizenry. This is currently not the case but the extension of hardship arising from excessive increase in general level of prices, that is, inflation which, as at April 2023, was estimated to be 22.42% according the report of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
With high inflation and a litre of petrol going for ₦517 with high possibility for further increase, the distribution of N8,000 as palliative to the abject poor who are in the majority in the country shows gross lack of understanding of the depth of the problem at hand. There are about 163 million abject poor people in Nigeria and this palliative stipend cannot feed the most prudent of them for a week. What the government ought to have done even before removing should be the completion and activation of rail transport, provision of subsidised public transport, etc, to ease intercity and intra-city movement for citizens.
In times of austerity, austerity measures are required in the system. The simultaneous removal of oil subsidy by governent and the implementation of exchange rate deregulation (floating of the naira against other external currencies) by financial regulators in a conspicuously consuming and import dependent economy like Nigeria, makes no economic sense. Also, the planned purchase and distribution of exotic/bulletproof cars to political office holders as being contemplated by the leadership of the National Assembly is not economically rational but absurd. It is the height of moral insensitivity to the plight of the masses in Nigeria if this is done in austerity times like the one faced in the country today.
In a country like Nigeria where capital formation is relatively low, borrowing is inevitable but when monies are borrowed, the ideal thing to do is to invest not consume them. Of the palliative money, the ₦500 billion the current regime has gained approval of the National Assembly to borrow, the citizens are kicking, saying: President "ASIWAJU, WE DON'T WANT YOUR PALLIATIVE, GO AND BUILD REFINARIES WITH THE ₦500 BILLION. Can We All Repost this to The End of The World?". This is not the usual blind disapproval of government policies but cautionary alert for the government to put monies borrowed into best and productive use.
The Nigerian citizenry is easy going but must never be taken for granted. How can a people so impoverished by the contradiction of leadership be so overstretched by a system it tolerated and endured for so long? Pushing the Nigerian citizens to the wall, either consciously or unconsciously, is an indirect invitation to anarchy and chaos rather than any possible invalidation of an election that was argued did not meet constitutional requirements guiding its conduct.
For all intents and purposes, the insinuation that any possible disqualification of president Tinubu's victory, arising from the yet to be interpreted 25% vote requirement for declaring winner in presidential election, will lead to 'chaos and anarchy' as submitted by the written address of the president's counsels as submitted to the The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), is a needless threat on the tribunal and the Nigerian state from the highest quarters of government in the country. This should not be since the matter is still being considered and yet to be decided by the tribunal. The PEPT should be allow to do their job without any interference or threat. Desperation and issuance of subtle threat from any vested interest can only, unnecessarily, overheat the political space. This should not come from the custians of the state, at least!
Historically, purported presidential elections victories have been overturned through Court actions in some countries, even African countries, over the last two decades there about but nothing happened in those countries. For instance, on December 3, 2004, the presidential victory of Ukrainean Viktor Fedorovych
Yanukovych was nullified; on December 4, 2016, that of Australian Alexander Van der Bellen was voided; on September 1, 2017, the election of Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta of Kenya was set aside while in February 3, 2020 the poll that produced Arthur Peter Mutharika of Malawi in 2019 was cancelled all because of failure to meet minimum constitutional requirements for declaration. If the Nigerian president actually won, PEPT will determine the petition before it in his favour. The presidential election tribunal justices have what it takes and should be given the benefit of doubt to do what will be in the best national interest both now and in the future: Focus on precedence!
The world is changing toward entrenching constitutional democracy and, so, blind followership that were hitherto relied upon by rogue politicians to wreck violent havoc on the innocent citizen over mundane and baseless political sentiments are fast becoming more enlightened and hardly availabe for any crude hatchet job. Ideally, nobody fights in defence of political lawlessness and impunity and, those who do that are isolated in today's world and caliberated as uncivil people and the numbers such folks is gradually reducing to naught. No nation can be sustainably built on the tripod of desperation, injustice and corruption (dic) but diligence, integrity and justice (dij).
In Nigeria, poor leadership is fingered as the bane of anticipated development. It is argued that the economic woes the citizens are battling or fleeing from is technically the gain of the political class. In other words, the poverty of Nigerians is a survival strategy for rogue politicians who are in position of authority. This accusation is stated sarcastically in the following words: "Lecturers are leaving Nigeria in droves! Doctors are leaving. Lawyers are leaving. Bank professionals are leaving. Footballers and other sports professionals are leaving. But politicians are not leaving.They only go on holiday and return. Politicians are the most patriotic Nigerians!". Eye flipping, the political leaders of the country are the most patriotic Nigerians, indeed!
