Sam Kaye
Ten days’ protest was a feature in a recent critical debate within a platform of journalists of like minds and I was prompted to peep into my binocular after a long absence. I usually enjoy such healthy debates especially when we are trying to set an intricate agenda for ourselves to get the government at all levels to work harder for the people who we have sworn allegiance to work for and make comfortable. My attention was drawn into the fact that the Borno state government had to rush to take care of a vulnerable family whose bread winner had virtually lost financial control and was unable to feed his people, leading to acute malnutrition affecting his kids. It was a pitiable sight if those grim pictures of kwashiorkor I saw were the exact impression of what happened to the family. To me, this was a clear indicator that “food” itself is medicine and hunger can threaten and destroy the very health sector in Borno state and Nigeria if caution is thrown to the winds concerning food security. Food is spiritual to Africans so no government should use it as a political weapon to get people to submit to its dictates. Nor hike up the price of common staples like beans and beg them to adjust with a caveat that It will soon be over. They will surely fight back.
Such kwashiorkor sights are really not new in Borno within the last decade of my reporting on insurgency and the health of the people. This is because the Boko Haram scourge actually gave rise to many of these ugly sights which I have seen myself while hobnobbing with the health emergency sector at the world health organization (WHO) centre by the eye clinic on Damboa road Maiduguri. But this sight I saw which led to our debate was likely driven by the recent economic policies of the federal government of Nigeria against the masses of the country. One of the policies which honestly I have nothing against except for bad implementation is the removal of subsidies on petroleum products especially premium motor spirit (PMS). I believe the removal was done in the interest of the masses to torpedo the ruthless power of the “petrodollar cabal” which has been feeding fat on the Commonwealth of the people. As much as the intention of removing it was good, the government’s fatal mistake however was that it was too sudden. It could have been done in a well planned staccato manner so that the common man and the poorest of the poor will not have to be so devastated as to lose their economic powers to feed their families. Many pensioners who could not buy drugs for terminal illnesses have gone to the great beyond in Northern Nigeria because of the sudden hike in drugs. A retired teacher and widow I knew directed her grown up kids to take her home when the doctors in one of the hospitals in Maiduguri told her of the failure of both kidneys and that she would have to undergo dialysis to stay alive. She has since been buried because the traditional herbs she resorted to fix her kidneys at home could not help her advanced case of failure. Such cases should have been funded by the Federal Government without batting an eyelid. If a quarter of the amounts the EFCC boss recently alleged has been stolen from our commonwealth are returned, this country can afford to pay for the health care of everyone from the primary to tertiary level.
The second unnecessary slap on the ordinary resident and the poorest of the poor is the weakening of the naira by a shark-like fiscal policy called flotation induced by the international monetary fund (IMF) and the world bank who feel that development economists in Nigeria advising previous governments to resist it were so naive not to know that our naira is over valued. One wonders how much these foreign “economy killers” know of Nigeria that they will need to guide our fiscal engineers on such a devilish policy that is virtually killing people which is why there was a need for a ten days protest to send a message to the federal government to reverse some of these corrupt laden policies they have unleashed on our common purchasing power. Within the fiscal rhetoric of development economists in the All Progressive Congress (APC) controlled government, the constant importation of petrol into an oil rich country like Nigeria itself cripples the naira. Swap deals of crude oil with powerful cartels which has been estimated to be beyond three billion dollars itself is a major clog in the wheels of economic progress. It is one of the reasons why the Dangote refinery is not receiving enough crude to pump into the system and bring down the price of premium motor spirit (PMS). The argument of some of the big players in the industry is that Dangote is a newcomer and he must wait for his turn to be lined up in the queue like every other person. I find such arguments myopic and insulting to the common man whose relatives died in the cause of the last protest. Sadly rather so many questions have been bugging the minds of helpless right thinking people in the country concerning the myriads of mistakes of the federal government.
Questions like why go further to float an already weak currency due to fiscal mistakes to achieve a target that aims to destroy the foundation of the country? Who are those angry with Nigeria for having one of the cheapest pump prices within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) block? Are we sure some people somewhere have not sat down to plot to torpedo the biggest economy in Africa by pulling the rug under the economic intelligence agencies who should give contemporary Intel on blue chip companies like NNPC to the government? And why are the young people so angry with this government which campaigned to be better than that of its predecessor? What is the role of too much party politicking and alleged insulating of the leaders from the economic reality on the ground?
Contribution of the partisan politicians and their party mechanisms to the impoverishment of their people
Since 1999, the political party machinery has always been the spoiler and hater of the middle and lower class of people everywhere. They make so much free money from the weak institutions in the system that only those who can sing “dangerous songs” while looking at the eyes of the political powers that be, may be allowed to save the situation. That is if they are not punished for daring them like they did to senator Ali Ndume, a teacher turned politician for speaking truth to power. Most watchers of the polity were bewildered by the decision of the APC recently who never saw anything right in a fearless politician making a fair comment against perceived wrongs of his party in sorting salient issues in the polity including hunger. It is my opinion that he only wanted his President to free himself from the “Lagos paddy paddy” cage they locked him in and come out to see the litany of economic woes which even his own people suffer from. That is my perception of what happened, surely not the mundane way they perceived it as anti party outburst in his criticism of wrongs in the “arise” interview. The Presidency should not start and end on the desk of the chief of staff Oga Femi who is a Lagos man like President Tinubu. Nigeria is far bigger than Lagos and the paddy’s of Lagos put together.
