Sesan Bello
Journalist/Social Critic/Volunteer-Watchdog London, GB
Like all human beings, your predecessor had his own
pitfalls and shortcomings but; he has done his bit and, he did it
well. He volunteered and took a deep dive - undeterred of political
hurricane, monsoon and tide raring him in the face - to go and drag
out both our name and our economy from the deep see where our past
national character [as in “not in our character”] had buried them.
Unfortunately, just as legislated, he was unable to survive an
ordinary constitutional tide that came thereafter, at the behest of
some myopic well-meaning Nigerians, and swept him away. Sensible
Nigerians will not forget him in haste.
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
ALHAJI UMARU YAR’ADUA by Sesan Bello
May 29, 2007
His Excellency
Alhaji Umaru Yar’adua,
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Abuja Nigeria
Dear Mr. President,
Today, it gladdens my heart to see someone of your
calibre assume the office of the President, Federal Republic of
Nigeria even in the light of huge campaigns mounted against your
electoral victory by both treacherous and honest democrats. Now, it is
all over, our nation needs to move forward, and I say,
Congratulations… Welcome on- board.
Before I continue, may I quickly hint that though
our clock is a sluggish clock but; its pendulum moves rather so
rapidly. You could see it yourself how so soon comes another day, when
the pendulum of the Nigerian lazy clock of development swings to the
other side on its axis and the administrative baton is changing
hand…That informs you of how short a long time can be.
As a people yearning for change, we, Nigerians have
always welcome a new leader, be it military or civilian, with
bright faces and open arms in anticipation of a new lease of life,
less excepting that we soon get frustrated and disappointed.
Nevertheless, yours will not be an exception. Nigerians are happy to
see you come on-board. Once again, we say welcome.
It is truly illogical Mr President, to judge your
social class by whatever the outcome of your regime will be. But the
history of that background will neither be nice to you nor forgive you
if, as the first formally educated elite to assume this office, you
choose to be insensitive -- not bothered, about what history is
impatiently waiting to write through you, of your class, after decades
of its agitation to have one of you hugged the centre stage.
Thus, I am equally saddened that your coming is
divinely queued to be now that the state of Nigeria is volatile and
riddled with all sorts of vices one can ever imagine, and a time when
mother Nigeria is enraged because of the misfortune with which her
children have been heavily plagued. By this, I do not mean to say that
I am convinced of your regime’s guaranteed failure; I am rather
orchestrating an environment of success for it. I trust you know that.
Coming on board now means that you will be, not
might be, faced with myriad problems; I want you to see this as not a
deterrent but rather a driving force; a source of will power and
encouragement to chart a clear and determined course towards your
goal. I pray that God sees you through, surmounting all the problems.
That this message is coming on the day of your
swearing-in might look odd; for having to consider it along with
today’s event can be truly clumsy. Even so, the timing was deliberate,
so that as we, the people of Nigeria felicitate with you, we can
equally with you reminisce our past, concerning the big issue at hand
i.e., the non-negotiable WELFARE of Nigerians.
In time preceding the coming of your predecessor,
the situation of the common man was despicable. The common man had
only seen the wealth of his motherland withered with nothing for him
to show in his living conditions. All his hope was almost lost. His
belief and hope of another sun ever rising during his lifetime had
been shattered, let alone shinning upon him.
The only glory left to the country itself hinged on
mere sovereignty and perhaps the customer relations the rich and
developed world communities consuming its oil offered. That was not
even on a clean slate; the rules of buying and selling was to be
distorted to suit their own conditions, all in order to ensure a
sustained superiority of their booming economy over ours. Whilst their
robust economy was getting stronger, ours was gradually dissolving
into it, strengthening and energizing it, and almost reclining to the
doom. Yet, no one reckoned with you as a Nigerian, overseas.
At home, the proceeds from oil inaptly christened
‘oil wealth’ benefited not more than 1% of Nigerians. The rest of us
live in poverty, hunger and squalor. Brain drain was at pick. Violence
and various anti-social behaviours were the order of the day for our
youths. Generations upon generations became criminally empowered
because of monstrous economic policies that only dispossessed families
of their pride and means of livelihood but never hit the target goal.
Mismanagement and misappropriation were almost becoming a norm in our
officialdom.
Amidst this gloomy state of the nation, your
predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo emerged, no doubt, from the blues. A
wise saying goes that problem identified is problem solved. Your
predecessor identified and doubled up with those problems that
troubled us the most, from their roots and today had, not only fared
well, but had also gone halfway for you tackling most major problems
drawing our society backwards. I believe he must have hinted of how
much strong a character you need be, as you prepare to step in for a
serious assignment, to advance his economic wars against the endemic
poverty ravaging our motherland.
Like all human beings, your predecessor had his own
pitfalls and shortcomings but; he has done his bit and, he did it
well. He volunteered and took a deep dive - undeterred of political
hurricane, monsoon and tide raring him in the face - to go and drag
out both our name and our economy from the deep see where our past
national character [as in “not in our character”] had buried them.
Unfortunately, just as legislated, he was unable to survive an
ordinary constitutional tide that came thereafter, at the behest of
some myopic well-meaning Nigerians, and swept him away. Sensible
Nigerians will not forget him in haste.
