State governors in kangaroo LG polls as citizens’ struggle continues

If you observed well on October 1st, you would have noticed that many Nigerians wore contorted faces. Their men did not convey any message of celebration. How independent could they be in the midst of all manner of suffocation? The news of the fresh increase in the pump price of petrol seems to compound the already bad situation. ‘As e dey pain us, e dey sweet them’?

Have you noticed that many state governors are being smart by half in the matter that concerns local government elections? They no longer appoint sole administrators, but they organise kangaroo council polls. Kai!

“Many Nigerians were too angry to listen to the president’s speech. Random checks by some of our reporters from across the country showed a manifest display of indifference, as their reply was “Is it broadcast that we will chop?””

The struggle continues…

Nigeria marked her 64th independence anniversary recently. Unlike what used to be the celebratory mood many years ago, this time around, it was bereft of pomp, let alone ceremony.

If anything, there were laments from across the country. Many citizens wore long faces and sombre looks.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself began the wailing during his nationwide broadcast that morning, when he said, “Fellow Nigerians, as I address you today, I am deeply aware of the struggles many of you face in these challenging times. Our administration knows that many of you struggle with rising living costs and the search for meaningful employment. I want to assure you that your voices are heard.”

Many Nigerians were too angry to listen to the president’s speech. Random checks by some of our reporters from across the country showed a manifest display of indifference, as their reply was “Is it broadcast that we will chop?”

Nigerians were supposed to be joyful and celebratory every October 1st, but the reality on the ground does not warrant such clinking of glasses in merriment.

Read also: Tinubu’s independence day speech: Promises of reform, but execution remains key

Over the years, Nigeria has carried on as a nation that values everything from the Western world more than the great endowments in-country. All categories of leaders, whether in the public or private sector, do not cherish anything Nigerian. This preference for anything foreign is the reason why the nation’s healthcare and education sectors are suffering neglect.

When government officials, including the President, do not patronise local health facilities, they see no reason why they should make the sector function properly.

When government officials send their children abroad for studies, they do not care about the state of education in the country.

Since they can afford personal security, always travelling by air and barely driving on the nation’s highways, they do not bother about how many people are being killed by bandits and terrorists on highways and byways.

Since they feed facts on the commonwealth, they are oblivious to the high cost of living in the country; for them, life is grand while others are sinking in the mire of hopelessness and deprivation.

Although Nigeria got independence 64 years ago, today, the citizens remain bondmen. That is why on a day that was supposed to be a joyous day, many youths emptied themselves on the streets in different parts of the country, protesting, lamenting the suffocation they suffer, and urging the government to allow them to breathe. Some of the youths were tear-gassed in the morning of freedom for daring to request better living conditions in a land flowing with milk and honey!

The question to ask is, was Nigeria’s copy of independence from the British colonial masters a real one? If yes, how is it that it would seem that the country is even retrogressing in all indices of measurement?

How is it that a country that used to feed her population and had much to spare is no longer able to do so? How come a country that used to attract plaudits to itself through the quality of soldiers it sent out to ECOMOG on peace missions in many countries is now not able to rein in the menace of bandits and Boko Haram insurgents?

How is it that Nigeria has allowed bloodthirsty herdsmen to overrun many communities in the country and sack native farmers, thereby preventing people from carrying out their farming activities, which now is causing food insecurity in the country?

It is heartbreaking what is going on in Nigeria today. Some individuals are being accused of stealing hefty amounts of money just because they had the opportunity of holding public offices. Most of these indicted “thieves” get away with their loot in the ‘Ali Baba and Forty Thieves’ style. The more you look, the less you see.

How is it that some other countries that got independence at the same time as Nigeria are doing far better than our country? Who did this to us?

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, wondered along this line when he said, “When we compare ourselves to countries that gained independence around the same time, before or after us, Nigeria stands out as a nation in decline, urgently in need of rescue from further decay.”

The suffering of Nigerians, rather than abating, is daily increasing. The news of an official increase in the pump price of petrol to N1000 is a pointer to the fact that the more Nigerians lament the government policies, the more they are chastised with thorns and briers.

It is hoped that by October 1st next year, when our dear President would be addressing the nation at 65, he would have every cause to lead the orchestra of celebration and not lamentation.

Read also: Benue Local Government Poll: APC wins all 23 seats

Mockery of LG polls

Nothing seems to have changed since the Supreme Court’s ruling on the autonomy of the third tier of government in Nigeria. If anything, the pronouncement has created more confusion in the polity. Before the ruling, the local government was an extension of state governors’ offices. The governors determined what happened in terms of who chaired the councils and how much to release for the running of the office and the paltry projects that were done at that level of government.

While the local government autonomy as was pronounced by the Supreme Court is yet to come into effect, state governors have continued with their control.

Since the ruling, one big issue that has continued to worry Nigerians is the process of electing council chairmen. Many had thought that elections at that level would now directly fall within the purview of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and no longer the state independent electoral commission (SIEC) that is under the thumbs of state governors. That argument is, however, neither here nor there, judging by INEC’s receding image.

Over the years, many Nigerians have watched state governors run the affairs of local governments through hand-picked sole administrators without the input of the people through the ballot.

Today, in what could be described as being smart by half, state governors are organising local government elections with predetermined outcomes. The only difference between what goes on now and when sole administrators were being appointed is the make-belief election that is held to give a false hope of democracy.

In the states where these kangaroo elections have been held, it has been a 100 percent victory for the governors and their parties.

In most cases, only the candidates of the party in power in those states contested the elections, as other parties boycotted having seen the body language of the governors and the state electoral umpire. The elections also witnessed heavy voter apathy.

If you ask me, I would say that nothing has changed. It is just the semantics of a glass being half full or half empty.

But when do we begin to get serious as a country?