By Sunny Ikhioya
Despite the statistics that they are churning out on a daily basis, it will be very difficult to write a positive report about this government because of the colossal waste of resources that is ongoing. The bandits and terrorists are destroying our land, the farmers are being driven out of their farms, the cost of living has gone up and the government appears helpless about the whole situation.
There is no light, so the people do not listen to news; the daily newspapers have gone beyond the reach of the ordinary man, so the people depend on information from social media and what they see on the ground and tell each other. On the streets, the report is not a good one; the people are angry with the government and how they are managing our common patrimony. They are angry that foreign elements are being allowed to come into their lands to kill, steal and destroy, with the government’s inability to contain them. They are angry that despite all of these happenings, what the politicians are interested in is the elections of 2027. They are not talking about how to collectively resolve this war that is ongoing in the country, which is threatening our collective existence.
They are attributing it to the enemies of the government and the opposition. If that is so, why don’t we identify this link and deal with it decisively? Using propaganda to cover up an obvious failure is a very wicked thing to do; the blood of the innocent people that have been sent to their premature graves will not allow the country to rest under such circumstances. We do not reinforce failure, we do not repeat the same thing under the same circumstances and expect a different result. Our security strategies against these killers and enemies of the state have not changed and that is why what happened during Jonathan’s era in 2014 is repeating itself in 2026 under Tinubu’s government. We have not collectively come out to say “never again” and actioned it. This is a shame.
Our economy is being sabotaged by these actions; until we put the matter of insurgency permanently to rest we will continue to struggle with development. That is why the activities of governors are causing a lot of embarrassment to people who are conscious of the situation and the expectations from them as the representatives of the people. Collectively, the governors have failed to own up to their responsibilities to the people, but a couple of them have raised their levels higher to that of sycophancy.
The whole country is under siege and our leaders are playing politics; everyone is beholden to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, no one is thinking about the people. How we miss the late governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who, when the chips were down and his people were being killed needlessly, came out openly to form his own state security organisation, which later became the Amotekun that we know today. He did this in defiance of the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government.
He was ready to go to any length to ensure that the safety of his people took precedence over party or political alliances, and the people were the better for it. When the Owo church massacre took place, he vowed to get at the culprits, and the Amotekun intelligence network were the first group to release information about the identity of those who carried out the attack. Today, some of the key actors have been successfully prosecuted and sentenced to death. Of all the Yoruba states, aside from the state of Lagos, Ondo State seems to be the most stable in terms of security control.
If the other states had followed Akeredolu’s lead, all of these happenings would not have been experienced. When you set up your local intelligence outfit, with a good supply network of information, happenings in Kwara and Oyo today would not be witnessed. Since the death of Akeredolu, state governors’ activities regarding insecurity in the land have become tamed. People are dying and governors are looking helplessly up to the almighty federal government for solutions. As it is now, every governor must take the security of his territory as a personal responsibility; follow the Akeredolu example, take the bull by the horn, our governors are too cowardly.
The other day I listened to a programme anchored by Michael Essien-Ègbegbà- on Kpoko FM radio station in Warri, Delta State. The programme was doing an analysis of the press interview granted by the governor to Arise News media. In this interview, Oborevwori argued that President Bola Tinubu is his number one project, and remains the only leading presidential contender with a direct affiliation to Delta State through the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, who has ancestral ties to the state. Let me quote him here: “So on the issue of the contest, governorship is not an issue. It’s not an issue.
We talk about how to deliver, Mr. President, my president, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which is my number one project. That’s the project, that’s my project. This is because that project is bigger than any other projects.” As soon as the presenter finished the introduction of his programme the floodgates were opened, and it was criticism galore for Governor Sheriff Oborevwori. The people were angry; they asked him to mention one single programme that Tinubu has done to benefit Delta State since his tenure began. Caller after caller called to express their disappointment in the governor’s stance. They demanded that he use his own contributions as his campaign anchor rather than bringing in Tinubu.
This was at the height of the Oyo schoolchildren kidnapping and general insecurity and hardship in the country; they do not want to hear anything about political campaigns and such other stuff. All they want is safety for everyone in the country. Also, operating on the same wavelength with Sheriff is Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State. This is what he said: “First of all, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made funding available for us to do all of the projects we have done: 1,300 kilometres of roads, and to have been able to put up 458 compassionate homes, to be able to support 12,000 elders, to be able to build hospitals… To be able in all the 31 local government areas to build modern schools, solar-powered computer labs in all of the 31 local government areas. These are visible things.
To be able to turn around the face of tourism in this state.” The governors have forgotten that FAAC allocation is the statutory responsibility of every government and not the workings of any politician. The federal government has no right to deprive any state of its allocation, so crediting state allocation as a federal government success is a misnomer. These two governors are not alone in this; the Edo State governor sees Tinubu’s re-election as his personal project. It is like when they align with Tinubu, their second coming is secured, and this is the feeling all over the land. The mighty APC has dwarfed all other parties, making the 2027 elections mere formalities. Too bad for our democracy.
•Sunny Ikhioya wrote from Lagos.
