By Ibrahim Sulaiman.

Democracy in Africa and particularly in Nigeria has become something of a rare species destined for innumerable challenges from all corners. It takes a lot of conviction to woo the people into accepting an entirely foreign socio-political system that endures. However the antics of the imperialists persist as more and more politicians have caved into their pressure. President Tinubu’s so-called Emi lokan victory following the 2023 elections further testifies that Democracy is still a far-fetched venture.
Nigerians have been made to believe that the wisdom of the removal of fuel subsidy (and deregulating the Naira) lies in boosting Nigeria’s economic growth and development. President Tinubu adopted this alien idea on his first day of assumption of office in the year 2023 as his transformative economic policy aimed at catapulting the country to becoming buoyant economically and possibly to assume its rightful place as the Giant of Africa. Now it’s two years since the removal of the fuel subsidy subsequently followed by the deregulation of our national currency, yet the plight of the masses has continued to deteriorate abysmally. Many more people have begun to question the rational behind removing the fuel subsidy in the first place without any backup plan against the unfolding malevolent consequences.
Meanwhile, crime among the youth, supposedly the engine room of the society, has skyrocketed. Insecurity has become rife as activities of kidnappers, bandits, separatists and terrorists soar uncontrollably. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any sign that government is in place, as politicians only aggressively vie for who to pledge support for against 2027 instead of what to do for the masses that voted them into office. Furthermore, in spite of all the tribulations facing the country, millions of Naira allegedly exchange hands in the quest to “buy” people from the opposition camp to the ruling APC ahead 2027 and beyond. Already President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been assured of a second tenure as all the APC governors have allegedly pledged absolute loyalty to making available 25 percent of votes in their states to the president come 2027. In addition, the National Assembly has rubber-stamped its absolute support for Tinubu come 2027.
So far the question of corruption which has been the cankerworm that has continued to eat deep into the fabric of our society remains a burning issue with the Tinubu administration. Although the president had made it abundantly clear he intended to tackle the cankerworm, his actions towards achieving this objective have been at best contradictory. While some top corrupt government officials were summarily removed from their positions and replaced with supposedly better hands, the president’s efforts were weakened by inadequate funding of the anti-corruption agencies. Politics and political considerations have overtaken the psyche of government while the people have fallen off from being the primary focus of governance. Corruption has become the order of the day. There’s nothing that money cannot buy. Emi lokan Democracy is now in charge.
As a matter of fact, the most agonizing problem that will continue to make nonsense of the Tinubu administration is the worsening plight of the majority of the population. Needless to say, the administration’s so called strategic economic policy with the dictates of the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank has only brought more hardship to the masses as a result of inflation and the resultant high cost of living, while insecurity continue to bite harder.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has recently given thumbs up to President Tinubu over his economic transformation policy, saying the country’s economy has appreciated to a commendable level more than any time in the past ten years. The bank also said Nigeria’s econ by seeomy will grow at 3.6 percent in 2025. This, according to the World Bank, has resulted in an increasing flow of foreign investment allegedly being experienced in the country. But even the World Bank has admitted that the skyrocketing prices of food stuffs and other consumables have remained defiant making it difficult for the average citizen to eke out a descent living.
Indeed, two years into the administration’s tenure only tears and gnashing of teeth among the people prevail unabated. To make matters worse the government at the top does not care to supervise how it’s so called palliatives (tallafi) to the less privileged are being conducted/distributed as most of the more vulnerable citizens complain they do not get anything. Verily, these palliatives have been an initiative of the immediate past President and have continued to date because of how humane and compassionate the gesture is, but corruption has made it another drain pipe for government.
Security is supposed to be the basic responsibility of any meaningful and responsible government, but, insecurity of lives and property have never witnessed a more tragic period in the history of the country. Subsidy on electricity has also been removed and people have to pay much more for the electric supply that has remained increasingly epileptic, as the country’s main power grid continues to collapse at the faintest opportunity. Public and private hospitals as well as educational institutions including universities and polytechnics have turned to alternative energy supply like Solar energy. Recently Eedris Abdulkareem, renowned Nigerian artist/musician, popular for his music “Jaga jaga” released in 2003 produced another hit song entitled “Tell Your Papa” in which he called on the president’s son, Seyi, to inform his father that things aren’t moving in the right direction and the need to reverse. The hit song has since been banned in the media nationwide.
It’s not surprising that Britain, the country’s colonial master, also recently commended President Tinubu over his so-called transformative economic policy which, according to the colonial overload, has drawn the country into the limelight by attracting increased foreign investment, which, alas, has not increased the general well-being of the generality of the population. Of course, all this is courtesy of the imperialist Bretton Woods and the world economic system established after the second world war wherein the International Monetary Policy, IMF and the World Bank came into being largely providing assistance and loans to countries in need ostensibly to forster economic growth. The antics of the imperialists and their cut-throat financial institutions have become more palpable with time. The capitalist-oriented Bretton Woods’ financial institutions tend to impoverish other countries in favour of the rich Western nations. At best the government is led towards imposing more harsh tax regime to generate revenue mainly used to oil the pockets of those in the helm of power. Where have the trillions of naira made so far from the fuel revenue gone to?
The loans, assistance and aids the imperialist financial institutions offer the “third world” nations gradually metamorphose into death traps, particularly in most of the developing countries under their tutelage. For example, Britain has had it’s military bases in Nigeria since the colonial era; recently the colonial overload reportedly sent modern state-of-the-art weapons in aids and a delegation of experts to train our own soldiers and lead the war against Boko Haram/ISWAP and others. Yet, the story has remained the same with more tragic massacres of our soldiers and innocent civilians in the hands of these terrorists!
The truth is that the so-called economic strategies being put in place so far by this administration cannot yield any positive results on ground for the people. This is because the government has distanced itself from the people and chosen to dine with the imperialists who use their Shylock institutions (IMF and World Bank) to exploit us. In other words the government has resorted to self-service instead of serving the people who voted for them. Emi lokan’s words are always final while those amorous leaders of the National Assembly remain compromised. Unless the government in our so-called demo-crazy begins to see itself as servants of the people, the majority of the population who vote the government to power will continue to wallow in abject poverty, hunger and destitution while the minority continue to get stupendously wealthier. Nigerian government does not need IMF or World Bank loans to build our economy. The nation is rich enough to cater for the entire country. There is no need for our leaders to be always at the beck and call of Western nations.
For a solution, firstly, we need an honest, determined and vibrant leadership committed to the task before them. That is service to the people. Secondly, this set of leadership should majorly concentrate on providing affordable, uninterrupted energy (electricity supply) for all the people across the country. Along with affordable energy comes affordable education system and affordable healthy care for all. Last, but not the least, is the security of people’s lives and property. These are the basic needs without which no society can coexist peacefully. What obtains today in the country in the realm of security, education, health and energy is a huge joke with no true commitment from our leadership to provide these basic necessities of life.
In fact, there is no amount of foreign aids or cooperation that can save the country from the circle of violence we experience daily. Kidnappers, bandits, armed robbers, herdsmen versus farmers, Boko Haram/ISWAP, Biafran separatists, etc will continue to have a field day. Therefore, it is now time to have a rethink; our leaders need to rise up from their slumber and honestly work together with their followers in order to come up with a free and harmonious entity for called Nigeria.

Ibrahim Sulaiman is a columnist with the Nasarawa Eye and Writes from Lafia