Category: Opinion

Once, I attended an ANPP campaign event in Maidugri as a journalist and was privileged to be in the Governor’s convoy. The Governor then was ANPP. He was in company of a former National Chairman of the party, who was also from the North. (I want to withhold their names.)

While the governor’s convoy was negotiating a wide roundabout in the center of Maidugri, there was a large number of young people running around and selling petrol in kegs. Obviously there was fuel scarcity and black market was thriving. In a later conversation which I overheard, the former national Chairman asked the Governor why he allowed so many people to run around with flammable liquid like that in the center of town? He warned that it was very risky and advised the Governor to do something about it.

The Governor promptly replied in Hausa language that, it was election time and those boys selling fuel are the boys they use to disrupt elections when the need arise and any attempt to remove them from that point during elections will lure them to the opposition party. He said they are easy to procure and dispense and promised the Chairman that, they will be removed after elections, if the fuel scarcity persisted. I speak Hausa fluently so I didn’t need an interpreter.

Let me give you another instance. I have also heard a political office holder from the South say, “Don’t worry yourself Agba, about those complaints. People are hungry, once you send them some money, all the annoyance will disappear.”

These are two actual scenarios that I was able to shovel from my memory this morning to buttress the point that the perpetuation of poverty is a weapon of politicians and political organizations. They create poverty, and weaponize same for their self-benefit. There are well researched theories which have managed to show how politicians create poverty, manipulate poor people for their benefit and clip the poor to remain on the same level over a long period.

Even amongst the people, we have weaponized poverty against ourselves. For most important persons in our lives and families, the comfortable time for them to give money or assistance is, when you want to entertain or when you are grieving. Like when you want to conduct a burial, friends and relatives will spend millions to travel across oceans, and from the cities to attend. WhatsApp groups will open for generous donations. When you are ill or want to start a business or fund education, you will be ignored. We are acquiescing to a vice.

Successive governments have conducted numerous researches on causes of poverty, suggesting various policies, yet there is no political will to implement these policies and ensure poverty is addressed. But the worsening situation in the country is proving daily that, handing out tokens to the citizens like our leaders are doing today will not resolve any problem. It is rather creating a dependent citizenry and escalating an already fragile situation. Political realism should therefore open our eyes to the urgent need for sustainable poverty eradication methods that can enthuse the alienated population.

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author,,l Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

Let me start by defining what palliative is.

“A medicine or form of medical care that relieves symptoms without dealing with the cause of the condition.”

If you are 30yrs today, and politically active, and commenting on social media, that means in 1999, when democracy returned to Nigeria and when Nigeria adopted the Constitution of the 4th Republic, you were barely 5 years old. You didn’t know anything politically yet. If you are 35years today, that means you were 10 years old. You will have little or nothing to say first hand, about the Obasanjo and Donald Duke years in office.

Unfortunately for this demographic, for those who are active politically, they are more familiar with the word, “Palliatives” than the word “Development.” In fact, they confuse the latter for the former. For most of them, palliatives means the same thing with development. Anyone who dispenses palliatives is bringing development to the people. So when they vote, they don’t expect much. Once you can dispense some palliatives, the people will translate it to mean development, and they can even go to war for you.

Consequently, instead of growing our generation and distribution of electricity to illuminate us, power businesses and factories, they are giving us palliatives, – supplying millions of solar street lights across the country. Yet electricity bills keep increasing amidst the darkness.

Instead of building and equipping hospitals and insuring our health, they are giving us palliatives. They have reduced it to three-days health outreaches in our villages. Yet charges in government hospitals keep rising while they get their own healthcare abroad or in private hospitals.

Instead of equipping schools, giving us years of expense paid and program scholarships, they are giving us palliatives. They have reduced it to parceling some few thousands in envelopes to distribute in open fields or wiring it to your account, and still call it scholarship, while sending their own children abroad or to private schools.

Instead of deliberately building massive infrastructure, they are giving us transport palliatives. They are buying rickety foreign coaches, buses and refurbishing, buying keke and okada, to ride on aged roads and rails, while they are chauffeur driven in armored SUVs.

Instead of building ‘water works’ to purify and distribute pipe born water to homes, they are giving us palliatives. They are counting the number of boreholes they have dug.

Instead of building refineries to make fuel available, they are giving us palliatives. Sharing money and importing refined products and selling to us at whatever price they like.

Instead of creating the enabling environment for jobs and earning a living, they are giving palliatives. Sharing wrappers, rice and meat and drinks and condiments to a pauparized population. It’s now all about palliatives, palliatives, palliatives, and nothing but palliatives.

But it was not always like this. The aging infrastructure in Lagos did not emerge from the Atlantic Ocean. It was built. Abuja was built. The Federal Secretariat, National Assembly Complex, Supreme Court, Airports, 3rd mainland bridge, Carter Bridge, Eko Bridge, the now decrepit general hospitals across the country, the military barracks and facilities, the first generation universities, the hydro dams, the now failed East West road and several others, were started and completed.

So why have we become so incapable of starting and completing so many things? Is our vote now for palliatives? Have we redefined the meaning of development or do we need to ask why our government has been reduced to palliatives instead of development? If you find the answer, you can share it with me.

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent