While We Patiently Wait For Goodluck In Nigeria —Prince Charles Dickson

An Ibo saying, when translated, means, when one treats an illness, one does not treat death. It simply implies that if one neglects an illness until death intervenes, the treatment comes too late.

All over the world today, it seems every nation is battling one form of austerity or the other, cutting costs and trying to bring governance to the people on the lower floor. The opposite seems to be the case with us in this clime and with the current administration it does not seem to be getting any better.

In London, the bridge has not collapsed but it has taken some beating. In USA, according to reports, we are witnessing a situation where Apple Inc. has more cash than the US government. In Europe, its one deal or the other to guide against collapse, Libya is fighting NATO and imperialists in democratic togas. And the Middle East continues its delicate weave; there is Pakistan, Afghanistan and others.

In ‘Nigeriastan’ we patiently wait on Mr. Goodluck to deliver on his promises; promises which his government seems to be making more daily than delivering, he has taken cost of governance to new level highs. We are not at war, no famine, or drought; however we continue to wage battles against ourselves…A corrupt leadership, a docile and culpable citizens.

For this year 2011, the State House is spending N20.01 billion, a 56.53 percent rise from that of 2010, and the highest amount since 2005. And we are still waiting for the government to take off.

According to reports, “For instance, over the years, the annual cost of maintaining the presidential quarters and offices cost averagely N1.2 billion each year. For this year, the amount has reached its highest at a little over N2 billion. Also, while the furnishing of three Guest Houses for the Vice President got N20 million each in 2008, one of the apartments at Asokoro is receiving N88.39 million in 2011”. Do ghosts sleep there?

This year’s budget remarkably did not include the maintenance of presidential aircraft – usually one of the recipients of major allocation annually – but it retained the high local and international travel cost as well as yearly purchases of new computers, vehicles and printing equipment.

And while we patiently wait for goodluck…, we are kept busy with Boko Haram and enter Islamic Banking drama, we are then offered the single hit song ‘single tenure’ and currently it is Al-Mustapha and the nationalized banks. Who knows the next script to keep Nigerians patient and make them forget their sorrow and continue to suffer?

Since 1999 PDP has produced less than 5,000 MW for 150 million Nigerians, Britain generates 75,000MW for its 62,262,000 population, and South Africa also, with a population of 50,586　757, generates about 40,000 MW. Ghana keeps celebrating uninterrupted electricity supply. At the rate at which we are going, it is doubtful if Nigeria can celebrate one month of uninterrupted power supply nationwide anytime soon. If it happens, it will be a miracle of the millennium and our patience graciously rewarded.

While thousands of graduates, of different bakes, half, quarter and fully baked transit into the labour market with no jobs, and very little in terms of entrepreneurial ability, we watch as ex-militants get education in Singapore, South Africa, Malaysia for fighting the nation, we watch patiently as very soon Boko Haram will get an offer and MASSOB, OPC and other groups will start their demands.

Some months back it was the young Turks from Katsina, running the show with the Tanimus and Aondoakaas, now it is the resource control cap brothers, the Adokes, and Diezanis. While the majority of Nigerians can only wait and watch patiently, peradventure it will be their turn.

While we patiently wait we are feasted with a basket of uncertainties that is adorned by a lack of forthrightness, we battle many presidencies, with everyone talking at the same thing, saying different things, and what can we say than indeed, desire for fresh breathe and transformation. What we have now is a very loose presidency camouflaged as a listening one. One day it is juju scare on Mr. President, the other it is a case of entry without breaking by fake soldier into the villa.

Then, we wait for the lies of the likes of the Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison Madueke and the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Austen Oniwon that “the nation’s refining capacity would receive significant boost in the next three years, with the coming up three new refineries and the TAM of the traditional refineries, which is now being handled by the companies that first built them to ensure that this time the facilities will actually give us the result that we desire in this country and take us to 95 per cent capacity utilization in all our traditional refineries.”

One question is: “How many TAM have we done in the last twenty years? It seems every government does is its own Turn-Around-Money-Making with these refineries.

We are told with certainty, however, by no other neighbour than Niger Republic that they would begin exportation of refined petroleum products to Nigeria by the end of this year. The country’s leader, President Mahamadou Issoufou, said so.

And as we patiently wait for Mr. Goodluck, he chose the State House, Abuja, to explain to our president without any ‘fear’ that the planned export of products to Nigeria would be aimed at bringing succour to residents of Northern Nigeria, whom he said would be getting supplies of the products from Zinder Refinery in Niger Republic.

As we crawl towards the 20-2020 on one hand and wait patiently on this administration, apart from a finger count of functional FCMG companies all our industries are packed, and packing up.

Our democracy is taking root, the corruption in the judiciary is there, the executive recklessness and legislative rascality is visible, and there is a clear painting on canvass regarding the divide between the haves and have-nots. We continue to wait with patience that goodluck will come our way.

How and when this will happen, remain to be seen, for a government that has no long term plan, no short term plan either, other than tenure extension, for a party that has in 12 years made no visible impact especially comparatively commensurate with the billions the nation makes every day in oil revenue.

The papers have reported that following the recent CBN action of nationalizing, confidence is low and the stock market lost N281 billion in just two days, with the banking sector losing N155b ($1 billion) of it (55%). But Nigerians that we are, we patiently wait that the miracle will happen, the goodluck will come.

Mr. Jonathan, you are not the cause of all the problems hitting this country but you are in position of responsibility, you took it upon yourself, and many of us believe that the treatment may come late, it may come at death. I dare you Mr. President to do one thing right and correct, shame us critics. Do not forget that a domesticated dog does not know how to hunt. It is becoming clear that it was better when you had no shoes. Pampering kills initiative, get up and work, walk…Nigerians may lose patience someday if…

•Dickson is the Editor, burningpot.com, Nigeria’s 1st Online Newspaper.