Obasanjo, democracy and hunger
By
THE unprecedented upsurge of essential commodities, goods and services amongst others have dented the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo and our nascent democracy. Since the inception on 29th May, 1999, the embattled President and his crop of millionaire ministers and advisers have not been able to address the problem of hunger which is the most fundamental basic instrument for maintaining peace and stability in any political dispensation.
Within the first quarter of this year, there has been a sharp increase in the prices of foodstuff nationwide. Between January and February this year, basket of gari sold for N45, basket of caprice was N220, beans N150, bournvita N180, powered milk N190, peak milk tin, N35, a schnapps bottle of palm oil N50, a packet of St. Louis Sugar N35, livestock and poultry are not left out as a medium size chicken as at the period under review cost between N200 to N250, a medium size ram M5500 and goat N4500.
However between March and April, the prices of these items escalated astronomically with gari costing N250 a basket, rice N260, beans N180, Bournvita N220, powdered milk N220, tin milk N50, a bottle of oil N70, sugar N60, livestock, ram N9,500, goat N7,500 and chicken N350. What are the measures the Obasanjo government has put in place to alleviate the dehumanizing condition of the masses? All they seem to have done is grab, grab and grab without creating to enhance productivity. The government has no clear policy objectives and almost every politician who is an office holder is indoctrinated with the ‘grab’ syndrome while the masses who voted them into office have since been forgotten as they languish in abject poverty.
One would have thought that with the President’s incarceration for almost five years by the late dictator, Gen. Sanni Abacha before his release coupled with his background as a farmer before his second emergence as president, the first thing for him to initiate and introduce is a well - thought out policy on food production. This he has failed to do thereby plunging the country into hunger. The president is like the spider that weaves thread but goes about naked. None of his ministers has been able to perform creditably well because they are square pegs in round holes . There are catalogues of problems trailing the President apart from foodstuff, others are erratic power outage, unemployment, fuel scarcity, smuggling, corruption in public parastatals, downward slide of the Naira and the alarming increase in crime wave have rocked his boat dimming his second term in office.
Barely six months on assumption of office, everybody hailed the President when fuel queues disappeared from filling stations but in less than four months the old trend (queues) is manifested again, but this time in some cities until it gathered momentum and spread all over the country. The President should please explain to the country how within six months in power, fuel queues disappear and why he cannot use the same magic now. The perennial fuel scarcity has prevented most farmers from transporting their produce to the market. Some of the President’s aides have adduced several reasons both for the fall of the Naira and the overall economic crunch to save their jobs.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Chief Joseph Sanusi attributed the fall of the Naira to Nigerians penchant attitude for foreign goods. What an excuse! How many Nigerians can the chief say have access to these foreign goods? This is a cheap political self aggrandizement on the part of the CBN scribe because Nigerians who have no access to foreign goods constitute 90 per cent of the total population and to ascribe the fall of the Naira to them is totally wrong and unacceptable.
While the CBN chief was blaming Nigerians for their insatiable urge for foreign goods, his colleague in the Information Ministry, Prof. Jerry Gana adduced the downward slide of the Naira to smuggling. While the customs and other security agents are there to curtail the activities of smugglers, the Professor cannot trust their patriotism and incorruptibility. All these reasons advanced by the President’s aides are unintelligible. The depression in the economy has contributed to youths formation of gangsters and armed robbery among other social vices. The survival instincts shared among animals, fish and birds have driven many youths into series of obnoxious and notorious criminal activities.
In most home’s today, bread and rice have long disappeared from the dining table because they constitute the essential commodities only for the bourgeois. The survival instinct, the irrepressible urge to move out and find the means of sustenance to keep the body and soul together is often so overpowering that questioning what actions inform it becomes academic. Despite all the resources at our disposal, Nigerians still wallowing in abject and dehumanising conditions. Walk down the streets and see the expression on the faces of the people- sadness, sorrow, frustration and disillusion pervade the land. It is becoming extremely difficult for people to feed, most families now adopts the 0-1-0 for below the average class, the average class is 1-0-1. What a pity! However the ruling class by virtue of their position or act of wickedness may not know exactly how the ordinary man in the street feeds. It is no longer easy for most families to afford the proverbial three square meal a day.
Most Nigerians walking on the streets are but walking corpses with practically nothing in their stomach. In view of this development many families have to amend their economic food chart as an urgent measure to agree with the present reality while those who have exhausted various devices to checkmate the ugly trend are now stretched to a breaking point.
The President during the May Day (Workers Day) celebration was greeted with placards with different inscription, but with one message—hunger. Gari don cost, no be lie. There is need to overhaul the agriculture ministry and reinvigorate the Back To Farm (BTF) programme aimed at ensuring self sufficiency in food production.
September, 2001