Dear President Buhari, I will like to extend an invitation to
you for a tour of down town, so that you can have a clear
view of what the people who voted you into office feel
about certain decisions your government has taken so far,
especially the decision to ban ‘I-pass-my-neighbour
generator’.
Contrary to the picture your advisers have painted to you,
the decision to ban ‘I-pass-my neighbour’ generators will
only bring more hardship to the people down here who have
never in any way, benefitted from the Nigerian government
at any time. The little hope that your “change” mantra
brought to the poor man is fast becoming another tale in
the book of presidential lies.
So, for you to really understand the ramification of your
decision, I urge you to come for a quick tour of down town.
Don’t worry sir; it won’t cost you a thing. We will ensure
that your visit is as comfortable as we can. Yes, we know
you don’t take ‘shepe’ or ‘mishango’ or ‘Ghana root’ mixed
with ‘draw-draw’. But don’t worry, we will have enough pure
water available for you to cool your feet, wash your face
and quench your thirst.
It is true that the streets down here are littered with broken
water pipes and heaps of smelly refuse dumps as a result of
lack of government presence. But babu wahala, we will see
to it that your danshiki doesn’t get so messed up.
It will be nice to have you address the youths and explain to
them why you have taken the decision to throw our streets
into darkness and expose us to more terror from armed
robbers.
Sir, have you considered the amount of small business
operators that will be incapacitated by the ban you have
imposed on ‘I-pass-my-neighbour generators’? Come sir,
and see for yourself how many families will lose their
source of livelihood simply because they cannot afford to
purchase the bigger generators.
Sir, what becomes of the barber, the hair dresser, the
recharge card seller whose business is run with ‘I-pass-my-
neighbour’ generator? Have you considered the difference
between N10, 000 generator and a N50, 000 generator? Do
you think the people are happy using ‘I-pass-my-neighbour
generators? Someone who earns as low as N15, 000
monthly, how do you expect him to buy and maintain a
N50, 000 generator?
You should also consider they have other needs. I think this
is a wrong move and one that will drive most self-employed
youths into armed robbery and other illegal activities.
And ‘I-pass-my-neighbour generator kills? Hmmmm Mr.
President, I thought hunger and bad roads have killed more
Nigerians than generators? How come you haven’t placed a
ban on hunger and bad roads? Is this a part of the “change”
we should expect from this regime? Is this one of the
groundbreaking ideas given to you by the new minister for
power? How do we achieve steady supply of electricity by
banning smaller generators?
What I see here sir, is the government favouring the rich
against the poor. The importers of bigger generator will no
doubt see this as a welcome idea; that is if they didn’t lobby
for it. This is one of the most insensitive decisions taken by
any Nigerian government. Shouldn’t it be a general ban on
generators?
Is it that punishing the poor has become a goal in itself for
the government? Too many affluent Nigerians – and, in
particular, members of the political elite – seem to have no
sense of how much suffering is down here on the streets.
Little wonder the governors woke up one morning and
decided that they can no longer pay the N18, 000 minimum
wage of workers. For these governors, what is really
striking is the total disconnect between conventional
wisdom and the reality of life – and death – for much of the
nation. It is like there’s a badge of wickedness on the
forehead of our politicians.
Sir, what we want is for you politicians to stop talking
blithely about the importance of alleviating the sufferings of
the masses and truly start looking at the way their less-
fortunate citizens live.
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