'So long Jonathanians!' - Uzor Ngoladi

It's good riddance to a wasteful government. It's good riddance to people whose preferred mandate was to empower kleptomaniacs and squander our commonwealth. It's good riddance to men and women who lack knowledge as regards the demands of leadership. It's good riddance to a presidency whose tenure seemed to unleash excruciating poverty on Nigeria.

Even at the last lap of this administration in Nigeria, flimsy excuses regarding important sectors of the economy continued unabated. It was a show of shame till the last moment. The redundant powers that be could not stabilize electricity in the country. The expectations of the electorate was cut short with myriad of excuses. They enumerated reasons why Nigerians should wallow in darkness. The Jonathanians kept singing about the rocket science of generating a paltry 4000 megawatts of electricity. We sat, jaw in hand and watched them with dismay as they told us unpalatable stories of stories about why Nigeria should remain in painful darkness. The noise and sound pollution occasioned by generators increased astronomically despite the billions of  Naira wasted on electricity projects. The result of their effort was increased tariff and more darkness. To hell with a mediocre government.

The man we voted into power converged several mediocre and nuisances to steer the ship of state. He abandoned the ship and allowed a looting spree of the economy. It was a free for all struggle to corrupt enrichment. Notorious militants, political jobbers, Nollywood beggars, ethnic bigots and many other elements with questionable inclinations all came to financial limelight. We will not forget in a hurry how oil thieves in collaboration with the ministry of petroleum and NNPC stole our resources without recourse to best practices. The pump price of petroleum products was arbitrarily increased to meet the needs of mindless oil thieves.

In case we have forgotten, Nigerians died like chickens during the period under review. There was countless bomb blasts in several parts of the country. Insurgency and terrorism ravaged the northern region leaving scores of women and children dead. Innocent school children disappeared from schools without explanation from the powers that be till they handed over power. The government lacked the political will to tackle the insecurity woes that bedeviled Nigeria. The military was politicized. The government dished out stories of stories of stories about failure to deliver democratic dividends to the people. They set an unprecedented record of sending condolence messages to places affected by bomb blasts on a weekly basis. Nigerians became refugees in their land of birth.

The nation is in a state of utter disarray. This new administration should not be envied considering the enormous task of nation building ahead. Nigerians are yearning for good governance and efficient leadership. Nigerians are very impatient about rooting out corruption from the polity. Buhari must ready himself to perform magic and deliver on all his promises within a reasonable timeline. Our battered economy must be reshaped to offer hope to disillusioned young Nigerians. As for the Jonathanians, it's the clichéd good riddance to untold rubbish. We don't wish to see your faces again in the political sphere. Return to your tents and hide your faces in shame. You have just wasted our precious four years. So long legendary looters!

Uzor Ngoladi is the author of Toxic Eucharist.