Mr. President: Our Residents Have A P

Nigerians, so forgetful of times and the past, blessed with short memories and an awkwardly forgiving heart, bearers of fast judgements and opinions, the most pummelled yet the strongest. I go like to ask you say, "how market"?
Have you changed from good to worse or from best to bad? Have you bought a bag of rice at #6000? And is one naira now equal to one dollar? Have you promised your children fat pocket monies since they enjoy free education? Hasn't any of your wonderful kids told you about his delicacy lunches in school? What have you had my brothers? Zero change when you take your salaries to the market via the filling station? What have you had my sisters? Are your wares selling and your stores getting more filled up daily? Mr. President, our residents have a P- a big problem.

It looks so easy to apportion blames to any government in power, with cacophonous tirades directed to the heads that lead, the picture your party painted was that of Eldorado in Abuja and a little London made out of Onitsha. Kano is yet to turn Abu Dhabi and we still await Ibadan to become another New York City. Those who analysed carefully foresaw the troubles but the desperation for change has made Nigerians run from a hot furnace to a boiling autoclave. Heat is what we face!
Mr. President, your ministers and aides are belittling the pains of the common Nigerian. They haven't painted a picture of the difficulty of Salisu to eat a plate of rice when a bag of rice costs #16000. Mr. President, your Special Advisers hardly understand what it means to be in Oyingbo, Onitsha, Aba and other markets these days, people are closing shops and businesses are folding up due to an economy that has failed them, they thought this change was going to be sincere, they hardly knew it was the sincerest of ill notions. Mr. President, was there a reality of how enormous this task of putting Nigeria in good stead was? Stop this blame games and find a way out! Like a Yoruba adage will say, "tí tenìkan ò bá bàjé, telòmí ò lè daá" meaning, "one man's doom is another man's boom." Companies keep riding out of Nigeria to settle in Ghana taking those good monies and employment opportunities with them. Hon. Minister of Finance, did you just say, "recession" is a word? Recession is a world that is the realest form of reality. 4.1m jobs lost, who will that help? The government?
That you contested four times made us, Nigerians feel you had a goal, perhaps you did but you never checked the texture of the pitch to know how to make your runs. You have very deficient midfielders in your Ministers whose passes are deceiving, many wrong passes are being made. That the erudite and brilliant Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was your running mate made us so confident your number 2 had the intellectual nous to help you with the affairs of the state. That you used our wishes, "change" as your political tag and mantra made us feel you were in line with us, not till I saw the price of petroleum rise to #145. Mr. President, were you sure of how humongous running the Nigerian state was? Did you have a hearty consultation of your predecessors before you took on the reins of power? The many meetings on papers daily, what were being discussed? How tired you are with governance? If you truly asked them, they must have informed you that leading Nigeria is second to being a God-approved gatekeeper of hell, you enjoy the bliss but the heat leaves its mark on you! Mr. President, our residents have a P. This P is a total disappointment in your administration, so far! Did you ever plan for the Niger Delta Avengers? Were your security advisers realistic enough to know there may be something of such in a selfishly multidiverse nation like ours? Did you ever think there'll be none? No, no!
You have relegated BH to their slates, you have made them rubbles and shred them to a disjointed piece, thumbs up! But Sir, has that been proven to be enough to save us from an impending and now, arriving recession? Our students are flying abroad in their droves to pursue degrees that won't even give them jobs here. Mr. President, are we safe to relax when our tummies are satisfied of hunger and our yawns keep being dry and poverty-linked? Mr. President, have you ever looked out the window of your Presidential Jet to see how many disable people are still begging for Alms? Mr. President, our residents have a P.

It is general knowledge that you won't and can't solve all our problems, but do you want the tears my father shed in the unholy last administration to continue? I believe those nights I argued for your competence won't be in vain. You promised us there'll be a buoyancy in our economy. The nearest thing you can run to are excuses like your Hon. Minister of Information bores us with them. We can't keep paying happily for a non-commensurate electricity bill. Mr . President, take a look beyond your Aso.Rock residence, don't adore those flowers only, be pained by the number of Nigerians suffering, act and act as we feel. The boy in front of me is yet to eat today , he has followed me for over 30 metres now and this is 5 p.m. Mr. President, those kids still await their lunch and remember kids never forget what you tell them, remember!


Balogun Rilwan Adetayo