One thing I know is that failure is inevitable because we humans are bound to fail, but when we continuously fail in a particular thing, then it's no longer a mistake but foolishness. There is a proverb that says once beaten twice shy; if you are beaten more than twice, you are on your own.
There is one history in Nigeria that is never going to stop repeating itself, and we are not willing to change it yet. In fact, the few that try to change it seem like stupid people. Online warriors are busy typing away their sorrow but mocking those that dare to try.
I remember the Endsars, how youths filed out in their numbers on the street protesting about the harassment of a particular police unit called SARS. How they were killing innocent young citizens, especially if you drive an expensive car and dress in expensive clothes. Automatically, you have become a yahoo boy or a ritualist.
On top of that, citizens are being illegally detained in police custody and won't be allowed to communicate with their relatives. It was so bad that having fewer tattoos on your body or dreadlocks in your hair made you a bad guy immediately. Souls were so wasted that people couldn't endure it anymore and had to take to the streets to protest, asking the government to sanction the police force or remove them entirely.
But the protest later turned bloody when the government decided to waste the lives of its harmless citizens, sabotaging their complaint as IPOB attended. I see that history is going to repeat itself again because currently the same police force has started harassing youths again, forcefully taking money from them and killing them at any slightest provocation.
Very soon, there will be another protest but this time it's going to be more bloody than before because nobody is going to let themselves die like chickens without protection. I hope the government does something soon. Another history that has repeated itself is fuel subsidy and it's likely to happen again with another government because we Nigerians like to adjust no matter how we do it.
In January 2012, under President Goodluck Jonathan, another attempt to remove the fuel subsidy was made. The pump price doubled overnight from 65 to 141 per litre. Nigerians flooded the streets in one of the largest mass protests in modern Nigerian history, known as OccupyNigeria.
The government promised that the savings from subsidy removal would go into building infrastructure, education, and health care. But the people didn't trust that promise, having heard it before. Eventually, the price was partially reduced due to public pressure.But then after the Goodluck Jonathan regime, came Buhari. He didn't even make an attempt to remove it, but he made life a hell for Nigerians. But it was in his mind to actually remove it too.
Then came May 2023 when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in. His first announcement was the full removal of fuel subsidies on his first day in office. The move shocked the nation. Fuel prices skyrocketed to over 500 and later 700 to 900 in some states. Transportation, food, and housing costs followed closely behind.Many Nigerians were pushed deeper into poverty. And many have not been able to recover from it. We hope that one day a good leader will come who will make the nation smile. Until then, history will keep repeating itself.
Images are Ai generated
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