Last Wednesday, September 11, Nigerians woke up to read in the dailies an open letter addressed to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, wrote the letter to express his concerns and that of over 200 million Nigerians on the present state of the Nigerian nation.
Titled: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, time is going,” it came as an unexpected bomb and a fiery salvo from somebody least expected.
The letter suddenly became the talk of the town, bringing to the public domain the singular opportunity for Nigerians to critically analyse Tinubu’s reforms as well as the timing and reason for the letter. Many who feasted on the letter had enough time to express their long term displeasure at the Tinubu administration, especially on the pain and hardship his reforms have brought to Nigeria and Nigerians.
Others who could not see beyond their noses covered their respective opinions with ethnic clothing. They said it was “forbidden” for Iba Gani Adams to write such a letter to the president, especially now that the man at the helm of the affairs is a Yoruba man, his kinsman and a long-standing political activist.
Yes, there are always two sides to a coin. While it is interesting to say that the Tinubu reforms are good and necessary at this time, it is also very important to say that those reforms have failed to achieve the desired results, especially with the current hardship experienced by Nigerians from all over the country.
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All over the world, reforms are good as stepping stone to greatness. But it is also very important to note that any reform that fails to address the immediate needs of the mass of the people will certainly fail in the end.
Tinubu has failed to maintain a balance between his reforms and the results of those reforms. The gap between President Tinubu’s reforms and expectations is so wide that many Nigerians are wondering how corruption has been deeply endemic in this administration.
If you say you are reforming and the entire country is suffering, even as you spend billions of the public funds on a private presidential aircraft, then what is the basis for the reform when ordinary Nigerians could no longer afford to eat a single meal in a day? As far as I am concerned, I see Iba Gani Adams’s letter as a timely intervention and a wake up call for President Tinubu to address the various issues raised in the letter.
In January 2023 and at the heat of his political campaign as the All Progressives Congress standard bearer, Tinubu told us that becoming Nigeria’s president was his life long ambition. He told us that governance was not bricklaying and that he was ready, prepared and sacrificed his life, his political career and also staked everything in his life to ensure that democracy was deeply rooted in Nigeria.
Yes, that was indeed the truth about his political trajectory as the master strategist. Nobody would forget so soon the role Tinubu played with some prominent National Democratic Coalition chieftains during the dark era of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha. Nobody would forget his role and the support he gave to Muhammadu Buhari before the latter became the president of this great nation.
So, when the table turned last year on May 29, 2023 and Tinubu became the president of Nigeria, Nigerians were happy that the Messiah was here. We believed it was truly a divine intervention for Nigerians and also for him to have reached the summit of his political career by achieving his life long ambition.
With the present situation in the country, are Nigerians truly right or wrong? Honestly, Nigerians have since been enduring the reforms that came with the sudden removal of fuel subsidy on the first day of Tinubu’s administration.
The attendant effect of the removal in the last 16 months has been a major challenge of his government. However, I think there is an urgent need to tell Mr. President the truth about the hardship the policies of his administration has brought to Nigerians.
With the letter, a large percentage of Nigerians across the country had said Iba Gani Adams spoke the minds of Nigerians. For them, the letter was done in good faith and it came as a timely intervention for President Tinubu to address the various challenges faced by Nigerians.
Analysing the contents of the letter, I am bold to say that Iba Gani Adams’s letter was neither a letter bomb nor a fiery salvo as the media had portrayed. The letter revolved around all the various aspects of the Nigerian nation, reviewing the way President Tinubu had been handling the petroleum sector, especially with the recent hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.
He also x-rayed the many missed deadlines of Port Harcourt refinery resumption as well as the politics and the unnecessary brouhaha between Dangote and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited. He noted the increase in the price of fuel, which was less than N200 when the president took over, now selling over N1,000. Iba Adams said the situation had worsened the hardship in the country. He, however, asked the president to reverse what he called “the ugly trend”, saying the time is going.
Going down the memory lane, Iba Adams recalled how Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief when the Buhari administration left. We believed erroneously that the spate of insecurity would soon become history. But today, Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of the administration as the spate of insecurity is increasing from the North to the South, East to the West. He remarked that Nigerians are being abducted and some killed, even after ransom was paid. It was as if these blood-thirsty maniacs had just been unleashed on Nigerians from the hottest part of hell.
Iba Adams, in his words, also questioned the briefings President Tinubu gets on daily basis, especially from the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; Chief of Army Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja; and other security chiefs on their modus operandi to send these killers to where they belong. He also spoke about how Nigerians have been pushed to the wall even as many that protested and expressed their frustrations with the way they were being governed were arrested and charged with treason for their involvement in the recent hunger protest.
Also in the wake up call letter, Iba Adams also asked questions, saying: “Since last year, you have visited many countries, the latest being China. Do you think your foreign counterparts treat their citizens the way you are treating Nigerians? Mr.President, remember your promises to Nigerians during your numerous campaigns to all the nooks and crannies of this great country? In just 16 months into your administration, your campaign promises have suddenly become failed promises?”
He concluded by saying that the time is ticking, adding that he came in peace.
Yes, the time is truly ticking because if those reforms embarked upon by Tinubu’s administration fail to bring out the desired results in the next few months, then Nigeria is in for a very difficult situation. But the question is: After the letter, what next?
The next we expect from President Tinubu is for him to address all the salient issues raised in the letter and come up with lasting solutions that would solve all the challenges faced by Nigerians as it was stated in the letter.
. Aderemi writes from Lagos.