Lets ponder over some unfortunate credibility issues affecting the APC which is why former President Obasanjo posited recently that left to him, some of the leaders walking inside the corridors of power should be in jail by now. By the way, who is the head of the ruling party and what are his antecedents before now? They cannot claim to be saints far different from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the maladministration of the last eight years in which corruption was celebrated in another big way. They now decide to unleash a chairman of their party who had suffered from well reported grievous credibility issues himself when he was a Governor of Kano state known to polity watchers in the country. Now we hear that hoodlums who infiltrated the ten days protest in Kano have stolen the record of evidence of corruption against the former governor turned party chair.
President Obasanjo indeed cannot be extricated completely from the wrongs of some of these leaders who have held sway in power like former President Goodluck Jonathan whom he single handedly chose to be deputy to President Yaradua but who was too weak to stop the open stealing practiced under his watch. The litany of woes orchestrated by corruption continued and stank heavily under President Mumamadu Buhari while Betta Edu announced it under President Tinubu and received a suspension.
Obasanjo is well aware that neocolonialism is real and may not be the only solution to a system which has been completely destroyed by self aggrandizement of the commonwealth of the nation by few hawks who have now formed a shark-like petro-cabal already strangling over 200 million Nigerians to death with sudden lack and increased poverty through Petro politics.
Open stealing of palliatives by some ruling party stalwarts in Borno
I have a neighbor of mine who is regarded as “woman leader” of the APC in Maiduguri who gets several bags of palliatives each time they are declared by President Bola Tinubu or Governor Babagana Zulum to ease hunger. I would withhold her name for now because even though a half illiterate it’s her wrong doing one is bothered about.
She often sells some of the grains and keeps some in her home for consumption. Mark you food sharing in Maiduguri started long ago as a result of insurgency surely not due to economic reasons. And that is why when sharing this middle aged woman gives only those in the area loyal to her regardless of which party you belong to. Especially those who can lick her dirty boots. A generation of people in this area in the outskirts of Maiduguri who have nothing to do but to wait only for palliatives from the party and non governmental organizations rely on her support which she gets from prominent party leaders like kakina who is the mother of all women in the party. Sadly this Chibok born woman, got her connections from stalwarts she grew up with and still interacts with making it look like it’s her personal efforts that is feeding the vulnerable. She even named one of her sons after one of the party buffs to cement her loyalty within the corridors of the Borno APC power space. These kinds of perverse people also wait for non governmental organizations (NGOs) who come around sharing food tickets through their Bulama who residents say is as dangerous as a fox having sold most of the lands and houses in the area with the support of one of the influential sons of the powers that be in the land. That is how far some people in party politics can go in the enslavement of their fellow residents using food that should be shared freely to assist rather than to entrench the scourge of hunger.
Party stalwarts like Senator Kaka Shehu who used to fight for the poor through these kinds of people would be shocked at the number of people that have been stripped bare of their livelihood by the current economic policies yet they can’t get palliatives of seeds to even farm during the rains if they are not related to the party. We are talking of the same party that brought the full weight of the dangerous conditionalities of the IMF on Nigerians. Sometimes one wonders who told them that our naira is so over valued that it must be floated to reach their target of at least 5000 naira to a dollar or more. The floating of the naira by the central bank may have had its good and bad sides against residents. But I believe the bad side is higher because even the hard drugs sellers destroying the young people of their party on Baga road now complain of a bad market due to the naira devaluation. Party Tugs now ration the rate at which they buy weeds in the open market.
Why there was increased violence in some areas of the Borno capital
It was quite clear that Borno had its fair share of violence during the protests and sadly eighty percent of those who jumped into the streets were kids who may not even know the reasons for the protests in the country. It was unfortunate that some people had to die considering the fact that Borno is battling with insurgency which is yet to come to an end. I don’t live in bulunkutu but I tell you that one of the reasons why the recent protest against the government in bulunkutu was so intense was because some stalwarts allege that the same party has not been fair to most residents there. As a matter of fact, even up to Ngomari since the death of an APC woman leader in June 2023 who died after a crash inside a Keke napep. Of course she died while seeking medical treatment at Umaru Shehu hospital under the watch of Dr Emmanuel Philibus the Gwoza born strong man who the Governor vowed would be sanctioned but is still there with no public explanation for his misdemeanor.
