Over the years, there has been the allegation that government activities are shrouded in secrecy. Everything is opaque. Even when government claims certain projects are being done in the interest of the people, such claims are not wholly taken at truth. It appears this has worsened in the present dispensation. Things have gotten so bad that words from the government, no matter how well-meaning, are being misunderstand and misinterpreted.
Government does not help matters either. There is a lot of mistrust for government. At a zoom meeting a few days ago, some big players in the private sector expressed concern at the increasing lack of trust in anything government. It was noted that perhaps, apart from in the regime of the late Sani Abacha, no other government has experienced the level of mistrust as the current one. The erudite business people expressed shock at the offensive bantering of some Nigerians at the break of the news of Abba Kyari’s demise. They noted that when it comes to a point that people jubilate over the misfortune of their leader, something drastically is wrong.
In the recent times, Nigerians appear to have completely lost interest in their government as a result of repeated contradictory statements and actions. In the age of information and communication technology (ICT) when people have access to information and events as they are happening, government officials still tell outright lies, thinking such would not be unveiled. Contradictory figures are being bandied as the amount of money that has been spent so far on the Federal Government palliative scheme.
Despite continued denial of discriminatory distribution of the palliative packages, clips of photos showing the focus areas and the beneficiaries are legion on the social media. Today, many Nigerians find it difficult to believe that Nigeria does not have money. How would they believe when government officials live as though they pluck money from trees; when reports are all over the place about the net worth of many politicians and their choice properties within and outside the country? How can they believe in government when the same government that had said the corpse of anyone who die through the coronavirus must not be released to the individual’s family, but be buried by government, that same government turned around to mount a state burial for the late chief of staff? Granted that Abba Kyari deserved everything done for him at death; but to remain a government that stands on its word; it should have found a way around it without bringing itself to public opprobrium and then pushed into a corner to begin to stammer.
What of the masses that attended the burial when a lockdown order was in place? By allowing that to happen, government’s rating further plunged, because many Nigerians are still being arrested today for flouting the lockdown order. Today, the twin problems of insecurity and poverty are manifesting in some parts of the country; what are the masses seeing their government do? Instead of going after big offenders, security agents are going after soft spots.
They go on the street to round up ordinary hungry citizens and charge them for wandering and breaking the lockdown order. But when wealthy people break the law as was seen in the Kyari’s burial, nobody hears even a whimper.
Why do you think people are agitating for a relaxation in the lockdown despite the rising figures of the coronavirus in the country; the reason is simple – they are now thinking that the COVID-19 has become a means for government officials to make a kill. Some are even blaming the spirited Nigerians and some religious bodies for making huge donations into the coffers of government for the COVID-19 fight; saying jocularly that such donations went into a leaking basket? Some are even doubting the COVID-19 numbers being reported, particularly in Kano, when the governor allegedly came up to request for N15billion to fight the pandemic in Kano.
Today, people take with levity every statement government and some manifest anger and irritation which are seen in many WhatsApp platforms and other social media platforms. This is a very critical moment for Nigerians to come together to fight a deadly monster but that collaboration may not be achieved because government has not built that trust in the people. But it is not too late to begin to make amends. Government can do better than it has done or doing at the present to build that trust.
ZEBULON AGOMUO
