“For every folly of their leaders, Nigerians feel the lash.”
Horace, 65-8 BC. Vanguard Book Of Quotations, p61. read online.
The news report on page two of the Punch, on September 5, 2024, is the sort of revelation that leads to almost total despair.
Reading and understanding its full implications, it is easy to understand why the black man is his own worst enemy and why we might never escape abject poverty in Nigeria.
“NEC fears poor harvest as flooding kills 205” was the title. The National Economic Council, the fathers of the nation, including former Presidents, the current President, Vice President, all State Governors, met and the only significant announcement amounted to telling Nigerians the bad news we already knew about the expected poor harvest for this year.
The story informed readers that Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed, “revealed that the NEC has requested flood-afflicted states to submit damage reports by Monday, September 9, 2024…He also highlighted the Council’s urgent call for improved food security measures.”
I was alarmed for the Nigerian people and ashamed for the country that this is the quality of leadership we have to endure. Granted, Joseph de Maistre, 1753-1821, had said that “Every country has the government it deserves”, and we, in one way or the other chose these leaders, but, must they be so collectively uncaring or callous?
To be quite candid, serious Nigerian leaders, when gathered together at a meeting, should have only five top priority matters to discuss – before Any Other Business.
The five most inescapable issues are: food, security, fuel, foreign exchange and power. It is expected that each Governor would have had summarised for him the current situation in his state, the likely trends and suggestions regarding how to proceed.
For instance, each Governor of a flood-afflicted state should have arrived with his own Situation Report with respect to flood and food.
The Federal Government should also have prepared its own reports and summaries on each issue.
That Governors had to be given a new date to file their reports is a clear indication that the majority of them have been derelict in their duties. All the nonsense about “feeling your pains” readily dispensed when tragedies occur is meaningless – if they fail to do their duties diligently.
The President and all the Governors should have an up to date report on what is happening in the farmlands in their states.
A week is not only a long time in politics; it can also change several years outlook for food and personal security. An example will illustrate the point.
Flood In 2022: A Tale Of Two Presidents
“A General must know that one of his first duties is taking care of the lives of others.” Greek , General 400BC.
Flooding in 2022 was the worst globally since records were kept.
Two of the worst hit nations were Pakistan and Nigeria.
The President of Pakistan was out of the country on a State visit when the disaster reached its peak.
He terminated his visit and rushed home. While air-borne he had given instructions to relevant Ministries and organisations to make available all latest information about the scale and scope of the disaster.
Two days after returning home, he called a World Press Conference and laid before the global community the facts about the extent of damages.
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He ended by requesting for help. Within a week, over $4 billion in donations and pledges of money and other resources had arrived.
Ultimately $6 billion was promised by the world – including India.
Nigeria suffered the second worst damage. General, rtd, Buhari was in Nigeria as the extent of calamity was being confirmed.
They include the following: 1.4 million people displayed, over 603 killed, 2,406 people injured, about 200,000 houses damaged and 332,327 hectares of farmland destroyed – the worst in Nigerian history.
Nigeria’s President, without waiting for the initial reports, travelled to South Korea, not on a state visit, but to participate in a Technical Exhibition, as a private visitor.
He was not even scheduled to address anybody. Nobody was asked to prepare a report for discussion when he arrived. Consequently, there was no World Conference; no request for help and Nigeria received very little.
Ask yourself, who of the two was a real leader of his people and who was leading them astray?
But, it was not only the response to floods which betrayed Buhari as a poor leader; his responses to all the threats to our food security, since the rape of Agatu, in 2016, portray him as a saboteur.
How much intelligence is required in order for any adult to realise that herdsmen cannot be permitted to roam freely all over the country; wreck farms, murder, kidnap and rape farmers without doing immeasurable and lasting damage to our efforts at achieving sustainable food security? Yet that was what we experienced from 2016 to 2023.
The assault on the national interest, with regard to food production, was compounded by the introduction of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, ABP.
The same government which gave the herdsmen impunity to destroy farms and crops, also arm-twisted the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to invest N1 trillion in a bizarre scheme which diverted the bank from its traditional mandate.
I wrote at least four articles questioning the rationale for the measure; and predicted that ABP would failed given the false foundation on which it was premised.
ABP failed; but not before the whole world was treated to the dishonest unveiling of fake rice pyramids – with Buhari, the VP, Ministers and CBN Governor standing in front of them.
The most disturbing aspect of the ABP, was not the fake news about the rice pyramid. When the same government which had granted herders immunity spends such a colossal amount on increasing food production, it is akin to the government providing funds for building houses, at the same time allowing arsonists and pyromaniacs to burn down those houses, while telling the Fire Services to stay out of it.
Each time I read in the newspapers or listen to any leader of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, announcing that President Tinubu inherited a totally ruined economy, it sounds like an inmate from a hospital has escaped.
Even if Buhari was too bigoted and slow to grasp the ultimate consequences of his actions, the question is: what happened to the rest? An entire political party cannot possibly lose its senses unless it was deliberate.
In that case, why are they now just realising that Buhari was leading us into an economic quick sand – starting with sabotaging our food supply?
What To Expect From Now On
“Insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting the same result.” Chinese proverb.
The NEC was there when Buhari drove Nigeria off the road. Granted, the composition has changed.
But, the current members are clones of those who worked with Buhari. They have nothing to offer Tinubu. Instead, they will meekly allow him to do what he wants – meaning offer conventional remedies; with palliatives added. That being the case, Nigerians should read the Bible or Quran to discover what happened in Egypt until Joseph or Yusuf came to the rescue. Seven years famine is no joke; and we are only in the first year.
Follow me on Facebook @ J Israel Biola.
