Time to roll up sleeves

To every Nigerian that means well for the country, today, May 29, should be a special day. Forget that, properly speaking, the day has no pronounced historical significance to the country. Forget also that the first organised massacre of the Igbo living in the North – the pogrom – took place on May 29 (1966).
The fact, however, is that the date has come to stay with us. It was a day thrown on us by the military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar as it rounded off its tour of duty. As usual with men of the uniform, especially in our clime, Abubakar and his men did not consult us – the bloody civilians –before choosing the date to hand over power to the then elected civilian administration of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.
Of course, we did not ask questions on the choice of the date and its significance. But did we really need to? Did we have to? Having experienced gruelling 16 years of dictatorship and broken promises of return to democracy in the hands of different bands of military adventurers, any date proposed by the Abdulsalami junta was okay with us, as long as it would see power transferred to an elected government.
That was how we departed from the country’s tradition of inaugurating a new administration on October 1, the very day we gained political independence from the British colonial masters. And so, May 29 has remained with us to be marked or celebrated by the government of the day, depending on its disposition and circumstances of the day.
Today’s occasion falls into the ritual. But it has more to show. It marks, for instance, the first year of hand-over of power from a previously ruling political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to a hitherto opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), seamlessly, in the country.
With the change in government came a paradigm shift in our orientation and attitude to doing things. Incidentally, APC had galloped to power on the mantra of change. It had promised radical change in style and structure of governance. It had offered Nigerians hope for better life. It had pledged frontal battle to corruption and insecurity.
But coming to power has offered the party insight into the realities of the day. APC has since been putting some caveats on its pre-election grandiose promises. The party has since been telling Nigerians how the monster of corruption had eaten very deep into all segments of national life. It has been advertising great feats in bursting or recovering alleged loots by some officials of the immediate past administration.
And faced with the challenges of the moment, the government has taken some measures that the people did not actually bargain for, the touchiest being the increase in the pump price of petrol from N87 to N145 a litre.
Not even the most ardent supporters of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration have found the decision funny. Some have described the measure as betrayal. Some say it is punishment. But the government has been suing for peace, explaining why it took the action.
At last, it has confessed that the country is broke. And given the situation, not much could be done. Actually, not much had been done in terms of fixing the country’s collapsed infrastructure in the last one year. It had rather been a period marked by in-fighting by chieftains of the ruling party over positions or ego trip in passing the budget. When either of these was not the case, it was the usual resort to blaming the past administration for whatever inadequacies on the ground.
All this while, the government may have had its way. But one year in the saddle, the honeymoon should be over. It can no longer be the usual blame game. The buck should stop somewhere, this time around. The recourse to blaming the Goodluck Jonathan era for whatever challenges confronting the government is no longer tenable.
Nigerians were, by their votes, quite agreed that the former administration was not on course. That was why they voted it out and voted in Buhari’s APC. In doing so, they voted for change, they voted for action. And they deserve that change. They deserve good governance. They need to be told the true state of affairs and not being choked with propaganda, as it is presently.
With the general elections still three years ahead, Nigerians desire to be taken to a new lease of life. They need to be convinced to beat their chests and thunder that they have a government that thinks and works for them.
There is no more time for the government to brandish the claim of not meeting anything on the ground. It does no longer have the luxury of claiming meeting an empty treasury. It cannot continue hiding under the canopy of being handed a dysfunctional system. Nigerians are no longer prepared to be fed with such excuses.
Buhari and his men should, rather, roll up their pants and get to work. After all, great leaders in history are known to have made their marks under moments of grave difficulties. It is also in dark moments that stars are noticed. The present government can elect to do so from now. Happy Democracy Day to all of us.