I have read with dismay criticisms trailing the noble call by the Governor of Benue state asking his citizens to resort to self – help especially in the face of the fact that the Federal Government had over the years exhibited a lackadaisical attitude to the various attacks – annihilation of life and property – linked to Fulani herdsmen in the country since the assumption of office by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mohammadu Buhari. What Governor Ortom advocated was in sync with scriptural injunction which admonishes self – dignity and preservation. It also sprouted from his personal frustration with the Federal Government failing to uphold the very fabric of the constitution that established it. As it is, the people of Benue State are left in the lurch to cater for themselves.
But when Mohammed Buhari was elected as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the thinking then was that he was going to protect all the segments of the country from the agents of violence and catapult Nigeria into a land of milk and honey. It was thought that the economic fortune of the country and its inhabitants were going to be better especially with the assurances of the All Progressive Congress apparatchiks. Yes, to their ingenuity, they applied the highest premium of propaganda to sway Nigerians into voting for the President and his Party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).
With their well-oiled and orchestrated propaganda stunts, they were not only able to cajole majority of Nigerians but hoodwinked them into accepting their mendacities that Nigeria was going to become an earthly paradise.
We were told that the President if elected was going to reduce the price of fuel from N85.00. We heard that all unemployed youth in the country were going to be paid N5,000.00 monthly. It was palatable to our ears to hear that insecurity especially insurgence in the country would become a thing of the past. They parroted into our brains that they would employ the instrumentality of their magic wand to bring dollars at par with our currency and that we will have no business borrowing to finance our needs. They promised that the country would swim in a very robust economy if Buhari ascended the throne.
In doing this, they utilized black propaganda to drive home their messages. Alhaji Lai Mohammed became their version of Joseph Goebbels. The then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan were hideously demonized and Nigerians bought their bogies hook and sink. The result was that the People’s Democratic Party and her candidate were swept off the power with their tails tucked in between their laps like a rabies infested pooches.
But, before this scenario, Nigeria was celebrated as one of the fastest growing economy in the world. But with the self-anointed messiah coming into the saddle, the country was menacingly placed on the reverse gear. The economy went comatose as prices of goods and services started sky-rocketing, fuel almost became an exclusive preserve of the rich, the promised N5, 000.00 monthly allowances to our unemployed youth became forlorn and war on Terror slowed down. It was indeed, a case of self – wreaked carcinomatous injury. We have our gullibility to blame for God only yield to man’s request if done in supplications. We prayed for a change and we got the Change that we all clamored for.
And, as a direct consequence of that credulity, we can no longer sleep in our various habitats. There have been ferocious attacks on various communities in the country today by various terror groups, militia, herdsmen, cult sects, kidnappers as well as house burglars. The crime rate no doubt has soared beyond measure and the government appeared to have developed blind eyes to it. The president seems not to have given a hoot to all these debilitating glitches antagonizing the country today. What the Presidency does in reaction to this ugly situations whenever they occurred was to issue anachronistically provocative press statements that were devoid of substances, with the erroneous believe that, it will calm frayed nerves. Sometimes, these press statements were antagonistic in nature. One of such examples was the Presidency’s reaction to Southern Governors proscription of open grazing in their domain , a move which was hailed by even some of his die- hard supporters.
In all these, the President stayed mute to the astonishment of many Nigerians. It was as a result of this huff that my friend and sister, Mrs. Josephine Akiyomen succinctly posited in lamentation on his social media wall that, “what is surprising is that he [Buhari] was able to swaddle a large swath of the population in a macabre dance that borders on ‘yoyoism’ in accordance to his whims and caprices for this long without accountability”. And truly, the president does not feel accountable to the populace and that was ostensibly his reason for not making comments that will assuage the people each time people and communities were decimated by his murderous kinsmen.
The presidential silence that looks like a tactical approval from the emperor no doubt had emboldened the herdsmen especially their leadership that has made it a point of duty to publicly challenge anything that appeared inimical to their interest. And this was probably the core reason why people are advocating for self-help today in consonance with the aphorism, “if i cannot get protection from the government, then I have no option but to resort to self – help”.
Self-help should not be gleaned from the perspective of bearing local arms against marauders alone but from the prism of consciousness of our environment, self – empowerment with entrepreneurial skills that will make us self-sufficient in all human endeavours.
Therefore, the Governor of Benue State was right in advocating for self-help and should be applauded for seeing what others have refused to see. His thesis no doubt is the needed stimulus at this trying period.