Osifo Mandy: Occupy NASS : Hypocrisy Or Genuine National Assignment? (photo)

When the occupy Nigeria protest took place it was a movement against a Government that decided to remove subsidy and liberalize a sector that was perceived as inefficiently corrupt and the then opposition party now the government in power insisted that subsidy must remain.

Despite all entreaties and explanations that subsidy on petroleum products were not sustainable in the long run ,Tinubu, Fashola and others financed street parties and insisted that subsidy must stay, now the same people want to scrap subsidy and nobody is occupying anywhere!

The last time I slept in a fuel Station was over 20 years ago when we took turns to sleep in my Fathers Peugeot 504 waiting to buy fuel. I remember vividly well how the then military task force usually led by young officers used horse whips on the young and old as they tried to assert authority at fuel stations.

Unfortunately that sad part of history is suddenly becoming a way of life as citizens who hitherto drive in and out of fuel stations now keep vigil at fuel stations under very dehumanising conditions waiting for drops of fuel.

My question is simple where were the promoters of occupy NASS when Nigerians languished on queues? Till date premium motor spirit(Fuel) has remained above 140 in 34 of the 36 states of the federation the only exception being Abuja and parts of Lagos and those occupying NASS wants us to believe they are protecting our interest! How ?

Herdsmen have been on rampage maiming and destroying at will, from Ondo to Delta, from Agatu in Benue state to Enugu in the South East these herdsmen have left a trail of destruction,sorrow ,and pain yet the powers that be see nothing wrong in the actions these renegades.

Where were the promoters of Occupy NASS when the government decided to import grass from Brazil for the comfort of herdsmen and their cattle while simultaneously banning the import of rice for humans?

In the eyes of the promoters of the occupy NASS the lives of thousands of unarmed of Shia men, women and children massacred by overzealous security forces and those consistently been snuffed out by herdsmen is of no value, if it has the protest should have being in opposition to the creation of Sambisa forest in the six geo-political zones of the country in the name of grazing reserves.

For the first time in the history of our great nation the country produced zero megawatts. Despite paying three times the normal bills, long periods of blackouts is fast becoming a permanent way of life yet we have a siting power minister who famously thundered that “a serious government will fix the power problem in six months ” yet because of biscuits the promoters of occupy NASS will rather go for Saraki’s jugular.

This is the kind of hypocrisy, insincerity, double standard and self centeredness that has prevented us from making good progress as a nation, lacing pseudo- activism with the venom of revenge and distraction is a prescription that never works.

The complete lack of commonsense on the part of the promoters of the occupy NASS agenda and their blind followers shows that much still needs to be done in promoting civic literacy as it appears to be only weapon capable of extricating citizens especially young Nigerians from the fangs of of those have consistently used them to mask the real pains, needs and desire of the nations citizens.

“One way to be sure you are not making the wrong decision, is to look
vertically upwards ” – Oche Otorkpa