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 decision 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.
#BringBackiPassMyNeigbourGenerator!!
…Who else agrees with me that Etcetera is making a
whole lot of sense here?
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