Decorum in South-South, South-East, by Asaba-ase Stephen

Devastating time on the fabrics of Nigeria. There is no hiding fact. Hunger is not just like a widespread fire; it is now like a COVID 19.

There is a food scarcity, and it is unavoidably looming towards massive national food riot. However, a few weeks ago, a minister in this Tinibu led government said there is no scarcity of food in Nigeria.

Though, I’m not quite disappointed in this minister, since most of Tinubu’s ministers are made up of second rate, mediocre, provincial types – however basic economics theory of scarcity relays that the dynamics of supply and demand falls at equilibrium when the increase in supply meets the rise in demand.

But when the demand for the resource exceed the supply, and it leads both to exclusion, and to scarcity.

Scarcity could even be forged if case may be by some of our ministers as they have validated no food scarcity.

And only those who have excess resource or liquidity can afford goods and services and can therefore assert that there is no food scarcity, like this minister in government.

These lot are so out of touch with the Nigerian reality, it feels like they speak from their lenty Bank account. For instance, minimum wage in Nigeria is N30,000. But a bag of rice has spiked to N80,000. How about that, Hon. minister?

Just last week Tuesday, Mr. Kashim Shettima, the Vice-President, while briefing a conference on Public Wealth Management in Abuja, accused those they deprived of their lost mandate, 2023 General elections of subversion and sabotage.

According to reports in the media, Mr. Shettima accused his erstwhile political opponents of staging crisis and inciting anarchy. They are willing, he said to plunge Nigeria into a violent crisis.

They are sabotaging Nigeria, and the effort of the administration, he said, by smuggling food to other countries and triggering scarcity that lead the exponential rise of food prices in Nigeria.

“They are the practitioners of violence, advocating that Nigeria should go to the Lebanon way,” Kashim Shettima asserted”.

There is no evidence of sabotage by APC’s political opponents. This is dangerous talk by Shettima Kashim, whose background in the use of violence is fairly well known.

What is evident is that the price of commodities rise by per hour, which indicates that this government has lost control of the price mechanisms.

Nigeria was already on the road to Lebanon before now, from the eight years of Buhari, which was shrouded and applauded by looting, bastardization of economy and extreme lawlessness.

Shettima was a very key beneficiary of the Buhari years, yet he gathered the momentum to suggest that “Nigeria was bigger than everyone, and now that elections have come and gone, there should be a unity of purpose to pulling together, we have to make this country work” said Shettima, “we have to move beyond politics… .”

But everything is politics. Stealing in an election is despicable and diabolical politics. But it did not give them authority. Authority comes from legitimacy.

The nation’s situation has taken U-turn that many Nigerians have become suicidal; some have gone mad from the troubles; many children now go to bed feverish with hunger.

They cannot even get the remnant to eat off the streets. There is scarcity our Hon. Ministers. The markets are empty and increasingly shutting down, with the exponential devaluation of the Naira against other exchanging currencies.

The price of commodities are seriously above the price ceiling. Energy costs – fuel, gas, even firewood and coal – increased by per minute, hours and daily.

Nigeria’s economic system has gone arbitrary and abnormalities stage. A full year to his inauguration as President, he as worked against the will of Nigerians, Bola Amehd Tinubu, who campaigned on the principle of “Emilokan,” will sneak out of the Aso Rock fortress, like the immediate passed president, sneaked into his private jet for UK medical expedition, European tour and Meca sabbaticals.

He has already amassed and arrogate to himself the resources of the country and live out the rest of his life in heady luxurious Miami.

Tinubu has private wealth, just from serving in public office, that would make an Arab Sheik and oil billionaire red with envy. Like many of the Nigerian elite, who have perfected their “Noah’s Ark” policies, he has the resources of the country to escape with, even as Nigeria burns to the ground. I’m sure and I dare every well meaning Nigerian who still loves this Country to help stop this excruciating danger.

The ominous signs are harsh and threatening. I would want those currently in position of authority to recollect that the bread riots in revolutionary France, led to the storming of the Bastilles by citizens who had organized themselves into civil militias which caused French revolution, it was very devastating and catastrophic.

Mr. President as not only portrayed that he is actually not just clueless on this matter of steering Nigeria’s economy out of its socio-economic problems.

He bent on running and greasing the wheels of the same old extension of corrupt system which he clearly inherited from Buhari. He continues from where Buhari stopped.

Recently things felt apart, that implicated and compromised his ministers, and his Chief of Staff, the Beta Edu corruption scandal, was just papered work. No consequences to underscore days of reckoning.

Yes, Beta Edu was sacrificed, she faced neither inquiry nor injunctions and corruption charges. Femi Gbajabiamila and Adelabu, continue to bask at the perks of their high offices, despite the scandal which reflected on the faces of many Nigerians, imagine the depth of systemic corruption at it peak in Nigeria.

Nepotism and greasing of the palms; #squandermania#, the looting – while Nigerians are coiling in hunger and desperation to survive. This was the point Dr Usman Yusuf was making in his Arise TV interview the passed week. “The people are suffering,” he said “There is hunger in the land of Nigeria.

This injection and prescription of suffering of uncountable Nigerian are facing is felt across board.”

Dr Yusuf then threw in the clanger of Mr. Tinubu’s “reckless impunity and nepotism.” Well, then, Steve Ayorinde of Arise TV said to Yusuf, it seems you have failed to recognize role Buhari played in all this unending poverty and hunger.

However, there is also the other fact that people in the South South and South-east are worried in the political front. Nigeria is no longer their sole burden to bear.

The aborigines of the East are developing a broad concept of nation and a country of their own. But it is non-violent withdrawal while the South South at the extreme end clamoring for political restructuring and devolution of power to the States or tagged Fiscal federalism as a catalyst for national economic boost and integration.

There is no longer Azikiwe to theorize and integrate Nigeria, there is no Ekwueme to reconceptualise it, there is no Pius Okigbo to design Nigeria, or Ifeajuna/Nzeogwu to muster to save or rescue her, there no Isaac Jasper Adaga Boro to liberate Niger Delta and Ken Saro Wiwa to fight our cause of survival of the Ogoni and Ijaw in diaspora.

There is of course Peter Obi, and Goodluck Jonathan that are now telling the people, “didn’t we tell you that you’re wasting your time?” now feel well exonerated, saying, “we have tried to save Nigeria, but got bombarded for many times.”

It is some ethnic palance in the country, that people are imagined to be silence. Easterners are tired of trying to rescue Nigeria. They are emotionally drained, and they are waiting for others to lead the charge to save Nigeria, while they keep watch, it is more like the silence of the graveyard.

But those who are asking the South South and South-east that they are not protesting are just wasting their breath. The Niger Delta and South-East will erupt most likely spontaneous. Dr. Usman Yusuf is actually right: there is hunger in the land, and the South South and South-east is not exempt.