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Mr. President, things are hard sir

By Afis A. Oladosu
10 February 2017   |   3:48 am
Brethren, fellow Nigerians, lend me your ears. I have come not to praise the President but to criticize him. Yes. Praises to the President? No. Not today.

President Muhammadu Buhari.

Moses to his people, “Seek help through the Almighty and be patient; Indeed, the earth belongs to Him; He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous. They said, “We have been harmed before you came to us and after you have come to us.” He said, “Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and grant you succession in the land and see how you will do.”

Brethren, fellow Nigerians, lend me your ears. I have come not to praise the President but to criticize him. Yes. Praises to the President? No. Not today. I would not praise President Buhari until one dollar is equal to one Naira; I would not praise him until there is constant supply of electricity all around the country; I would not celebrate him until water flows in all our villages, towns and cities; I would not adulate him until all our hospitals cease to be “sick cities” and mortuaries; I would not applaud him until all our roads are reconstructed. No. I would not extol him until he does all the above right here and now!

Brethren, I have not come to praise the President. No; until corruption is completely removed from governance. After all he is the one responsible for all these ills plaguing this country. He is responsible for the Boko Haram in the northeast. He is responsible for it. He is responsible for the crises in the Niger Delta region. He is responsible for it. He is responsible for this inanity and balderdash called the official market and the parallel market. What foolishness. I have travelled to some of the best countries in the East and some of the best cities in the West. Not for once did I hear of a situation where the exchange rate for the Malaysian Ringgit in relation to the dollars was different from the rate in the ‘black’ market. Such can only happen in a country like Nigeria. So hold the President accountable for this too. Blame him for the ills and evils of those who destroyed the national ‘pot’ and catered only to themselves and their children. Blame him for the irony of a nation with just one runway at its airport which it designated “international”. Blame him for that too and for emerging at a time the price of crude oil at the international market headed for the waters.

While I was busy looking for other reasons the President should be pilloried and protested against, I received the following story from a brother:

Head Master: How much is passport photograph for children?
Photographer: The price for the passport is N100 per child.

Headmaster: No, the pupils are 500 in numbers, so we are paying N50
Photographer: OK no problem sir, you can pay N50 each since they are many

Headmaster: Class teacher go and inform the pupils that they should bring N150 each tomorrow for the passports.

Class teacher: Alright sir, I will inform them right away

Class teacher: Good day pupils, you are all to come with N200 tomorrow for passports.

Pupils: Mummy we were asked to bring N300 for passport at school

Mummy: Father, your son was asked to come to school with N500 passport fee tomorrow.

Father: O! My God! Buhari’s Presidency is doing only one thing everyday: making things costly day by day, including
education. We have said it, this man is wicked!!

Brethren, there is no doubt things are hard. Harder it appears than the situation of the Jews before the advent of Prophet Musa (a.s) in Egypt. But I shook my head when I began to ponder the situation and the circumstance of the Jews before the appearance of their saviour and immediately thereafter more closely.

I found very strong points of convergence between Nigeria of today and the Egypt that Prophet Musa attempted to rescue from the gulag of Pharaoh. Just like the Jews, Nigeria and Nigerians are especially favoured by the

Almighty: good weather, dynamic citizens and abundant natural resources the like of which are rare to be found in other parts of the world. But Nigerians are equally like the Jews: very impatient with God and His messengers and very materialistic in taste and orientation. Nigerians are like the Jews of the Prophet Musa’s time: we say we love the Almighty God but are never ready to follow His path and tradition. His path is all about being patient; that trials and tribulations are preconditions for triumphs and success. When success knocks at their doors, Nigerians would complain that the noise at the door is too loud. Thus the season of protest is here; the season of deprecations and expostulations. Nigerians must protest this style of governance which has led to the employment of around 200,000 unemployed graduates particularly at a time when the history of employment at the federal government level is all about registration for death and destruction. Nigerians had to “protest” against this government for it has succeeded in reclaiming all the territories previously occupied by the army of misguided elements who were masquerading under the canopy of Islam to visit untold violence on this country. In fact this protest must go on. The protest must go ahead as sacrifice and libation for the gods of corruption which recently suffered unexpected retributions hitherto unheard of in the annals of this country.

Brethren, I have not come to praise Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari but to pray for him: that may the Almighty grant him long life, good health and wisdom; that he should be endowed with the strength to continue to take this country on the path of recovery and regeneration; that may the Almighty surround him with men and women of integrity. Of what value is the only stream in the village which is infested with crocodiles and sharks?
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