With the 2023 general election about four months away, the sensibility of Nigerians has been awkwardly propped up for insults and ridicule once again. In its usual manner, the ruling party in the country – the All Progressives Congress (APC), has splashed dirty, sticky spittle on the faces of Nigerians with the choice that has been put before them for consideration. In spite of the cries and pleas of the hapless citizens of Nigeria, the party remains unfazed, unashamed, and unremorsefully in its stance; nothing could be sadder.
Almost a decade ago, a dubious special-purpose vehicle was formed in the Nigerian political arena which was named the All Progressives Congress (APC). Using the peppery propaganda tool and exaggerating the perceived failures of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the notorious ‘Gang of Looters’ sold a dummy to ignorant Nigerians just for power-grabbing obsessions. Alas, they succeeded in winning the race for access to the cookie jar and the country has never remained the same ever since.
The APC ran its campaigns on the mantra of anti-corruption fight, fight against insurgency, and economic emancipation of Nigerians. Not only were they abysmal failures in those areas, but they have also subjected Nigerians to the worst kind of mental torture ever imagined. The party promised Nigerians ‘change’ to gain power, only to win and unleash the exact opposite on them. What the APC was able to achieve in its seven years of rulership was to move from the ‘All Progressives Congress’, to ‘All Promises Cancelled’. Instead of improving the lives of Nigerians, things have worsened ten times over, even without any iota of remorse.
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A quick trip down memory lane will remind Nigerians that prior to the coming of the monstrous APC, insecurity was limited to Boko Haram insurgency in the North East. Today, the story is no longer the same; insecurity is now nationwide with non-state actors holding vast territories and calling the shots in many states in the country. Before the coming of the APC, there was no banditry in North Western Nigeria, kidnapping and banditry in South Western Nigeria were at a controllable level, there were no ‘Sit-at-homes’ or Unknown gunmen in the South East neither were herdsmen slaughtering human beings with impunity in the North Central and middle belt.
Despite spending a whopping N4.2 trillion on defence and security in seven years, despite withdrawing $1 billion from the then Excess Crude Account to purchase Tucano jets, the APC’s woeful failure continued to grow in geometric progression. Due to their glaring incompetence and ineptitude, the party and its members have now succeeded in pushing the country to the precipice where it perches, showing all the trappings of a failed state. No wonder Nigeria is now ranked the second most terrorised country in the world.
Before APC seized power, Nigerians haven’t had to face such terrible economic woes. The APC promised to make the Naira exchange for N1 to $1; today the currency they met at N199 to $1 is now exchanging for a whopping N750 to $1. The prices of goods and services have risen in astronomical numbers so much that the middle class has now been wiped off and living standards have now kissed the dust.
Today, Nigeria has the highest number of people living in extreme poverty despite sitting on resources worth trillions of dollars buried under its soil. The same APC that vowed to diversify Nigeria’s economy ended up spending a great deal of its time in office blaming the volatility in the oil market for its alarming maladministration and failures.
The anti-corruption promise is perhaps the greatest manifestation of APC’s failure in government. The party and its praise-singing members hoodwinked Nigerians into believing that President Muhammadu Buhari was an anti-corruption champion only for him to get there and the reverse became the case. Under the APC, corruption became institutionalised to the extent that not being corrupt appears abnormal. It was under the APC that Monkeys and Snakes started feeding on raw cash. It was under the APC that an accountant general allegedly stole almost N200 Billion and he is still walking the streets of Abuja a free man. It was under the APC that billions of Naira developed wings and flew away from the coffers of the NDDC, NPA, Customs and other agencies of the Federal Government with no arrests made and nobody being arraigned to face corruption charges. It was under the APC that Nigeria became extremely corrupt.
While Nigerians were still trying to wriggle themselves out of this mess, the ruling APC struck again; this time they are trying to shove a Bola Ahmed Tinubu down the throats of Nigerians, whether they like it or not. To exemplify the magnitude of disdain they have for Nigerians, just last week, Tinubu told weeping Nigerians who want a change in government o ‘Shut up their mouths’. He couldn’t even save the impunity and braggadocio till he is smuggled into the country’s seat of power. APC is so insensitive to the extent that the best option they can impose on them is a Tinubu that is mentally impaired, physically incapacitated, and clothed with stinking baggage.
Just before their primary, Tinubu regaled in boasting to Nigerians that he made Buhari president. With the unmitigated disaster that Buhari’s regime has turned out to be, it is rather painful that the same Tinubu wants to bury Nigerians and ensure that they never get an opportunity to breathe again. The former drug kingpin whose only reason for contesting for President is to fulfill an inglorious lifetime ambition is only out to geometrically increase the suffering of Nigerians whom his party has so much hatred for.
To make matters worse, of all the Northerners in Nigeria, the only qualified element by APC’s standard was the terror-loving former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shetima. Perhaps they believe Nigerians have forgotten the roles Shettima played in the Chibok girls’ kidnap which had generated global outrage at that time. Till today, Shettima is yet to explain to Nigerians why he refused to relocate the school girls despite repeated warnings to do so by the Federal Government, Shettima is yet to explain the roles he played in the formation of Boko Haram and a long list of question marks that trail behind him. To think that this is the man Nigerians will have as President anytime the ailing Tinubu takes medical tourism to the next level should worry any conscientious human being.
In conclusion, Nigerians must stop treating the APC with kid gloves. They must seek ways of embarking on civil disobedience measures to boot the APC out of power. They must at a minimum insist that the country must be restructured. It is time to say enough is enough! The present state of the country is a ticking time bomb and in the event of its explosion, no one will be safe. The APC, Tinubu, and Shettima combination must be painstakingly resisted if Nigerians must stand a fighting chance. A word is enough for the wise they say.
