2024: They were feasting while we were fasting!

The most painful aspect of our national ordeal in 2024 is that while the masses were fasting to death, our leaders were feasting riotously. For instance, a staggering ₦21 billion was spent on constructing the Vice President’s residence in Abuja, ₦4 billion on Dodan Barracks, and ₦3 billion on Aguda House. About ₦70 billion was devoted to purchasing SUVs for members of the National Assembly at inflated prices. Meanwhile, ₦1.5 billion was spent on cars for the president’s wife, who had previously claimed that their family was so wealthy that they did not need public funds.

Judiciary workers were granted a 300% salary increase, which was swiftly approved by the rubber-stamp National Assembly. However, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) continues to haggle over a 2009 agreement. Duty tour allowances for public officers were also increased, while a government that had outlawed dollarised pricing in Nigeria announced a retirement package for generals that included $20,000 payouts.

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Billions were allocated for an old-new presidential jet, a yacht, jeeps, and tires, while almost ₦100 billion was spent subsidising pilgrimages. Throughout the year, the President frequently ran the country from abroad, incurring hefty estacode and logistical costs, with both he and the Vice President often out of the country simultaneously, leaving the government on autopilot.

Meanwhile, the multi-trillion-naira Lagos-Calabar highway project was awarded without budgetary allocation, competitive bidding, or an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The government also boasts the largest cabinet in the nation’s history. When a ministerial reshuffle occurred, five ministers were removed, and seven were appointed in their place.

In Bauchi State, ₦6 billion was spent on renovating the Government House, which had already been renovated for ₦16 billion in 2023, while ₦600 million was proposed for just four computers. Taraba State’s governor spent ₦2.66 billion on furniture within nine months. In Lagos, the deflated Imperial Speaker of the State Assembly spent ₦17 billion on the Assembly gate and budgeted ₦30 billion for vehicles in 2023. Yet no cars were purchased—or perhaps he bought “soft” cars.

As the year ended, a presidential convoy of over 50 vehicles invaded Lagos, causing unimaginable gridlock for citizens who are supposed to be the government’s masters.

In Abuja, Governor Nyesom Wike built 40 houses for judges at a cost of ₦30 billion, proposed ₦10 billion for rent and furniture for four principal National Assembly officers, and allocated ₦22 billion for renovating DSS quarters. All this happened while ₦11.5 billion was allocated for the construction of 20,000 “Renewed Hope” houses for the masses.

The statehouse also budgeted ₦15 billion for vehicles, tires, and an office complex; ₦9.4 billion for tours and meals; ₦27 billion for maintaining former heads of state; and ₦55 billion for maintaining the presidential fleet.

The Minister of Power proposed an ₦8 billion advocacy program to encourage citizens to pay electricity bills while promising more national grid collapses. Meanwhile, JAMB spent ₦1 billion on fumigation and another ₦1 billion on feeding, as if it were running a hotel. A newly elected local government chairman in Kano appointed 60 aides.

Adding insult to injury, over ten ministers and National Assembly members travelled to Ghana for the swearing-in of their new president, who promptly scrapped seven ministries on his first day in office. He was so overwhelmed by the presence of the Nigerian delegation that he mistakenly referred to Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) as the president of Ghana!

On a personal level, Governor Wike, who had once criticised people for sending their children abroad to study law, led a delegation to witness his son’s graduation from Queen Mary University in London with a postgraduate degree in law. “As e dey sweet him, e dey pain us.”

Hope Uzodinma, the originator of “Hopism,” marked his 20th wedding anniversary with a Guinness Book of Records-worthy extravaganza, likely funded by the state, dancing joyously to Flavour’s music without a care in the world. At Eko Hotel, rooms costing ₦680,000 per night were fully booked for months, while one of my “brothers” spent billions on his mother’s funeral, including ₦1 billion on a casket and related expenses.

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Our people say, “Aka aj’aja wetelu onu mmanu-mmanu” (a soiled hand leads to an oily mouth). This aligns with the Pauline injunction that those who do not work should not eat (1 Thessalonians 3:10). Yet in today’s Nigeria, many who do no real work live lavishly through the “come and chop” model, while those who work tirelessly starve.

We are endlessly urged to endure, tighten our belts, and renew hope, with promises of light at the end of an evidently endless tunnel. This stands in stark contrast to the ostentatious lifestyles of the political elite, who flaunt their wealth before our very eyes.

May 2025 not be a repetition of 2024. However, the ominous signs are already visible in laughable budget proposals and the New Year gift of a 50 percent tariff hike.