Knees On Nigeria, Nigerians Can’t Breathe By Idowu Amos Paul
People in Katsina State can’t breathe because bandits are kneeling on their necks. Insecurity is a knee on the necks of helplessly vulnerable and defenceless people under a government which security tops its campaign agenda.
Not only Katsina where the President hail from, no part of the country that does not experience insecurity ranging from kidnappings, herdsmen and bandits killings even though the Northern states remain the most affected and still being affected as insecurity continues to kneel on the necks of the peoples there, making them unable to breathe.
Southern part of Kaduna State has not ceased to be in the news on account of its peoples being attacked and killed in hundreds, allegedly, by Fulani herdsmen because their necks are being knelt on by failure of governments both at the state and centre to provide them with security until they stopped breathing.
APC led federal government has not done well in tackling Boko Haram terrorists as they continued carrying out wanton attacks and killings of not only civilians but also soldiers deployed to the Northeast to fight and defeat the terrorists because the necks of the victims of the terrorists guns and bombs are being knelt on by the failure of the Nigeria army to defeat the terrorists despite a whopping N7 trillion said to have been expended in procurement of ammunitions to end terrorism in the Northeast.
Aside the terrorists having field days, perpetrating their murderous acts, they also resorted to abducting school girls. This brings to mind the abduction of school girls in Chibok and Dapchi in Borno State. Students in both school had their necks knelt on by their abductors who held them captive because there were no security operatives to stop their being abducted.
Effort of government to rescue the girls from the captivity of their abductors yielded result as most of them were reunited with their families. However, the rescue of Dapchi girls and excluding one of them, Liah Sharibu, because she is a Christian left a bitter taste in the mouths of her parents whose hope of reuniting with their daughter was dashed. This development was greeted with criticism from various quarters, condemning the exclusion of Leah because she refused to denounce her faith.
In appeasing the troubled and traumatized parents of Leah, government issued a statement, regretting Leah’s exclusion and promised to see to her release. But she has not only remained in captivity but also was forced into marriage with one of the commanders of the Boko Haram terrorists and became a mother because her neck is being knelt on by the failure of government to rescue her. Her dream to be educated to University level is being knelt on and shattered. Her parents who are still hopefully awaiting her home coming may continue to wait for God knows when because her home coming is being knelt on by her abductors. Hence, she could not breathe the air of freedom.
Another area of national life that APC led government promised fixing was the economy. But it is abundantly evidenced that economic headships that outweigh those of the PDP led government are kneeling on the necks of Nigerians, making them unable to breathe as they suffocate in poverty. It is so bad under APC led government that Nigeria is rated headquarters of poverty in the world. The rate at which Nigerians had lost and are still losing jobs because of the worsening state of the economy is so alarming and those that are entrepreneurs — self-employed are finding it difficult to operate profitably because of the epileptic state of electricity in the country despite privatising the power sector. Sadly, the necks of Nigerians are being knelt on by darkness the electricity companies are supplying and fraudulently charging for. Nigerians can’t be breathe. It is only in Nigeria that members of a community will raise money, buy a transformer, pay electricity company to install it and get billed for not regularly supplied electricity. There are testimonies by Nigerians whose communities have not had electricity for days, weeks, and even months. How can a country in a darkness breathe progress?
Talking about the fight against corruption by APC led government, there are to divides to in terms of public opinions. While one divide believes corruption is being fought by this government, the other faults the fight, describing it a selective one. This lends credence to a statement made by APC Senator , Shehu Sani, that corrupt members of APC are fought with deodorants but when members of opposition are involved in same, they are fought with insecticides — government kneeling on the principle of equality before the law in negation of the rule of law. A lot of public opinion moulders hold Senate Sani’s view while others are of the opinion that the government is doing so well in its fight against corruption.
In a recently published open letter written to President Muhammadu Buhari by former Kaduna State military administrator, Abubakar Dangiwa, the President was warned by Dangiwa against destroying Nigeria on account of the lopsidedness in his appointments in favour of the North, kneeling on other parts of the country in disregard for the principle of federal character.
