The same people are now angling to rule the same people that suffered immensely while they profited hugely, raking in humongous amount of money from the pains of Nigerians, due to their affinity with Abacha. The sad lesson here: Nigerians forget easily and can be politically gullible
Nath Omame, jr I Tuesday, January 14, 2025
LAGOS, Nigeria – 2027: the reason why some people don’t see anything good about President Tinubu’s government. There is hardship in the country, agreed. However, historical political records show that the worst governments in Nigeria was when the country was ruled by dictatorial military regimes.
The worst was during the tenure of the late despot, General Sani Abacha. That regime was vehemently vicious. That military regime instilled mortal fear into Nigerians. Freedom of expression became a taboo. Top brass politicians sneaked away from the country and went into exile. Some journalist sneaked out of the country, too. Some influential business people relocated from Nigeria.
Consequently, businesses collapsed. That was when the terminology: the “ikor” “ikor” regime metamorphosed. Nigerians could not afford to buy kerosene. True! Many Nigerians had to resort to cooking with saw dust. Empty aluminum tins, which hitherto contained powdered beverages were cut, and improvised as cooking stoves.
The ruling government in the land, then, was brutish. There was pervasive hardship in Nigeria. Some people, who could not bear the biting hunger, started stealing other people’s pot of soup. Can you, really, in good conscience, blame them? Because of the fumes from the saw dust, most people cooked outside their homes. So, it was easy and tempting to tiptoe, hungrily, and carry the pot of whatever was being cooked and sprint off.
Can this sad and unfortunate era that cost widespread hardship in Nigeria be denied, too? But, Abacha did not act alone. There were those that were even goading him on, pointedly, for the attainment of their selfish economic and financial gains. Then god intervened. Abacha died. Pro-democracy activists that were in exile began to come back to Nigeria. Their business had collapsed and become moribund. Newspaper houses were, summarily, closed down.
While this sad and unfortunate terror transpired, some of Abacha supporters were reveling and making fabulous money. The same people are now angling to rule the same people that suffered immensely while they profited hugely, raking in humongous amount of money from the pains of Nigerians, due to their affinity with Abacha. The sad lesson here: Nigerians forget easily and can be politically gullible. Now, our gullibility is fast dissipating.
NB: Opinion expressed here are strictly that of the author
