….A BIRTHDAY WISH FOR A BIRTHDAY MATE
By Law Mefor
My President, it’s our birthday. March 29. As members of the ram-ruled zodiac, we are Aries. We walk where angels would not dare, because we are bullish. Our middle name is courage. People born under the sign of Aries are fearless, vibrant, and full of life; charming, lively, passionate, and motivated by their hearts and desires. To succeed, they must put everything into it, but once they do, they are unstoppable. They thrive on rivalry, targets, competition, and challenges.
You really are one-of-a-kind. You are an enthusiastic, driven, and self-assured leader who fosters community through your upbeat demeanour and unwavering resolve. Simple and straightforward in your approach, you frequently become irritated by unnecessary details and superfluous subtleties.
However, the price of our great ambitions is often high. Aries people can be stubborn. In leadership, we get a little irritable due to our drive to take the lead, finish tasks quickly, and do so promptly. Additionally, Aries has a tendency to act without thinking, making them rather naïve. You, too, fit into this.
The public witnessed this weakness when you announced that fuel subsidies had been removed during your inauguration speech, which set off a negative economic spiral from which the country has still not recovered. You made this announcement to the public outside of your written address with the best of intentions. As you can see, Your Excellency’s well-intentioned policies don’t always translate into favourable outcomes. Your naira flotation policy is likewise negatively impacting. With 75% of Nigeria’s exports consisting of crude and very little else, there is no justification for the naira to be floating. Fix and protect the naira, please.
As you confessed, you planned for thirty years to be the president of Nigeria. It took thirty years of arduous labour, meticulous preparation, networking, relationship-building, and bridge-building. Finally, everything paid off. The groundswell of opposition has not prevented you from becoming the president of Nigeria. Even if I disagree with your ascent to the presidency of Nigeria, I sincerely hope you succeed because, should you fail, it will be to everyone’s detriment.
I suppose you’ve succeeded if your goal is to hold the office of the president as an end to itself, solely to show off as the president of Nigeria. If answering Nigeria’s President Tinubu is not a means to an end but an end in and of itself, it will be unfortunate. Your Excellency, that shouldn’t be the case! The president’s job should serve as a tool to achieve a worthwhile goal. It should be a means to bring Nigeria back together, reset its course for progress, and establish justice and peace as the nation’s guiding principles.
Since its founding, Nigeria has only ever experienced leadership issues. But leadership is the key to everything, and in a presidential democracy, this is especially true for a country’s leadership. Any president will get the support he requires if he sincerely wishes to bring the nation together and advance. But the real question is, Your Excellency: Do you really want to bring Nigeria together and develop it? What you say to the public doesn’t matter; you already know the answer.
In actuality, two former Nigerian presidents have stated in various places that the country is still merely a geographical expression and not yet a nation. Though their shortcomings when they ruled are not the focus of this birthday wish, the two former presidents achieved little to unite Nigeria. As president, your task is to unite Nigeria into a nation and develop it. Nothing dictates that you must also fail like your forebears, who were unable to bring Nigeria together and establish the country as a nation. It is possible for you, Your Excellency, to become the father of modern Nigeria and bring shame upon your forebears, who merely made token contributions to the unification and advancement of Nigeria.
The inability of North and South Nigeria to come to terms with a nation and nationhood is the issue facing Nigeria. It seems more likely that what separates Nigeria’s north and south will continue to widen than to contract, unless real leadership puts a wedge in it. Will you be able to bring Nigeria’s Christian South and Muslim North together? Is it possible to deliberately reject nepotism in favour of being a statesman and nationalist leader? Your appointments so far have been rather nepotistic. You can do better, sir.
When federalism was actually implemented in Nigeria, it functioned well. Can you consciously bring back federalism to Nigeria so that the states are federating entities rather than just the federal government’s extensions? The El Rufai Committee Report on Restructuring, the 2014 Confab Report, and the 1963 Constitution are the three policy documents that will unlock Nigeria’s united and prosperous future. To help the country and all Nigerians understand that the restoration of federalism in Nigeria is beneficial to all zones, all that is needed is political will and diplomacy, which can be very valuable. Your Excellency, are you able to deal with that?
