Leadership and the unhappy Nigerians

The recent revelation that 78 percent of Nigerians are unhappy has not come as a surprise to the majority of Nigerians.

The result of a recent poll conducted by the Africa Polling Institute, in January 2022 has noted that 78 percent of Nigerians have are unhappy. Of the total number of Nigerians who are unhappy, 37 percent are extremely sad, 41 percent are sad, 14 percent are indifferent and 8 percent are happy.

The poll also noted the greatest challenges faced by Nigerians today to be those of Heightened Insecurity, Inability to meet basic needs, Unemployment, Lack of Electricity, and Lack of basic infrastructure, (Road, transport, and water).

As the country prepares for the 2023 elections, it will be important that candidates reel out clear actionable plans to ensure that the plight of Nigerians is addressed

It would not be out of place to say that those in rulership whether in the Judiciary, Legislative or executive arms of government are also amongst those who have been noted to be unhappy. Recently, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State for the umpteenth berated President Muhammadu Buhari’s style of governance. He stated that Nigerians are unhappy with him and regretted voting him as president.

He also accused the Buhari administration of escalating the misfortunes of Nigerians with more citizens now wallowing in abject poverty and economic hardship. Moreover, he criticized the handling of the Herders-Farmers crisis and the inability to curtail the palpable insecurity situation in the country especially in the North.

“Nigerians are not happy, they regret voting him as president. A president who is not for somebody but for everybody, as he declared in 2015 when he came. I have personally visited Mr. President several times and I have told him. But as I talk to you, Mr. President believes except there are cattle routes, and grazing areas, otherwise, there can be no peace. So, his thinking is just as a Fulani man and not as a president of Nigeria.

“He believes the Fulani man can live with his cattle, whose evil agenda is to take over the land. He does not believe that the farmers should thrive in this country and do their legitimate farming business which the cattle came to destroy. And he believes that the Fulani man can carry AK-47 which they use to kill. I have told them that it is not possible.

“There is no way you can have cattle routes and grazing areas as it was in 1950 when the total population of Nigeria was less than 40 million people. Today, we are more than 200 million people and we are still battling with a land area of 923sq kilometers and even less because of the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon.” He said.

Food prices are on their highest level as more Nigerians have found it difficult to afford the basic necessities of life. As at December 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics noted that Nigeria’s inflation rate stood at 15.40 percent in December from 15.49 recorded in November 2021. The urban inflation rate also increased by 16.17 percent (year-on-year) in December 2021 from 16.33 percent recorded a year earlier in December 2020.

The NBS attributed the sharp rise in food index to increases in prices of bread and cereals, fish, food product, potatoes, yam, and other tubers, oil and fats, milk, cheese and eggs, and coffee, tea, and cocoa.

More Nigerians have also been noted to be out of work. The National Bureau of Statistics in the second quarter of 2021 said that one in three Nigerians able and willing to work were out of jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 33.3 percent, its highest rate in over 13 years. This in effect means that about 23.2 million Nigerians lack jobs.

The Education sector is still not at par with the expectations of the international development bodies. The UNICEF says that in Nigeria, only 61% of children of primary school age attend school and the percentage is lower in the North. It is worse for the female child in the North of the country, where only about 40% are registered in school.