POLITICS TODAY

By Aminu Mohammed

Now that the 10- day “national protest” is over and the dust raised before and during the show down between the government and the people appears to be slowly disappearing, questions like what are the profits, losses, gains, pains, benefits and effects of the week long uprising should dominate the headlines because after every, uprising, protest, demonstration or war, there should be stocktaking.

However, the one million dollar question is, has the protest which turned out to be a northern burden achieved the desired goal? Not at all because the president failed in his broadcast to address any of the demands put forward by the “faceless organizers” of the protest. Although, we all know protests against governments are organized by those outside the system but sometimes even insiders are involved.

Some called it hardship protest while others labeled it hunger protest but whichever name you give it, it was a protest to tell those who we voted for to give us good life that the voters are hungry, are in hardship, are in pains and have been stretched to the point of no return. If you push a hungry man to the wall, he would use the remaining strength in him to hit back in order to survive. The August 1st protest which lasted for 10 days was simply a signal to politicians ruling this country that enough is enough. A hungry man is an angry man. Late Bob Marley said it all, dem belly full but we are hungry and a hungry mob is an angry mob.

The mob in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jos, Yola, Sokoto, Gusau, Gombe, Bauchi, Lagos and some few southern states were hungry and therefore angry. The looting and burning of government and people’s property were as a result of extreme hunger caused by political misrule.
During those 10 days, it was clear that a vast majority of the poor is frustrated. Frustration can cause anything. It leads to depression and once those who rule fail to listen and attend to peoples immediate needs, there would be anarchy.

The definition of hunger in any global dictionary does not include religion, race or educational background rather an urge to satisfy man’s first basic need in life, food. Hunger does not know religion or tribal affiliation all it requires is, immediate solution and that solution is food. Therefore, any government that fails to fulfil that basic requirement is a failed government. Hunger is beyond politics and for 10 days, Nigerians have proved that hunger, extreme hunger and starvation are doing havoc to our living as beings.

Hunger is not only an urge for living beings( humans and animals) but a natural phenomenon which does not understand the meaning of patience. When a man or an animal is extremely hungry, he or it becomes an uncontrollable monster. Hunger is more deadly than a Tsunami, hurricane or wildfire but can only be likened with an earthquake. We saw it in Kenya, Bangladesh and right at our door steps here in Nigeria.

The protest in Kenya began like a joke or musical concert but before one could blink ones eyes it spread to other countries and continents. When the Kenyan protest started, it set the social media on fire and whether you believe it or not, it immensely contributed to what happened in Nigeria. Hardship and hunger both start with the letter h and once the two come together, no one can stop them from wrecking havoc. The August 1st protest came with a big price because it left behind so many casualties. However , the casualties are not only those who are dead or wounded. All of us are now casualties of the havoc. It left behind the dead, the wounded and the not so sure of the future. Those who lost their lives need our prayers because they died for us to live and not only to live but to live a good life. May their souls Rest In Peace,(Ameeeen).

As for those who were wounded we pray for their quick recovery because life has offered them another chance to witness a New Nigeria where religion or race would not have effect on our future voting pattern. One big lesson learnt from Jos the Plateau state capital was how both Christians and Muslims came together to be their brother’s keeper. In fact, it was beautiful and amazing to see Christians forming brigade of guards protecting their Muslim counterparts during prayer sessions and it is hoped that this hardship and hunger protest is the beginning of a lasting aged-long religious crises that have turned the once peaceful and tourists abode to a slaughter den.

All in all, the August Protest is a wake up call on the government either to do the needful or face the mother of all protests in 2027. Already, we saw and heard how youths were shouting in the midst of armed military officers mu sojoji mukeso meaning we want the military back to power. They chanted it at the Sultan Palace in Sokoto, it was loud and clear in Kaduna, Jos and many other northern towns where the protests were deadly than expected. The August Protest was more of a northern affair than a national problem. This is because the north gave both APC and Tinubu the highest votes.

Although, it was scanty in the south west and south south but the south east boycotted it for some reasons. The north was angry because it gave the Tinubu administration the highest votes. It stood with the APC through thick and thin but it was the most afflicted with this hardship and hunger. The north which gave Tinubu the victory in the last election cannot boast of any tangible infrastructure in the last one year of this administration. The north, which has the highest population of illiterates (people without western education) is faced with the burden of jobless youths who were seen on the streets shouting and looting because the system failed to accommodate them The north, whose elites are so selfish has since 1914 after the amalgamation remained underdeveloped. In fact one of its so called elders was saying Nigeria has expired since the 1914 Amalgamation. Nigeria has not expired, it is elders like him who have failed to stand by it especially, the north which is his immediate constituency. For someone who has been a vice chancellor in a famous university in the north which made him what he is today to say that is unfortunate. People like him should be held responsible for the woes the region is going through.

Nigeria’s problem is not military or civilian administration but expired brains ruling over it. Education is key in human development and this is what the elders like him in the north have failed to address. Therefore , for a former vice chancellor to say Nigeria has expired, I wonder what he has done for the north throughout his career in government. What development has he brought to the north and Nigeria apart from the many protests students staged during his tenure as VC?

As a people, we always learn from history and as we count the losses incurred during the 10 days of human anger as a result of hunger, the Emilokan administration should take immediate steps to address the problems his bad policies from May 29, 2023( removal of fuel subsidy) has caused Nigerians. Both the federal government and states should come out with policies with human faces because their policies are not working. If you forcefully collect Ice cream from a baby’s hand, what you do is to give him what is sweeter than honey. For now the palliative policy is not working. The over pumping of funds to states to cushion the effect of the oil subsidy removal is not working. The distribution of “rice” to a hungry population is not working. What then is the solution?

The solution lies in us as a people to tell the government that we need our refineries back on track, we need a reversal of the oil subsidy policy because the World Bank or IMF should not be dictating to us. We need subsidy in the education sector which is the key in national development.

Above all, we need food subsidy to prevent further hunger protests. All these are however possible in a peaceful environment. This is where security comes in.

An unsecured country would never know peace and where there is no peace you cannot find development.
The 2027 general elections would surely be entertaining, exciting and dramatic because hunger and anger would determine who gets what. The emilokan syndrome would not work again, the Muslim/ Muslim, Christian/ Christian, Muslim/ Christian, Christian/ Muslim ticket would also not work what would work for the voter is the anti Hardship/ Hunger ticket which would assure him food on the table.

The PDP’s 16 years of misrule and APC ‘s nine years of hardship combined have produced a failed state called Nigeria and is time for a new Nigeria to evolve where hunger and hardship would be in the past. Is unacceptable for the 7th largest producer of global oil to fail to cater for its citizens. Mr president sir, the Renewed Hope Agenda is not working for now and you need to revisit those policies without human face and replace them with human capacity building and other developmental policies such as reviving both public and private industries for job creation, giving attention to our health system and declaring emergency on security and agric sector.

The crux of the protest was hunger and hunger can only be defeated through good agric policies by government. Nigerians have spoken. Let those who have listening ears hear because any further protest on hunger would have devastating consequences. A stitch in time they say saves nine.