Last Friday, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, warned Nigerians to desist from making unguarded utterances against the person and government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and threatened that there would be dire consequences for such an act. He then urged Nigerians to continue to endure the prevailing hunger and hardship even as he assured that the government would soon deal decisively with the searing economic crisis.

As was expected, Nigerians did not receive Matawalle’s message well. Instead of absorbing the intents and purposes of the message, they rather broke into a rancorous cacophony that palpably betrayed their dissatisfaction, disgruntlement and frustration over what has become their greatest nightmare.

Many Nigerians have never envisaged a situation where they would be unable to afford their most basic needs. The average Nigerian living in today’s Nigeria must have totally forgotten what luxury of any kind tastes like. They practically live from hand to mouth, and spend almost all of their hard-earned and meager resources on food. The soaring inflation has indeed forced many Nigerians to disabuse their minds from all forms of unnecessary distractions and focus on what is most important. It is in this state of squalor and agony that an embittered Nigerian is expected not to groan and vent his grievances.

How many Nigerians can currently afford what we call ‘junk foods’? Not too long ago, it was commonplace to find Nigerians gallivanting the streets and buying luxury edibles such as shawarma, pizza, hotdog and other exotic snacks that form their daily food intake. How many people can really afford such luxury today?

Not too long ago, it was common to find men clustered up in beer parlors and bars, and drinking to their amusement while unwinding from their day’s work. Such a sight is very rare nowadays.

Checking through the streets, one will observe that the bars are usually empty these days. The average drinker can no longer afford his regular dose of alcoholic beverages and would rather not spend the little money he has for fear of going bankrupt. Everybody in today’s Nigeria seems to be counting costs and strategizing on how best to survive the prevailing hardship, and the worst of it all is that there is no end in sight to all of these. The current situation of Nigeria does not offer any glimmer of hope because instead of improving, it keeps deteriorating, and it is the unpredictability of the unfolding circumstances that bothers Nigerians the most. No one seems to have even the slightest precognition of what the next day would bring forth. The country seems to be on autopilot as there is nothing to show that it is being managed by a government. Power supply has dwindled by a very alarming rate, and businesses are folding up by the day, yet there is no one making any strategic moves to masterfully handle these catastrophic spring-ups. The government is clearly overwhelmed by the humongous challenges it is confronted with, and there appears to be even more challenges springing up every day. It is in this precarious situation that Nigerians are expected to hail the government and not dish out some copious vituperation and vitriol against the man who is supposed to make their lives better.

One may be tempted to ask Matawalle what he would have done if he were to be a member of the opposition while watching things degenerate to this extent. I bet he will not have anything nice to say of the government. So, is he issuing threats just because he finds himself in government? Does being in government prevent one from being sensitive to real issues? Is the current state of Nigeria not disturbing enough to be treated as an emergency? Does Matawalle understand what it means to be at the centre of the livelihood and existence of over 200 million human beings? Did Matawalle issue those threats and actually expect Nigerians to cower and not become even more disgruntled and issue their own counter threats? Maybe Matawalle had the effrontery to issue such warnings because Nigerians, in their docility, have severally declined to take to the streets and shut down the country. Taking to the streets and shutting down the country is the standard practice everywhere in the world. People protest to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with government’s programs and policies, and they are never called ‘unpatriotic’ or ‘unruly.’

Matawalle must understand that the only thing that Nigerians can currently boast of is their voice, since they have already been stripped of their dignity, their privileges and even their rights. You cannot beat a child and stop him from crying!

Matawalle must understand that Nigerians are not cowards and that they are not misguided. They know exactly where to channel their grievances. If there is a problem with the working of the country, it is only natural for the people to blame the government, just like they will hail it if things are working as they should. You don’t tell people how to react to your actions. If you want them to react nicely, then act nicely.

The hunger In the land is an existential threat, and it is not something that can be wished away. It must be handled as an emergency and with the precision and swiftness it deserves. There is no need threatening a hungry and angry people. Instead of issuing threats, try the opposite. Empathize with them; show them that the government is sensitive to their travails?

Matawalle should really do well to face his primary responsibilities. As a junior Minister for Defence, he did not lead an entourage to Plateau or Benue to commiserate with the communities that have been severally attacked by bandits and terrorists. We did not hear him issue threats to the marauders who have incessantly undermined the security of Nigeria and slaughtered its citizens like animals. We want to see him flare up at the news of the attacks of innocent Nigerians. A Minister of Defence is a very sensitive portfolio, and its job specification does not include issuing threats to disgruntled citizens who are merely stating their concerns. It is a much bigger responsibility!

If Matawalle must issue any threats or warnings, then it should be directed at the terrorists who have overrun the length and breadth of Nigeria’s North-East. His threats should go to the bandits who have sequestered large portions of Nigeria’s North-West and North Central and destabilized its inhabitants. Is Matawalle not aware that there are parts of Northern Nigeria where citizens pay taxes to bandits and terrorists? Has he not heard of the exalted banditry that holds away in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger States? He should visit any or all of the above-mentioned states and see for himself how Nigerians are been preyed upon by common criminals in their own country.

It Is a shame that Matawalle’s priorities are misplaced, and it will not portray him as a serious Minister of Defence if he does not take his work seriously. Let Matawalle be reminded that the problems he fails to solve today as a Minister of Defence will never go away, but will continue to pose a huge threat to Nigeria’s corporate existence. The earlier he redirects his attention to the job cut out for him, the better for all of us.

•Nwachukwu, a journalist and media consultant, writes from Abuja. He can be reached at cmatencore86@gmail.com

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