Afenifere: No waiver for Tinubu — Femi Adeoti Column

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,Afenifere stoutly stood in the gap for him last Sunday. It came out proudly to be counted. Not really to shield or defend one of its very own.
No. Never. That’s not in its character. It did what it did essentially for the love of the country. And to redeem the frightful and pathetic situation.
The Yoruba socio-cultural organisation would not fold its arms. And watch President Bola Ahmed Tinubu messed up. Even in a mess he didn’t create.
Agreed. Tinubu was a principal facilitator of the immediate past regime. But must he do the job for the principal actor of that regime?
He did his part. It’s just natural to allow the regime to breathe the way it breathed. It truly breathed heavily on us. For whole eight years. The scars are visibly all over us.
You see why Afenifere is genuinely grieved. It’s pained to the marrow. But it won’t give up. The reason it threw itself into the battle wholeheartedly. This President must be rescued. He needs all the support one can muster.
The organisation went all out. It took the lead for the right reason. It never minded whose ox was gored or brutally bruised. It did the needful. It held the deadly bull by its dangerous horns. It was an outright confrontation.
For Afenifere, it was a serious business. It waved all sentiments to the dustbin. But bluntly refused a waiver for Tinubu. It won’t spare him either. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. That’s its usual element. It changeth not!
Afenifere has been so ruthless with previous governments. Tinubu wouldn’t be a strange exception. There should be no breathing space. No ill feelings. It’s for the collective good of us all.
It rightly set agenda for Tinubu’s success. A sort of to-do list was rolled out. Afenifere did a comprehensive stocktaking. And its conclusion: Life in Nigeria is unbearable now. A secured fact!
Though Tinubu did not start it. He didn’t improve upon it either. The ship is rather sinking deeper. The storm is all over us. The whirlwind is becoming stronger by the minute.
The reason Afenifere came out forcefully the way it did. It brilliantly put forward what its national publicity secretary, Jare Ajayi, dubbed: “Five-pronged approach to prevent the country from total socio-economic dislocation.”
Afenifere firmly believes these are the nuggets this government needs: “Seek debt relief from our major creditors. Drastically reduce the size of government at all levels. Block areas of leakage of public resources especially finance. Embark on policies or programmes capable of engaging millions of unemployed people. Ensure security and safety of lives and properties.”
The abridged package is not cast in stone. It is quite doable: “At the moment, Nigeria’s debt profile is so huge that it is spending about 97 per cent of its revenue to service the debts, according to many official sources, including the Debt Management Office (DMO), Federal Budget Office, Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.”
This is alarming. Still there is a viable way out. Afenifere insists we must just beg our creditors. We need debt forgiveness. We have to convince them to oblige us. They did it before.
Afenifere’s serious note of warning, it’s a huge caveat: “For such a plea to succeed, however, there is an urgent need to drastically cut down on the emolument of public officials, especially political office holders.” You hit the nail right on its head.
More of that: “Block the holes through which public funds leak and wage a serious war against corrupt officers presently in or out of office.”
Agreed: “It is only by doing these three things that those we approach for debt forgiveness would listen to us.” Yes, there is no viable alternative available. We have exhausted our limits and good luck.
One saddening classical example Afenifere would not want to forget in a hurry: “The National Assembly cornering N70 billion out of the N500 billion announced for palliatives is not only uncalled for.” Right and correct:
“It demonstrated clearly how insensitive our elected officers are to the plight of average Nigerians. The President should prevail on them to rescind their decision in this regard.”
Ours is a weird clime. It’s where personnel costs and debt servicing exceed government revenue: “Government had to borrow money to pay its personnel as well as service its loans. The actual amounts spent came to 102 per cent of the revenue generated.” Where do we go from here?
Ajayi is persuaded there’s a way out of the woods with Tinubu: “We, as Afenifere, feel that we have a responsibility to see that the Tinubu administration does not disappoint the people.
“We are resolute in calling his attention to what needs to be done (or undone) from time to time. We will soon have a (good) country of our dream, by the grace of God, Amen.”
Afenifere strikes a perfect ally in Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF). Strange? The credible handshake across the Niger came that same Sunday Afenifere spoke. Its president, Yerima Shettima, told Daily Sun:
“Leaders must cut costs. This madness about convoy and allowances of all sorts, including cars, wardrobe, furniture and domestic staff, must be stopped.
“The long convoy and so many other things must be reduced so that the money will be properly used for the welfare of the people. You can’t ask citizens to make sacrifices while you continue to enjoy all the luxuries of this life. The leaders must make sacrifices.”
Our government is embarrassingly top-heavy. And it is from “top to bottom.” All levels of government are involved: federal, state and local government.
President, Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Pogu Bitrus, was confused. He had many worries competing for space in his mind. He too poured out ferociously to Daily Sun: “We have petroleum, why can’t we refine it? Which kind of government is this? One government after the other, the same game is being played. Why is it so?”
Something then struck him: “It means there is something. Maybe this subsidy thing is a conduit pipe where government at different levels finds ways of siphoning Nigeria’s money into their pocket. Otherwise, why is it the same problem every time?”
Even national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, was also lost in transit. He didn’t fail to demonstrate that aptly last weekend. He was in Oro, Irepodun LGA, Kwara State, in solidarity with Lai Mohammed, a fellow Igbomina.
He was asked to advise Nigerians on their on-going woes. He didn’t pretend nor mince words. He was as blunt, even as forthright: “I’m sorry, I’m not in the position to advise Nigerians.” Why? It was a no-holds-barred response:
“Because I’m not in government and I don’t want to make mistakes. Only members of government who are reading files that know a lot of things about the country can do that.”
His final words: “I’m in a position like you and I will see it the way you will see it.”
What a tactical way to wash off his hands! That’s wisdom.