I THOUGHT the former minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi was being misquoted as usual when he said he is hungry. You know the fake news epidemic we have in this country. I had to google the quote to see the full story.
Hear him: “We don’t want to move the country forward. My passport was seized in Germany, I did nothing. My offense is that I’m carrying a green passport. They kept me for nearly 30 minutes and I was going for a medical check up in Vienna. So if you’re not ashamed, I’m,” Amaechi said.
“Nigerian elites are not the problems of Nigeria. The problems of Nigeria are the followership. There are no capitalists in Nigeria; capitalists are those with capital to invest for production. Do we produce here? I look at Nigeria and ask what are we doing here? Do we really want to be a country? What is important is how do we change this country?
“We’re all hungry, all of us are. If you’re not hungry, I’m. For us, the opposition, if you want us to remove the man in power, we can remove him from this power.”
My thoughts on this? Where do I even start?This was a man who served as two-term governor of Rivers state from 2007 to 2015 after which he was appointed as minister of transportation by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. He was also the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum from 2011 to 2015. Before becoming governor, he was the speaker of the Rivers house of assembly between 1999 and 2007.
You see why I don’t take most Nigerian politicians seriously? It’s always about themselves. This is a man that Nigeria has been good to and has enjoyed the perks of public life since 1999 and just two years out of office he is always crying fowl. He belongs to the 5 percent of Nigerians who Nigeria have been good to.
Amaechi used to be one of my favourite persons. I used to like him for his boldness but I don’t like this version 2.0 of him. Why must Nigerian politicians always think they are meant to be in power forever?
And again why do our politicians like singing poverty as a virtue? You know many Nigerians are always emotional and don’t reason logically. I remember the appeal of former President Goodluck Jonathan was that he grew up without shoes. President Muhammadu Buhari gave us the impression he is poor. Labour Party Presidential candidate Peter Obi sold us in last election that he is a man of modest means who have been wearing the same wrist watch for 15 years and remember “he no dey give shishi”.
Why do Nigerian politicians love selling the poverty card and modest means? I don’t think that ship will sail in 2027. Please don’t tell us you are hungry to win sympathy votes. Tell us how you are better than the incumbent. Tell us how you are going to solve the myriads of problems bedeviling our country. I mean practical ways of solving them. You know in Nigeria the opposition always have the solution to all our problems until they get into office and realise talk is cheap.
So Amaechi is now hungry? The same man who as Rivers governor was flying private jets and living in luxury? The same man who as minister was supervising multi-billion naira railway projects? Come on, who are you trying to fool?
This reminds me of a story I heard recently. A man who owned three houses, four cars and had millions in his account went to a prayer meeting and told the congregation he was broke and needed prayers. When someone asked him about his properties, he said “those ones don’t count, I need liquid cash”. That’s our politicians for you.
The truth is, Amaechi’s “hunger” statement is not about physical hunger or poverty. It’s about his hunger for power, his hunger to be relevant again, his hunger to return to the corridors of power. But instead of being honest about his political ambitions, he chose to use this poverty rhetoric that he thinks will resonate with suffering Nigerians.
Let me ask Amaechi some questions: When you were governor for eight years and minister for another eight years, what did you do about the hunger of ordinary Nigerians? When you had access to billions of naira in Rivers state and federal allocations, how many hungry Nigerians did you feed?
The former minister also blamed the followership for Nigeria’s problems. Really? So the followers are the ones who mismanaged our resources? The followers are the ones who awarded inflated contracts? The followers are the ones who looted our treasury? Amaechi, please spare us this nonsense.
Nigerian politicians have a funny way of rewriting history. When they are in power, they are saints doing God’s work. When they are out of power, they become prophets of doom, blaming everyone else for the country’s problems. It’s like a script they all read from the same playbook.
I also find it interesting that Amaechi complained about being delayed at a German airport because of his green passport. Sir,you were part of the government that made that green passport what it is today. You were in power when Nigeria’s international reputation was going down the drain. You can’t eat your cake and have it.
The funniest part of his statement was when he said “if you want us to remove the man in power, we can remove him from this power”. So now he’s threatening a coup? Or is he planning to use his “hunger” to mobilize Nigerians for a revolution? Please, sit down somewhere.
What Amaechi and other politicians in his category don’t understand is that Nigerians are wiser now. We are tired of the same recycled politicians who jump from one party to another, changing their narratives to suit their current political interests. We are tired of people who were part of the problem suddenly positioning themselves as the solution.
Instead of this pity party, why don’t you tell us what you achieved in your 16 years in various offices? Why don’t you give us a scorecard of your performance? Why don’t you tell us how your life changed the lives of ordinary Nigerians?
If you’re truly hungry for change, start by being honest about your past mistakes. Tell us what you would do differently. Give us concrete policies, not emotional blackmail. Stop treating us like we are stupid.
The era of politicians selling us poverty stories to win elections should be over. We need leaders who can inspire us with their vision, not depress us with their supposed hunger. We need people who can show us a clear path out of our current challenges, not those who blame everyone else for their failures.
As we approach 2027, let me advise all our politicians: stop the pity party. Stop the poverty Olympics. Stop the blame game. Tell us your plans. Show us your blueprint. Convince us with your ideas, not your tears.
Amaechi’s eureka moment should not be about discovering hunger. It should be about discovering accountability, honesty and genuine service to the people. Until then, this version 2.0 of Amaechi is not ready for prime time.
– Nda-Isaiah is a political analyst based in Abuja and can be reached on jonesdryx@gmail.com. His syndicated column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Saturdays.