Independence Anniversary Should Give Nigerians New Offers

As the nation prepares for her 61st Independence anniversary, it is imperative that the occasion provides the auspicious opportunity for the leadership in Nigeria to give greater thoughts towards what the nation can offer her citizens to enhance their wellbeing as a people.

Over the years, Nigerian citizens have shown unequalled resilience in giving their best to the nation.

For decades, they have worked very hard, shouldering the social and developmental responsibilities of successive governments; indeed, they have kept their hopes alive, yearning for a turnaround for the better.

The time has indeed come for our political leaders at all levels to know that it is no longer about what our citizens should do for our country, but about what the nation offers to them as citizens because they are giving a lot and the burden on them at this point is already agonizing.

Our citizens are overburdened with excruciating economic hardship, poverty and high costs, especially given our extended family system, insecurity, and deficient facilities in all sectors of life.

The situation has been compounded by a harsh tax regime, with multiple taxes by various government agencies at different levels.

It is indeed distressing that for some reasons, all government agencies have been emboldened to tax and extort money from already impoverished citizens.

Added to this is the increased impetus of service providers and financial institutions to squeeze the citizens with various charges and deductions, in the absence of desired supervision by regulatory bodies, who appear more concerned with income generation rather than protecting the rights of citizens. 

Furthermore, our security agencies have brazenly become harsh and rude in inflicting pains on citizens they go about behaving as if Nigerians are a conquered people with no rights or privileges whatsoever.

The independence anniversary therefore presents our leaders the opportunity to liberate our citizens from repression by focusing on strategies that ensure respect for their rights as well as create wealth, guarantee infrastructural development, reduce economic burden and lift the living standard of the people.

Our leaders must do all to bring back smiles on the faces of our citizens. The multiple taxations by different levels of governments and the barefaced thievery by financial institutions stopped.

Nigerians are becoming more embittered because of the hardship and the pains they face. If the situation is ameliorated, calm, peaceful co-existence, development and economic prosperity will be restored. Our citizens deserve a lot of happiness after so much frustrations.

Healing will further come to our nation, if elections are credible, free and fair. Nigerians will have hope if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can replicate its efforts in the September 2020 Edo governorship election in future elections.

INEC has the opportunity to use the November 6 Anambra governorship election and subsequent polls to reassure Nigerians on the credibility of the 2023 general elections.

Nevertheless, it is imperative for Nigerians not to give up hope. We must not jettison our resilience, resourcefulness and sense of hard work. We must remain hopeful in putting all hands on the deck in the quest for natural justice, equity, mutual respect and rule of law.

Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh

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