It is easy to point fingers at Mr. President, blaming him for the hardships we face. But let’s be honest—Nigeria’s true suffering does not begin and end at Aso Rock. The real betrayal is happening in our backyards, in the state capitals and local government offices, where governors and chairmen treat their positions like personal businesses, hoarding wealth while their people drown in poverty.
Look around you. Roads are death traps, hospitals are cemeteries, schools are in ruins—yet billions are allocated to these sectors every year. Where does the money go? Into the pockets of a few, while the masses struggle to eat once a day. Some governors live in obscene luxury, their families enjoying the best medical care abroad, while the people they swore to serve die from treatable diseases. Local government chairmen—those who should be the closest to the people—are ghosts, only appearing when it’s time to campaign with stolen funds.
We scream at the President, demanding change, but who is holding these governors and chairmen accountable? Who is asking why a state governor receives federal allocations yet refuses to pay workers’ salaries? Who is questioning why roads remain untarred, why pensioners beg for their entitlements, why local communities have no clean water? The bitter truth is that the suffering in Nigeria is not just from the top—it is deeply rooted in the greed of those who claim to be our grassroots leaders.
Until we start holding these wicked state and local government leaders accountable, our cries will remain unheard. The change we seek will never come from Abuja alone; it must start from every state, every local government, every community. Nigerians, wake up—our real enemies are closer than we think.
By: Godwin Offor
