Since my birth till today, 2020 remains the most woeful and difficult year I have ever seen. COVID-19 shut down almost the whole world for the first time. Locally also, the border closure brought about a big spike in the prices of goods, especially food items. Many people became rich overnights by taking advantage of the lockdown to extort money from innocent people. The police mounted road blocks all over the roads to extort money instead of protecting the citizenry. Some selected government personnel who were deployed to check movement during the lockdown, took advantage of it to extort cash from travellers to enable cross the borders in collaboration with law enforcement agents.
They were even reluctant to vacate the borders because of the outrageous amount of money they were making there on a daily basis, even from ordinary okada riders. We saw most of them buying jeeps and arrogantly posing like they have arrived which to me is most unfortunate.
The federal and state governments distributed palliatives to be shared to the less privileged, but not a cup of rice got to most of the vulnerable in the community. These items were stocked in warehouses for the use of the rich and government officials.
If not for the #ENDSARS protest across the country which was hijacked by hoodlums who located these warehouses where palliatives were stored, Nigerians would not have known that such food items were hidden from them.
The #ENDSARS protest also had its toll on the nation. Hoodlums took advantage of the protests to unleash terror on businesses and government institutions and properties. Recently we heard of the freezing of accounts of some #ENDSARS protesters, while some others are being arrested and if care is not taken another round of protests may erupt.
Nigerian universities have been closed for several months now due to the ongoing ASUU strike and there seems to be a deadlock in negotiations between the government and university lecturers.
The government seems confused and there seems to be no viable solution to the plethora of problems plaguing the country.
We must all pray fervently for God to intervene and see us through this year of woes.
Chief Dr Yomi Oduselu Hassan.
The Ekwueme 1 of Akumazi kingdom.
Chief Dr Yomi Oduselu Hassan
