By Wale Olaogun
President Buhari’s nationwide broadcast last week Thursday is not the first time the Nigerian Government would make nonchallant address as regards the welfare of the citizens. The Nigerian government is famous with treating its citizens with little or no care.
President Mohammed Buhari’s speech on the EndSars protest has made it known to all Nigerians that we still have a long way to go—in choosing the best leader that care about our welfare.
Every day, Nigerians keep hoping for a better tomorrow, but what we’ve only had is a better beginning that had failed to transcend into the present. The citizens believe that a good leader means a better Nigeria, that was why in 2015 they voted against former president Goodluck Jonathan, electing President Buhari. But this has become a decision many Nigerians have come to regret.
In the opinion of many, the nation has only plunged backwards with the current leadership. There has been economic instability, massive corruption, increase in number of extremely poor Nigerians, disregard of the citizens’ lives, especially when they ventilate about the bad governance—a recent example is the Lekki Massacre, among others.
Currently, the #EndSars protest is trending globally. The protest, which started like two weeks ago had been well-coordinated enough for the federal government to look into the demands of the protesters. Rather than look into the protesters’ demands, about a hundred of them met their deaths at the Lekki toll gate by the security operatives and up till this moment, there has not been justice for the deceased.
One would wonder if Nigeria is a still a democratic country, because our leaders are doing the best they can to stifle the voices of the masses even when they promise to fulfill their wishes. The only resolve Nigerians have is to do all they can within their legitimate rights to change the narrative for a better nation and to make sure the youths are adequately represented at top leadership positions. However, a question needs to be asked. Will the old men in the corridors of power allow the smooth transition of government into the hands of the youth? Well, only time will tell.
