Another round of protest is set to happen on a day Nigeria should be celebrating her 64th independence anniversary. The planned #FearlessOctober1 protest is coming exactly two months after a similar protest tagged #endbadgovernance that rocked the entire country for ten days.
The significance of the October 1 date for the protest cannot be overemphasized. It seems strategic. The organizers, mostly youths may have carefully chosen to vent their grievances and register their deep-seated displeasure about the state of affairs of the country. Since their government cannot give them a befitting gift to celebrate the nation's anniversary they have decided to package their own gift and present to the government.
At 64, Nigeria is still comfortable with the "developing country" status when other countries who were hitherto in the same league have moved on to another level. It is the same oil we have that has massively transformed Dubai. Today, Dubai has become a regional trading and tourism hub while Nigeria cannot be identified with anything , nor can we boast of a sector for huge revenue other than oil.
Nigerians are groaning in pain due to the high cost of living. It is now very difficult for an average family to afford a decent meal, not to talk of a three square meal. Fuel prices have exacerbated the sufferings of people. Even the recently approved N70,000 minimum wage has become grossly insufficient for Nigerian workers.
Nigeria is still battling with insurgency at 64. The Islamist jihadist group, Boko Haram, is still a major threat, especially in the northern part of the country. In the South East, the sit at home order every Monday declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra has led to a stagnation of commercial activities in that region with loss of millions of naira every week.
The incessant activities of bandits have created a pervasive sense of fear in most places, particularly middle belt states like Benue. Farmers and herders clash is also threatening food security. Kidnapping has become a more lucrative business, as the ransom paid by family members of victims has further encouraged youths to join the dastardly venture.
Steady power supply is still a mirage. People still rely on their generating sets to run their businesses. Food prices have soared over the last few weeks. A bag of rice now goes for as much as N110,000. Peope pay as much as N50,000 for a one way inter state land trip. Flight tickets have gone up to as much as N200,000. Good roads, even in urban areas, are far-fetched.
More people, specifically those within the youth bracket, are willing to get on the next available flight to Canada, United Kingdom, and anywhere else just to survive. They have lost confidence in the country and will not wait a single day if the opportunity presents itself. They cannot be blamed, employment opportunities are only for the rich and those with connections.
All of these are not exciting commentaries for Nigerians to celebrate. This is not the kind of country the founding fathers had envisaged. At 64 Nigerians should have been proud, mostly if they can boast of the basic things of life. But sadly, our political class has messed up the country. Billions of naira is being stolen daily while electoral malfeasance as seen in last week's Edo governorship election, has become a norm.
But there is still the opportunity to redeem our country and redirect it. However, that will require a lot of patriotism, zeal, and dedication. The present administration under President Bola Tinubu still has time to do that. It may not be fully achieved, but Nigerians will see, feel, and appreciate the changes when it begins to happen. Until then, we cannot celebrate anything at 64.