Mr President, as I said earlier, the pendulum of
the Nigerian lazy clock of development has now swung to your side,
perhaps for the next eight years. Nigerians cannot wait to see you
expedite actions that will better their lot before another whoosh of
the pendulum come sweeping you away. Before then, we expect you to
have eliminated most problems confronting us today such as epileptic
electricity; collapsed social services and deprecating
infrastructures, as the second phase of the on-going war of reforms.
On top of our list, however, we the people of
Nigeria will like to present this matter before you as one and the
only issue we have, bothering us and urgently requiring the attention
of your administration.
It is the living conditions of our people. The
standard of living – sorry, we have no standard yet - the way of
living of Nigerians is unspeakable. Nigerians are suffering. By this,
I mean real suffering… A meal per day is not certain to nobody, not
only the common man now. Those of us who live abroad might be in the
position to know better than those at home, for each time we called
our families; we were regularly updated with prices of food stuffs
escalating geometrically as if that was all we were here to make money
for. At first, it was difficult for anyone to believe, that a piece of
capsicum pepper now at home, sells for thirty naira, as against six
for the same price that I left it about six years a go. Findings later
revealed that this is truth. How do we expect a low-income man with
three to four family members to survive with this when other home
keeping needs are still pending? Yet, we are in majority in our
society.
Through my discussions with the people, and the
interviews and opinions I had with the people, Nigerians are of the
view that making food available and affordable to them is their
priority. It is only sensible that this should equally be the priority
of their government.
Yes, we are not oblivious of the effect of the
changing world – the global warming that has brought heavy droughts
and famine to many developing nations; yes, we appreciate the various
economic reforms in which our government is presently actively
involved, as well as the unavoidable, unpleasant resultant price to
pay for these reforms. Nevertheless, Nigerians need a succour of hope
better planned in a glaringly promising tomorrow of abundant food and
wealth.
Nigeria was never included in any research results,
either by UN or by any other research institute in the world, as one
of the world food-disadvantaged nations, yet faces of hunger and
malnutrition abound on our streets. Reasons for our hunger lie in
hidden localized problems, which stem from food shortage and shortage
of purchasing power. The country that once ranked nineteenth in the
world and first in Africa in food production cannot feed its people
today. Purchasing power has eroded away. Report says average Nigerians
live below $1 per day, and this is undisputed.
Mr President, Nigerians shall be greatly delighted
to see your administration help dismantle this ostentatious life model
forced on us by the military – smiling while suffering. Jump-starting
an ad-hoc food programme similar to the one we had under late General
Murtala Muhammed will be an unparalleled wisdom, but MECHANISED
AGRICULTURAL FARMING is the permanent solution. It is the wisest thing
to do. An average Nigerian is known to be satisfied and going about
his business once he and his family are confident that there is enough
food to eat at home. He is neither interested in the millions of hard
currency crisscrossing bank-accounts overseas nor the billions of
naira exchanging local accounts in Abuja. All he needs is food on his
table.
Draw up a food programme that is sure to start
yielding before the end of your first term – I suggest below, a
‘National Food Boost Programme’
[1]. Encourage grass-root food production
through the use of all fertile lands available in our villages by
encouraging family farming, with free funding supports.
[2]. Plant the programme in the grass-root by
taking it direct to the people through our local governments --
not through the so-called chairpersons, but through
representatives of the people from among the people.
[3]. Provide our local farmers presently
toiling with primitive implements, the opportunity of free fund,
[accessible] modern equipment, moral and informational support
that will boost their output.
[4]. Establish a body, as strong as FCT
authority, and operating under the eagle eyes of the President, in
the presidency, indexed as NATIONAL FOOD BOOST PROGRAMME to
champion the cause.
[5]. Back up the whole exercise with a
proactive control mechanism, as friendly to the farmers as British
Police are to the British Public, and as effective and efficient
as our own Dora Akunyili’s NAFDAC.
[6]. Double up efforts in the energy sector, to
encourage and boost foreign investment in corporate farming and to
help farmers preserve and maximize production.
Although research has shown that hunger has nothing
to do with any deficit of food production; it has to do with a
shortage of purchasing power. However, with a purchasing power
targeted at the families’ main need of food, we should be having
palliative, abundant foods to go with while our reforms last and,
peoples’ purchasing power returns. Its multiplying effect will also
assist families cope with other needs. Once Nigerians can feed
conveniently, it is as certain that polity will be smooth and
peaceful, and coping with other affairs of the nation will be as
guaranteed as the citizenries’ comfort are, going about our daily
activities, not bothering about what to eat the dawning of each day.
Mr President, there is no doubt the above may pose
a challenging task, given the record of our past shambolic performance
in similar initiatives. Nonetheless, if you consent to the fact of
food shortage in our homes due to national food shortage and
purchasing power deprivation, then it suitably behoves your government
to embark upon what stands to echo your vaunted affection for the
masses of Nigeria and promises to mark you out for sensitivity and
proficiency among your equals.
Yours Sincerely,
‘Sesan Bello
Journalist/Social Critic
Volunteer watchdog
