Letter to Mr. President

Mr. President Umaru Yaradua, saanu o. Mo ki yin toloogun toloogun, mo sit un ki yin t’alagbada t’alagbada.
Friday 29th May marked two years of your administration in Nigeria…God be praised!
With a very heavy heart, Mr. President, I have to tell you this…I am ashamed of you. I’m ashamed not because of your reported sickness but by the under-performance of your government and your lackadaisical attitude towards governance. By the way, May God bless you with good health.
By the time your predecessor, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration clocked two years on 29 May 2001, a lot of achievements had been recorded.
Civil servants were motivated to work…salaries had been increased…the NLC was championing the cause of the people and their leaders were not clamped in jail…the economy was growing.
Civil servants could afford a decent car without being tied up in debts. Parents could afford to send their children to decent private schools instead of the misfit public schools we have around. Businessmen and women had hopes of making it in life through hard work. The environment was just right for investing. “Gbemu Aremu” became a slogan, not because OBJ paid anybody but it came about because people credited him with the boom in the economy.
Though fuel price was increased, it was affordable and available.
Furthermore, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd.) was junketing around the world trying to redeem our dear country’s image…we never felt at any time that the country was without a leader.
Bilateral relations between Nigeria and other nations were improving and the hitherto sleeping giant of Africa was beginning to be reckoned with in the comity of nations. Technocrats started taking over ministries. Institutions to combat corruption started springing up.
Mr. President, I am sorry to have to tell you that your administration has disappointed Nigerians. Nigerians never trusted you for a second because of the way you came by the office but they hoped that you would at least prove yourself to be the true servant-leader that you are self-styled.
You have proven to be nothing more than a dove “mouth-piecing” for serpents, an assertion I held since 2007.
I would have loved to sit at your feet and let you regale me with the tale of the situation of things when you took over government: the unaccounted millions of dollars, the bad state of our Federal Roads, a grossly abused electoral process, politicized EFCC, epileptic power supply, corrupt-ridden NNPC, NPA, demoralized police force, etc.
Spare me, sir! Mi o ko je…
A leader in your position takes ultimate responsibility takes the full responsibility for everything that happens under his watch.
Though you started on a good note by reversing some anti-people policies put in place by the OBJ administration, I have to ask you: What has been the resultant effect on the lives of Nigerians?
Your ministers, special advisers and some members of the NASS have been busy quietly eating the cake meant for the whole nation. What has your government been doing to stop them or get them to share with the masses? We are not asking for too much…just a bite that will hit us like the “gbemu” that OBJ hit us with at this same time of his administration is enough.
Mr. President, can you name five ministers in your cabinet that have done anything significant? I’m sure that the Minister of Justice and & Attorney General would be first on the list…hmmm…
The truth is that the only news-worthy thing about their portfolios is whether they returned or conveniently forgot to return unspent funds at the end of the year.
On 29 May 2007 when your government was inaugurated, you promised Nigerians and the world that you would set electoral reforms into place. You just sent the honorable members led by Justice Uwais on a wild goose chase…though the rerun elections since the inception of your administration fell short of being credible, we still kept faith with you…e go better…the charade, maiming and killings that characterized the Ekiti elections showed us the kind of elections that your government is capable of organizing with extensive preparations. Kai! You disappointed Nigerians again…worse still, I’m ashamed of you. I’m pretty sure that the mothers, wives, husbands and children of those killed during that period will not spare a moment to pray for Gods blessings on your health and your administration.
You might also want to argue that you are building a strong foundation for tomorrow…eh…what about today? Ti a ba fi ogun odun pi le were, igba wo lo ma to ja?*
You keep hiding behind your rule-of-law mantra but magistrates are now being beaten up on court premises by the Police. Rule-of-law, my yansh…
Your sycophants have been busy using state powers and resources to hound and rubbish opposition and progressive Nigerians.
I love my country but I keep being embarrassed at your actions and inactions that is making my beloved country look like a joke. You have unleashed the military on people you are supposed to dialogue with, protect and serve…people who are agitating for a fair share of their own resources…
In short, you are a colossal failure and I would be surprised if you achieve anything meaningful after your first & second terms. We’ll just have to bear with you for a second term because it looks likely that you’ll foist yourself on us…OBJ doesn’t have to do that for you this time around.