“Most states today have more than one festival a year, but the packaging and lack of capacity has not enabled them to make the most out of these festivals. There’s a particular masquerade in the south east, it takes 100 people to dress him, another 100 people to undress him. If this masquerade is well-packaged, it can provide employment in one week for more than 1000 young men. These are some of the untapped potentials.”
The above statement was made by Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, recently. This ridiculous suggestion that unemployed Nigerians can make do with dressing masquerades is just one of the many he makes quite often. However, Lai Mohammed will not be the first Nigerian leader to make silly remarks. Some of them go the extra mile, hoping that by their random acts of foolishness, they may win the loyalty of some Nigerians, especially at the grassroots.
Dino Melaye – Senator, Kogi West
Senator Melaye is popular for his love for luxury cars and all things flashy. However, he posted a picture of himself hawking groundnut on twitter yesterday. In his message to hawkers, he urged them not lose hope.
Ayodele Fayose – Governor, Ekiti State
Can we ever forget Fayose’s declaration shortly after his swearing in ceremony in 2014? He initiated the “stomach infrastructure” slang and announced that “I am the governor of your imagination, the governor that eats amala with you, drinks agbo jedi and eats boli with you.”
Rochas Okorocha – Governor, Imo State
Okorocha, who recently claimed that he’s no longer interested in running for presidency, has also taken a break from his governing duties to tend to corn-roasting and wearing school uniforms.
Nasir El-rufai – Governor, Kaduna State
The “accidental public servant,” Nasir El-rufai, was spotted eating sugar cane on his way to a public function, last year.
Aisha Buhari – First lady, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Just before the presidential elections last year, Aisha Buhari was seen helping a woman to fry ‘akara’ by the roadside. Maybe this contributed to Buhari’s big win later that year.
Alhaji Tanko Al-makura – Governor, Nasarawa State
In 2015, the APC governor was pictured lying on a tattered mattress in one of the dormitories at a state government-owned college in Keffi.
The lack of propriety by Nigerian leaders is hilarious and is usually a subject for debate. However, the question remains, what are they trying to prove with their random acts of mundaneness? Are those acts in solidarity, where they say “we know what you’re going through and we stand by you?” Is it political propaganda? Or are they taking their countrymen for fools, thereby turning the concept of leadership in Nigeria to a joke?
Have our leaders done anything constructive and less self serving for the common man? What have they done to make the lives of these people better?