In addition to putting the Oronsaye Report into effect as soon as possible, your government must be drastically reduced. The largest cabinet in Nigerian history is yours. The constitution only stipulates that you need 36 ministers, yet you currently have 54, the majority of whom have contributed nothing. Can you disband this obtuse cabinet and hire top-tier technocrats from Nigeria who can come from both inside and outside of political parties, from within and outside the country? Your Excellency, can you do that to begin reducing the cost of governance?
As I mentioned before, your two main economic policies of removing fuel subsidies and floating the naira may seem like sensible ideas on paper. However, it is evident that their poor implementations have created two major economic headwinds for both the unfortunate Nigerians and the country’s economy. Although I wouldn’t demand that the two measures be reversed, it is imperative that the dollar and fuel prices be pegged to the value of the naira. Is that something you can do? Set the petrol pump price at N600 and the dollar exchange rate at any point below N1000, and defend both for at least two years before revisiting. Your Excellency, are you able to deal with that?
Give the nation state police, community police, and forest guards to help Nigeria move towards federalism and give the people more control over security, as security is local. And I would like to think that Your Excellency is aware that only Nigeria has a centralised police force among the 26 countries in the world that practice federalism. As a result, our police force is an anomaly within the federal system of government and needs to be changed right away.
Your Excellency, treat insecurity in the country as an emergency that it is; focus on agriculture, health, and education; and outsource infrastructure. Above all, aim for equality among the six regions and create an economic hub for each. That way, the six regions will take off on economic integration and growth, fend for themselves, and complement the federal efforts.
Finally, note that many of us became activists because of you, Your Excellency. You, too, are an activist. Be more empathetic towards agitators than you once were. In this way, we can start the process of national reconciliation, binding and healing the nation’s wounds. In that spirit, free Nnamdi Kanu and the other agitators. Your Excellency, are you able to deal with that? The nation is fractured and needs healing, and the nation cannot make progress on fractured limbs.
Nigeria would become a nation, cease to be a simple geographical expression, and revive its growth and development if you put these and other measures into practice. Because they attempted to manage a unitary government within a federal framework, your predecessors failed. If you follow the same course, you will also fail.
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However, if you choose a different course and strategy, you can succeed and go all the way to becoming the father of modern Nigeria, the world’s most populous black nation. You certainly can, President!
Happy birthday again, my president, my birthday mate. God bless you and grant you the discernment and courage to act in the best interests of future generations, your country, and all of humanity.
Dr. Mefor, an Abuja-based forensic and social psychologist, is a fellow of The Abuja School of Social and Political Thought; drlawmefor@gmail.com; Twitter: @Drlawsonmefor.
[4:26 PM, 4/4/2024] Ozugha Fidel A: EXAMINING DAVE UMAHI’S PROPHECY ABOUT PRESIDENT TINUBU’S EIGHT-YEAR REIGN
By Law Mefor
The minister of works, who was once the governor of Ebonyi State, has recently said he has also been called as a pastor and prophet. This is demonstrated by his first ‘divine’ revelation and declarative statement, which are signs of the great spiritual significance of a prophet, even if it is a politician as a prophet.
Umahi, claiming that he has heard from God as a divine vessel, said: “You called me a pastor, but I am also a prophet. You must understand that Mr. President’s arrival is a divine act and that God always brings things to completion. Since this administration is a product of God and you can witness the wonders that Mr. President is performing to make up for all the wrongs, I firmly believe and am convinced to inform you that God has told me that this administration will last eight years.” He made this declaration on a Channel television programme.
Anyone can be called by God. In the New Testament, Saul—the arch-persecutor of Christians—had a heavenly encounter that resulted in his transformation into the Apostle Paul. It is therefore dangerous to cast doubt on Dave Umahi’s claim. Who knows? He might be yet another Saul. All that can be said for him is that he should understand that God cannot be mocked, even though politicians now play God and tend to get away with it. The third of the Ten Commandments states that… Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11 read: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Politicians, beware!
Nevertheless, whether or not God deemed Umahi a prophet, his assertion has profound spiritual and political ramifications worthy of further interrogation. Even though his revelation might only be the result of his subjective distress, it is all the same significant since he has taken a stand by telling everyone about it as true and divine.
Therefore, the veracity of Umahi’s claim is not the aim of this treatise. Only God knows whether Umahi is telling the truth or not and his recompense. As humans, however, Nigerians have the right to doubt the validity of Dave’s claim that he heard from God and that God told him Tinubu would rule for eight years.
