Nigeria goes to polls hungry, angry- Femi Adeoti Column

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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 granted.
We arrived 2019 brutally wounded.
All the same, we got there. We still have our precious lives in us.
We brazed 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 leave
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 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!