Chido Nwangwu writes about the difficult times Nigerians are going through as President Muhammadu Buhari celebrates his last Christmas in office
“It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid.
At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade.
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy”
Those are the opening lyrics of the 1984 globally acclaimed charity song written |by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money to benefit Ethiopia during the 1983 to 1985 famine crisis in the African country. It was performed under the banner of a congregation of artists called Band Aid.
In many ways, I believe that the inspirational words of those opening lyrics speak to the reality of millions/billions of citizens of different countries around the world.
For those, some of whom we’re familiar, these are scary times! Instead of the colorful cadences, joyful gathering of families and merriment in celebration of the birth of Christ, it’s become turned into a season of thunder and deaths and scarcity. Scarcity of hope. Scarcity of salt and foods.
Scarcity of fuel and gas and kerosene, in the land where these exist and could be better, optimally extracted and refined to benefit its millions of hapless and traumatized citizens.
From Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, to Venezuela, the experiences are largely same— unless you have the funds for the escalated prices.
For millions of Nigerians and visitors to the perennially traumatized and patient-no-more fellows, these past fews weeks, months and recent years of The Buhari Christmas have become a very dangerous season of insecurity and kidnapping — especially this 2022 season.
There’s fire on the mountain, burning into the early hours of 2023.… Few leaders and some incompetent personifications of the vulgarity of corrupt hijacking of public mechanisms for its and incapable masquerades seeking to “rule” as President of Nigerians seem to care.
Governors and civic leaders, defenseless women and children, unarmed men and political aspirants have since become targets of the new “kill and go” battallions and “unknown gunmen”
In Nigeria, millions of citizens are going through The Final Buhari Christmas season without seeing “a light”, and a “smile of joy.”
Despite all of his promises and sanctimonious posturing, President Buhari has, in the practical realities of Nigerians and all sensate persons, failed to provide light/power/energy!
Without near adequate power generation for the whole of Nigeria (which is far less than what Houston, one city in Texas, uses in 21 days only!).
From all the reports on the prices of Garri, yam, chicken, difficult times yeah speakable level of poverty as you’re moving to 2023 is astonishing and crushing.
From physical abuses, states-sponsored terrorism and violence against some ethnic and religious /faith groups, and other forms of crimes, their Christmas is merely an apparition of hell on earth!
I know several dozens of Nigerian diasporans who did not want to risk being kidnapped and possibly be killed during The Final Buhari Christmas.
Several of those in the south east battlegrounds — especially within the acidic geography of five miles radius to or from the hometown/village of the embattled Imo Governor Hope Uzodinma.
So many are not travelling home for The Final Buhari Christmas due to cautionary reasons and lawless impunity of the “unknown gunmen”, Fulani herdsmen and other bandits on freelance killings.
-Dr. Nwangwu, is Founder of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com
Follow him on Twitter @Chido247