Intel sources stated that 90 percent of the palliatives meant for people in the hinterlands of bulunkutu never got to them and the people have been very bitter with the APC ward and local leaders out there. Even some party leaders beyond the old railway areas inside bulunkutu were livid with rage when the party suggested that the very first palliative sharing for them last year should be done at the bakassi idp camp very far from “yan nounou” or the deep hinterlands where,200 naira “akara” snack is no longer enough for breakfast like before. That was why the instigation of the young people the governor talked about was easy to start from there. When other wards in the metropolis saw this, hell was let loose even after the governor had called them into the multi purpose hall in the government house to beg for peace to reign and then the 24 hours curfew. And this window dressing by renting a home for the kwashiorkor kids and their parents in shuari. But are they the only ones suffering from malnutrition? The answer is no. The truth is that the party leaders are the very ones that unleashed this frightening malnutrition on their own. It’s a garbage in and out situation. You cannot vote for an ex-convict like the Americans are trying to do simply because he has a party card and expect him to behave in a right thinking way when he gets into office. You don’t expect known thieves based on the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) record to behave any differently from what they know how to do, which is to steal. That is why I agreed with one of the debaters that the stalwarts and party leaders should take the blame for any wrong done to the people at the bottom. If they don’t they should be seen as insensitive to the plight of their people. Now the party wants to window dress just one family for the world to see instead of doing the right thing and refusing to scapegoat anyone who does the right thing. The way out to help the vulnerable is to cut the party system out from these palliative tasks and allow religious organizations like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and (JNI) to do the Job of sharing raw food stuffs when it is necessary. It is obvious Governor Babagana Zulum may not fully trust his own party machinery when it comes to sharing food stuffs which is why he does most of the sharing himself instead of allowing what should go to the common man to pass through depraved minds of some party tugs who are regarded as leaders in the 27 council areas of the state.
Pre emptying the next protest
As for the ten days protest, I would say its aims were partially achieved in the sense that those who were not telling President Tinubu the untruths of the flotation of the naira and what it had done to the country were silenced. The President and his wife Remi would have watched these protests live from their living room inside Aso Rock and I can imagine Aunty Remi telling him to do something different from what the fiscal engineers like Wale Edun packaged by the west are saying. I don’t believe President Tinubu can be caged because he is an old business man who understands all the intrigues behind the controversial oil industry. He is also coming from the home of a market woman and a wife who understood the price of gari before 2014 and now that it is about N1500 and more for a small paint cup in some states. Above all he does not have a docile woman in his life as a house wife. Remi was and still is a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She only stepped aside to assist in the supervision of his life in the State House considering the critical nature of his health. She is a Senator of the Federal Republic on leave who would dare get to the market for herself to buy stuff but for the over protection of some indolent security details who would remind her of her kitchen staff. But I believe she knows how much a cup of gari is in Saki, Abeokuta, Dutse, Okigwe or even in the Okumagba area of Warri. She should be telling his excellency the truth about the anger of Nigerians over the high cost of food stuffs or drugs to patch their health as a result of the devaluation of the naira. She should be advising him on how to avoid offending the young people so that they will not shut down the country for a second time. That will not be pleasant at all.
One is happy however that one of the aftermaths of the protests was the announcement by the government that very soon, all graduates of tertiary institutions would be given a stipend until they get a job. That is an exciting development which should have started long ago. In fact it should have gone side by side with the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) but it is not late. We would also suggest that the health insurance scheme should be adjusted to cover free of charge all seniors from the age of 70 and above. As a matter of fact a special fund should be created to take care of the healthcare of seniors from the age of 65. No need for any contribution just show up in the hospital with your national ID card and you are registered. As long as one is a senior, treatment should be free and on the account of the government in all the 36 states. That would extend the life expectancy of residents in the country.
Instant solutions to hunger and homelessness in the land
As for food security, nobody should be allowed to go to bed hungry if you possess the national ID card. Billionaires in the country should be called upon to urgently contribute to build “soup kitchens” all over the country. We can start with 500 of them in the country but we need at least a thousand of them scattered in the 36 states of the federation to kill hunger and malnutrition. That is an average of about 27 outlets per state regardless of the council areas and the population. Rich states like Lagos can have more depending on the council areas. The intention is to make sure that every child of vulnerable age can branch, stay on the queue, eat a good meal and go home. Soup kitchens should be open till midnight daily and by 5 am for breakfast so they eat before going to school. As a matter of fact, the building of soup kitchens for the vulnerable to go eat daily till the end of the first tenure of the government would be a welcome development. At least that has always been the advocacy of Senator Ali Ndume for a long time before now. Hunger doesn’t know shame, race, tribes or creed. The founders of the United States knew this long ago which is why they now have support for any form of vulnerability or disability.With the help of more than 61,000 food pantries and soup kitchens, food banks provide some 46 million people with free food each year in the US. Tens of millions of volunteers regularly support the system by donating time and money. Our population is over 200 million now. If we don’t have food kitchens, pantries or banks to supply people with food then we would be damned in the nearest future. This is a path Nigeria must follow to avoid the young people feeling cheated and deprived of their common wealth by a few criminal minds stealing billions annually yet flaunting the same ostentatiously to their faces. This was the same issue that affected Kenya before the last straw fell to the ground. From what happened in Kenya our political class should know by now that these young people know exactly where their treasuries and heart’s are stored. When the food kitchens are cooking the meals, the idea of homelessness can easily be assessed and special hostels can be built where young people will begin to squat until they can get a decent job and rent their own houses. This is what some people wanted to hear in the president’s speech on the protest, not tirades.