It is very important to establish a point right now. Our lawmakers, governors and other elected officials don’t care about Nigerians and the truth is that Nigerians, themselves, don’t care about each other. It may appear that they do, but in reality, selfishness is a trait we all have in common. The only thing that separates regular Nigerians from the government is the access to the ‘national cake,’ so it’s only for this reason that ‘regular Nigerians’  are united, hence, the perceived bond.

It wasn’t always like this, Nigerians used to have a strong voice which it used to speak against the ills of the government, people like Alex Whiskey-Osifo, Chris Anyanwu and Kunle Ajibade have risked their lives by speaking out in times past. However, economic crises, restricted speech (for the fear of losing one’s life) and other factors have contributed to weakening our collective voice and resolve reducing us to a toothless bulldog, who will charge and bark, but lacks the ability to inflict harm on the trespasser.

The advent of social media, especially Twitter, changed our lives in Nigeria. Finally, we could speak out without being seen. For the first time in years, we had a voice, and we could hold our leaders accountable, as many of them are active on the platform. During the last elections, the youth harnessed the power of the social media during the last elections. They analysed and scrutinised the candidates that were vying for political posts and on Twitter, the political aspirants reassured the populace of a better Nigeria. They ranted on social media and reiterated their promises of zero corruption and excellent governance.

It’s been almost a year since that and now Nigeria is besieged with a weak currency, frivolous spending, corruption, petrol and electricity scarcity amongst other salient issues. Nigerians speak up about these issues, which they have to deal with on a daily basis, however, the government ignores their voice on the very same platform they used to campaign. It seems like there is a huge barrier between the government (which has been elected to serve its people) and Nigerians. Instead, social media is now used by politicians to defend and glorify them selves, uplift the ruling party’s image and give excuses for unacceptable behaviour such as:

The fleet of cars purchased by the senate

If this is not the height of frivolity, then what is? The Nigerian Senate, which had proposed to spend about N 4.7billion on Toyota Land Cruisers last year, was heavily criticised by Nigerians. The criticism apparently flew over their heads, as they went on to purchase the cars for more than twice its original amount.

This bunch of shady and wasteful lawmakers, whose leader is facing corruption charges, have received the cars (which will supposedly assist them in discharging their duties effectively) without answering the pertinent question currently on the lips of Nigerians: What happened to the cars that was used by the last senators which should still be relatively new?

Even the senators who are relatively outspoken on Twitter have been mute on the extravagant purchase. We know that they roar on social media, putting up a front that they are on the side of the people, so why are they quiet now? The most important question, though, is this – What are Nigerians going to do about it?

Corruption and shoddy trials

The Nigerian government is aware that its countrymen love sensationalism. Therefore, we were conveniently side tracked by the news of Mallam Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser who allegedly diverted funds allocated for arms into his personal account. Names were mentioned, secrets were revealed, the blame game heated up and arrests (or pseudo-arrests?) were made. Till date, in a country that sentences petty thieves to life imprisonment, no government official has been properly tried.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Government Ekemupolo (Tompolo) to face corruption charges by the EFCC after he had shunned several invitations to appear before the court. Since the arrest was issued, Tompolo has been reported missing (His birthday was even celebrated in absentia). This is the crux of the joke though, he has been arraigned in absentia and this is actually the first step to acquitting him of all the charges against him. It is shameful that the law enforcement agencies have failed to fish him out. On second thought, why should he be found? Dasuki and a number of the alleged corrupt officials will disappear once they get the chance. Either they claim they are in critical health condition or they simply vanish without any explanation.

Nigerians laugh about this, however, it shows a high level of incompetence by the government when it comes to implementing the rule of law.

The blame game and ‘delayed’ salaries

In Bayelsa state, staff salaries have not been paid for three months now. News sources claim that economic activities in the state are slowly grinding to a halt. This situation is not only peculiar to Bayelsa because about 27 states are struggling to pay staff salaries. Instead of finding concrete solutions to the plight of the people, our leaders fly around the world on taxpayers’ money and play the blame game.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, gave his thoughts on the president’s numerous trips. According to him, Buhari is travelling “to repair our reputation severely damaged by the last government, and to assure our partners that Nigeria has CHANGED.” It seems that constant condemnation of the past administration is what the current one seeks to thrive on and its one of the things that’s bound to stunt the nation’s growth.

Fashola also made a faux pas when he said that they have to assure their partners that Nigeria has changed. Change is not only in the talk. Change is about the action. What kind of change are we talking about if we lack good infrastructure, basic amenities and allowances?

A call to action

It is no less important that salaries are not being paid and we suffer in silence, however, it is time to stop corruption from being the norm. Our politicians are reckless because they know that they will not be called to order by their countrymen. They know that we will create memes, trend a few hashtags and rant about it on social media and that’s about it. We need to change that, particularly the youth. We need a people’s court where, united by these issues, we can call the politicians to order or sanction them where necessary. Nigerians cannot afford to be seen as toothless bulldogs anymore while we watch our future go up in smoke. We ought to stand up now, go beyond the rants and fight for our rights and that of other generations to come.

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