President Muhammadu Buhari, through the Speaker of the state House of Assembly Hon. Yakubu Danladi, Kwara, Friday, appealed to Nigerians to keep having faith in his administration, during a town hall meeting in Ilorin.

He said, “If we have not done enough or we have not touched everybody, we appeal that you please bear with us.

“In the first instance, what we have is less than 60 percent of the revenue that was available to other governments that came before us. 

“We all know what we suffered during COVID 19, and as we are just trying to recover from this we also face another crisis.

“We appeal that you should please assist the government and be patient. 

“This government is dedicated to serving the people and we will continue to try our best to do so.”

Blaming their inability to perform up to the expectations of Nigerians on the previous administration is one thing the Buhari-led government is known for. Nigerians find it appalling that the president still holds past administrations responsible for his non-performance. Covid-19 now features in the blame-game too. The president has, perhaps, forgotten that the problems Nigerians have been complaining about since he assumed office, started long before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Bad governance, outrageous budgetary allocations to lawmakers, and the extra-judicial killings of young Nigerians among other things the youth have been fighting to correct did not start today. These are problems that are deeply entrenched in the system and have passed down from generation to generation. Sadly, no government has been able to address these issues satisfactorily. 

And this was the extended basis for the #EndSARS protest. Unfortunately, their effort was met with more oppression in a repressive system with no respect for the fundamental rights of the citizens. Ironically, the government claims it is dedicated to serving the people after dealing a heavy blow to the peaceful protesters. 

The #EndSARS protest was an opportunity for the government to show true leadership. Unfortunately, they trashed that chance. And now they come apologising for their bad leadership after several young Nigerians have needlessly lost their lives as a result of their insensitivity and incompetence. 

As far as Nigerians are concerned, an apology won’t cut it until the very thing the youth are fighting for is achieved – Good governance is all we are asking for.

Uroupa Kiakubu