2013 And Broken Promises (1)

A broken promise is comparative to a breach of contract or the breaking of a covenant. Also, a broken promise could be likened to a deal not executed as agreed, due to some breaking of a written or unwritten agreement.

This is because; a promise is viewed as a deal between two people who are prepared to honour their word to each other. Broken promises, therefore, is predicated on the disappointments emanating

from the unfulfilled promises made not only by man to man, but also of government to its people.

It is a common knowledge that broken promises abound the world over.

These include broken promises between men and God, parents and children, marital vows and the vain promises of love in relationship.

In fact, more worrisome are the broken promises in the body polity such as the broken promises between the elected and the electorates.

Against this backdrop, Nigeria is not exempted.

Nigeria’s landscape is indeed littered with unkept and broken promises. Various governments on inauguration make pacts with the people, but unfortunately, most of them are never ever realised.

A retrospective look at the history of governance in Nigeria reveals a general apathy of Nigerians to government promises based on a long history of betrayals.

For instance, on 1st October, 1974, in flagrant contradiction to his earlier promises, General Yakubu Gowon declared that Nigeria would not be ready for civilian rule’ in 1976. As if that was not enough, Gowon extended the transition to civil rule to a no time limit.

During Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s administration, he made housing, industry, transportation and agriculture among others the cardinal programmes of his administration. Like others before him, Shagari failed to realise his ambitious dream. His housing scheme only translated to a disorganised settlement like the “Shagari Estate.”

His Green Revolution Programme which was supposed to mechanise farming techniques and produce food in abundance also turned out to be an avenue for retired soldiers and some politicians to acquire large hectares of land. With their access to fertilizer and seedlings, they grew fat while the masses grew thinner.

Indeed, Shagari’s industrial programme in Delta and Ajaokuta Steel Complex are living manifestations of incompetence and corruption. And if there was a promise he kept, it was the popularisation of “white elephant projects” in Nigeria’s lexicon.

The General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s administration also made many promises, which some were fulfilled while others never materialised.

Though most of the achievements of his administration can be contested, one remarkable promise which the Minna born general failed to keep was handing over to a democratically elected government.

IBB promised democracy to the nation come 1992 after many years of an endless transition programme, but as the day approached there were suspicions that the promise would not be kept. And as predicted in some quarters, the government barred the emergence of a civilian President with the fiat of a dictator.

Claiming fraud, money-dominated politics, Babangida postponed the election for a year. Also, in a bid to clone new breed politicians, banned politicians of the old school and bankrolled two political parties with tax payers’ money.

Though Moshood Abiola won the election of June 12, 1993, he was never sworn in, as Babangida annulled what has been described as the freest and fairest election in Nigeria history. Indeed, for the betrayal of the right of Nigerians to voluntarily choose their leader via the ballot box, IBB remains till date, a villain of democracy.

Again, the Sani Abacha era gave Vision 2010 to Nigeria. While the aim is not to peep into the intention behind Abacha’s vision, the fact is that he championed a cause which was flushed down the drain by subsequent governments. The magical year – 2010 which seemed to dwell in the realm of a futuristic impossibility has finally dawned and none of the items listed in Abacha’s vision has been fulfilled.

While Olusegun Obasanjo feared better in his second coming, he also left a litany of unkept promises. For instance, Obasanjo promised Nigerians regular, uninterrupted power by the end of 2001. But he left Nigerians in darkness despite the National Integrated Power Projects, NIPP.

Asako  is  on the  staff of Radio Rivers, Port Harcourt.

Ibim Walson Asako