FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN
Let no one be deceived. Let none be cajoled. It was a deliberate intention. The wickedness, assault, onslaught, deceit, irritation, et al. They deliberately did all these to us. We are not unconscious of their dastard acts. All these evil deeds were preconceived. They were wilfully calculated at us. No pretence. They couldn’t fake it they couldn’t feign it either.
Let’s attempt a quick recap. The demon in them started manifested instantly. That was in 2015. That was the year they rudely happened to us. Eight sordid years had gone down the dirty drain. How times fly! When the dust settled after the election. We began to see them in their true colours. The reality of our choice was shocking. It dawned on us the dubious meaning of their change mantra.
They started changing things for the wrong reasons. We were taken aback. We asked questions. We interrogated them. They actually changed the change narratives. In his first term, we entered his “second chance” bus. We prayed fervently to reach our destination not in pieces. The request was granted. We arrived 2019 brutally wounded. All the same, we got there. We still have our precious lives in us. We braced up for a second and golden opportunity. We thought we would right the wrongs of the previous four years.
But the wolves among us wouldn’t align. They vehemently disagreed. They opted to stick to their deadly gun. They vowed, it would still be Muhammadu Buhari or nothing. They insisted he must reign on. They blatantly shut their fleshy ears. They became deaf to our feelings. Our excruciating pains couldn’t move them to pity. They claimed we didn’t see “the good work” Buhari was supposed to be doing. They were irritatingly arrogant in their crude carriage. We never crossed their selfish reckoning. We couldn’t have been on the same page with those uncanny characters.
They certainly had the upper hand. The 2019 election! It was a done deal. A walkover sort for them. Every weapon needed to fight that election was at their beck and call. Trust them. They made maximum use of everything and all things. And the result of that election? Given, of course. They had their way. We were made to lick our deep wounds. We lost all. They won all, including everything.
We were reluctantly ushered into Buhari’s “no chance” vehicle. The more he drove, the rougher it became. And the messier the trip. He has successfully crashed us “from top to bottom.” Comfort has eluded us. No more peaceful sleep. We no longer dream dreams. Nightmares have taken the place of sweet dreams. Still, they remained restless and resilient. They held tightly to their weird resolve. They swore their brand of change must prevail. That it has no viable duplicate. And they are right.
The manifestation has taken huge tolls on us. And still counting. No one. Not even soul is spared. It’s getting worse. We are going down deeper by the second. Things are glaringly slipping out of our hands. And before our very eyes. We are perpetually rendered helpless. What have we not experienced? The killer Fulani herdsmen came, saw and conquered. The conquest is still alive, progressing unabated, unchecked. The President just laughed us to scorn. He left us to our fate. He preferred us to sort things out by ourselves. He stood his shaky ground. He uttered: “Learn how to live in peace with your (killers) neighbours peacefully.” SAD!
That outburst was “unpresidential.” It shook us to the marrows. He has since remained, unmoved. He’s unperturbed by our plight. He bluntly refused to caution his kinsmen. Buhari’s uncaring silence emboldened his Fulani’s kinsmen. It was a tactical support. They feasted on it with relish. They went wild in full force. They became rampageous. Before our very eyes, they upped their deadly game. Their operations turned bloodier. They’re the hyenas in our midst. They raped, maimed and killed. They took the toga of bloodsuckers. This government governs by impulse. That’s why we will continue to be where we are. They reign by whims and caprices. They ruin and not rule. They make mess of whatever remains of our lives. They watch with amazing glee. As we lost every fabric that makes a sane clime. Also under their close watch, we disintegrate as a nation state. It’s a delight for them. Curious?
We have never had it so bad. We have never been so divided, bastardised. Not even during the bloody 30-month civil war. This year, it has been one day, many troubles. It’s extremely difficult to do a recount of this administration. Which one will you remember? Which one will you not forget?
Endless fuel scarcity is it. This’s more than enough to sack a regime anywhere. Even before the naira restructuring added to our woes. See how the strange twins are ravaging, wrecking us. The two have reduced us to nothing. They trigger hunger and anger in us. And the government is perplexed, hopeless and helpless. It has nothing concrete, reasonable to offer. Instead, they told us this is the best of times for us. They saw us as ingrates. They hit hard at us. That we have eyes that will never see, and ears that won’t hear.
This regime festers in policy summersault. It has become its past time. Top government officials in free for all. They are at one another’s throats. Right in the public glare! This is a government of Babel of voices. Classical sampler: Most popular trending movie: It’s starring Buhari and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on one hand. APC governors chose the other side. Emefiele and Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai are clearly the main characters. And they are falling into line. They fit our bill for them. They dare not disappoint us.
We have endured the bad and the ugly of this government. We yearned for the good. It eluded us. We couldn’t experience one. It was sorrow, tears and blood. They wonder we’re still standing. We promise them. We will stand to the end. But, they will fade away the way they came. It is our firm resolve. We won’t break, we won’t cave in. It’s an affirmation.
Each election comes with its own strokes. No two elections are essentially the same. That’s the pattern all over. This Saturday election can’t afford to be different. It must follow the way of the
old. We dare not derail that order. Our uncommon electioneering threw up damning absurdities. What’s more, they are legion, endless and limitless. They cut across parties. Virtually all parties are involved. But some are more involved than the others. All these made Nigerians hungry and angry. And they are carrying the hunger and anger to the polls. They are determined to showcase these with maximum effects.
We know them. These politicians are queer and wild. They think the unthinkable. And do the absurd. They still have all their eyes on vote buying. They are banking on a false window for their vote buying agenda. They want to lavish on the hunger in the land. They deliberately created it for us. Sure. They can be beaten to their game. It’s not easy, but quite doable. We will let our hanger override our hunger. That is the way to go. And that’s the way we will vote. We will disgrace these vote buyers once and for all. We will render their product useless. We will suspend our hunger. Even if temporarily. And vote angrily.
We’re not mincing or mixing word. We will approach Saturday’s election in anger. This is our watchword. We will display it. We will do it like never before.
We swear: We will vote angrily!