Only about a year has passed since Tinubu became president of Nigeria, and God has now sent Prophet Dave Umahi to forewarn Nigerians to prepare for the second term, which would end by effluence only in 2031 for those who may still be living. This is indeed huge.
It is crucial to think about how Tinubu’s two terms as president would benefit Nigeria and Nigerians. Both the ease of doing business and the cost of living have more than tripled in less than one year of the Tinubu presidency. Umahi calls the deteriorating economic conditions and growing insecurity miracles. Not a single kilometre of the concrete roads Umahi promised Nigerians that would last for more than fifty years has been completed. Umahi oversees Nigeria’s roadways, which are still kidnapper havens and death traps due to their deplorable state. This indicates that under Tinubu, the country’s level of insecurity and infrastructure decay are not improving. The same thing goes for corruption and the battered economy.
Generally speaking, and Prophet Umahi should be reminded, the Holy Book has two things to say about a people’s or nation’s leadership: 1) The people rejoice when the righteous rules; 2) God gives a people wicked rulers when He wishes to chastise them. It’s unclear which of these two that prophets Dave Umahi is projecting for the future of Nigerians over the next eight years.
Although the Tinubu Presidency has gained momentum, it has not yet recorded good results to warrant Umahi’s prophecy. Tinubu is battling to recover from the numerous false starts his presidency has caused. His two main economic policies—removing fuel subsidy and floating the naira—have severely damaged the economy and, if nothing is done, may get worse.
Unless Umahi is arguing that Nigerians are too powerless to decide since the country has been completely conquered, in which case his crystal ball indicates that Tinubu will remain in office until 2031, regardless of what Nigerians want. He is partly right because here in Africa, democracy is largely without elections, and Nigeria is leading the pack in this despicable desecration of democracy.
Rather than focusing on performance and deliverables, Umahi wants to cajole Nigerians to accept Tinubu’s presidency until 2031 whether or not he deserves it. That will be cold-blooded. Building the future that Tinubu has envisioned in his manifesto and how he would do so should be apparent to ordinary citizens, and that’s what should make them crave his continuation until 2031. But such is not what Umahi’s prophecy is talking about.
Without any supporting evidence, Umahi’s prophecy sounds more like a warning to Nigerians that their country has been taken over and that power will be donated back to Tinubu in 2027 by the elites’ plot rather than by popular vote. Truly, a strong opposition is absent, a reliable electoral commission, and a robust political and democratic culture, such as the recent election of 44-year-old opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye as president by the Senegalese, Umahi’s prediction rather than prophecy may well come to pass. Rightly or wrongly, Umahi may see the opposition to be too disorganised and incoherent to pose any threat to the return of Tinubu.
Prophecy, in the truest sense of the word, is no longer obtainable in Nigeria. It’s like clowns have taken over. Like Chukwuemeka Cyril Ohanaemere, predominantly known as Odùméje, who is a general overseer of The Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention and Deliverance Ministry. Here is another prophet of God who would have done better as a musician or a stand-up comedian. Typical of Nigerian so-called men of God, Odumeje said he used his power, Abido Shaker, to crash the dollar.
Tinubu may run and win again in 2027, but it is not a given or a good idea to rely on a victory that will happen regardless of his performance—which no one is seeing right now but might in the future. It brings to mind the claim, “Not even God can sink the Titanic.” Many people have been credited with saying that line, including principal designer Thomas Andrews. It is generally believed that of the ship’s approximately 2,200 passengers and crew members, some 1,500 people perished when the ship sank, despite the assurances.
Reelection for Tinubu should depend on how well he performs. The truth is that Tinubu would need a miracle to win a free and fair election if held today because of the unprecedented hardship his policies have unleashed on Nigerians. His economic strategies have been utterly ineffective and destructive. The growing ungoverned space, the deteriorating levels of corruption, and the growing insecurity are not reelection credentials in a normal situation.
The Nigerian economy and living conditions are in a state of flux. Yet, Umahi’s crystal ball only revealed such dire situations as Tinubu’s miracles, to use Prophet Dave Umahi’s words. It doesn’t add up unless he and other leaders are living in a different Nigeria.
Time shall tell.
· Law Mefor, an Abuja-based forensic and social psychologist, is a fellow of The Abuja School of Social and Political Thought; drlawmefor@gmail.com; Twitter: @Drlawsonmefor.