Truth be told, if a quarter of the leadership inflicted suffering Nigerians are suffering over the years is meted on everconscious citizens of other climes, there would have been violent revolutions in those countries. The powers that be, in Nigeria, should not live under the illusion that when the citizens are over stretched in a democracy, there will be no consequences. It is often said that a hungry man is an angry man. When people live under intense hardship occasion by socio-economic and political injustices, anything can happen!
The fall out of democracy arising from the irresponsibility of political managers of any country or nation, for all intents and purposes, is a recipe for social insurgency. Social and economic injustice, when perpetrated at micro level could be tolerated but not at the central control switch where macro actions are surposed to be statutorily regulated. When government glaringly failed in its responsibility to dispense justice, equity and fairness in the allocation and appropriation of state resources, then, the state is at risk of social convulsion which, if not properly dictated and promptly mitigated, will ultimately result in spontaneous breakdown of law and order which can hardly be controlled, especially, in the era of Information Communication Technology (ICT).
In the age of ICT, information is so deregulated that it can reach people on an unimaginably mass scale and at the same time. This means that social emotions can be awaken and the anger of the citizenry triggered almost at the same time (simultaneously) in such a manner that control becomes extremely difficult. The phenomenal EndSARS protest that was witnessed in Nigeria in 2020 should be an eye opener for government!
It took the use of superior and brutal force, coupled with the ingratiation of the ranks of the then rampaging youth by willing moles to quail the terrifying mass action. It is important to note that if the protest had gained the same frequency across northern Nigeria as it did in the southern part of the country, the government which was controlled by a northerner would have been unsettled and ultimately displaced. What saved the regime was the suspicious consideration, especially, from the north that the EndSARS protested was targeted at displacing North Nigeria from the seat of power by southern conspirators who wanted to takeover power through the backdoor. This narrative, whether rightly or wrongly, gained acceptability amongst many northern folks and so they became lukewarm and even largely opposed to endSARS.
EndSARS protest was never seen, especially, in the far north as a national resistance movement against failed government but an attack on it. This means that should another EndSARS protest which has nationwide acceptability is to happen in Nigeria again, the 'fire on the mountain' cannot be contained: It will succeed unchallenged and consumed the state, especially, elites or powers that be!
It seems history is repeating itself. Nigerians are seemingly or literally returning to the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) days where the economic woes of Nigeria were worsened under the guise of austerity measures which neo-classical crusaders through International Monetary Funds (IMF)and World Bank (WB) advertised for the country in terms of SAP. It is pertinent to note that no single philosophical orientation, theory or policy extreme, can squarely and adequately solve complex and dynamics problems of any nation such as the ones plaguing Nigeria today.
At one point, classical and neoclassical postulations were potent in solving economic problems around the world but, over time, they become impotent, therefore, necessitated the implementation of socialist-cum-Keynesian model which helped in fixing the great depression of 1930s which began in 1929. The Keynesian solution lost it steam overtime to, hence, the return to capitalists orientation that has resulted in the current economic globalisation. In 2008, however, the free market system that globalisation amplifies failed in efficient allocation of economic resources, this led to the world economic recession of that year and the current campaign towards deglobalisation. Deglobalisation is the dismantling and deconstruction of the global economy into closed national economies so that each economy will appropriate its potential internally but, practically, how easy can this be?
The lack of sustainability in the efficacy of the varying postulations x-rayed above has necessitated the drive towards "convergence hypothesis" in the socio-economic and political management of ecomonies. Convergence Hypothesis is a socio-economic and political state management strategy that recommends the adaptation of the mix of capitalism and socialism; neo-classical and neo-keynesianism, liberal and conservative, democracy and autocratic solutions as system management strategies. This submission is more of a pragmatic adjustment toward what works in both policy postulation without dogmatic rigidity in holding onto any single one. China is relying on this dual system prescription to become a formidable player in the global economic and political stage.
The extension of SAP related contradictions could trigger the possibility of another EndSARS movement in Nigeria. Should this occur, this country will be in for a big shocker. God forbid. History, they say, repeats itself, first, as a tragedy and, then, as farce. It is possible for Nigeria to circumvent the booptrap of repeated bad history.
It takes objectivity to make a country work and fastract the journey to nationhood which Nigeria badly needs. It is high time Nigerians build a Nigeria where citizens are proud to be Nigerians. National character can only emerged and last from this singular attainment. God bless and sustains the citizens and government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN)!
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