We Are The Monsters You Made

The sad tale of lost hopes, dreams, aspirations, and realism of young Nigerians affected by the decisions of the Buhari-led administration.

#EndSARS Campaign. Photo credit Wale Adetona for Techcabal Media.

With the promise of eliminating corruption, and improving the standard of living, the 2015 general elections in Nigeria pave the way for a landslide victory, bringing in the APC as the leading opposition party to become a flagship party. It was however a moment many across the globe would say that democracy has been restored and fully functional in Nigeria. The election marked the first time an incumbent president had lost re-election in Nigeria. Despite the backlog that led to former President Goodluck Jonathan losing the elections as influenced by internal and external factors, many were optimistic that a new era of change has come to propel Nigeria to the next level.

Reimergnece of Buhari after winning the 2019 general elections for 2nd tenure. Credits; Peoples Dispatch.

Even after another tenure, it’s now obvious the leadership of the president cannot lead Nigeria to the next level of change that he promised Nigerians during his campaigns. But the leader has opined it’s not his fault and in his latest statements, he has been vocal, saying the country is in a better state than he met it. Critics would argue considering the state of insecurity, poverty, and crises in the most populous African country.

As we all know, elections do have consequences, and most times the consequences of voting for the wrong candidate because of political, religious, and ethnic sentiments have led to the real majority of Nigerians now facing untold harsh reality daily. Given the effects of the crisis, however, the poverty headcount rate is instead projected to jump from 40.1 percent in 2018/19 to 42.0 percent in 2020 and 42.6 percent in 2022, implying that the number of poor people was 89.0 million in 2020 and would be 95.1 million in 2022, thus making Nigeria the poverty capital of the world.

But amid the rejoicing and shouting of “sai baba”, what is the reality of the average Nigerian, especially the youths? Well, this is the journey to understand what has been of the common man and youths after the Buhari-led administration took over.