y Igbo people say that when a bachelor cooks and begins to sigh, then the time of his getting married has come.

There is a certain man whose name is Anger. He is so called because his mother was in the state of anger when she gave birth to him. She was angry because her uncaring husband was nowhere to be found during her intensive labour period. She was rushed to a nearby maternity hospital by a good Samaritan who was passing by and heard her screaming for help. The uncaring husband arrived a day after she has put to bed. Her anger multiplied. All efforts by the husband to justify the cause his absence was like pouring salt in an open wound. At last the angry wife gave one condition for peace to reign. She vehemently said that she has the sole right to name the new born baby. The husband did not object. Hence she named the child Anger as a memorial of her intense condition during the child's nativity. The husband tried to object to the choice of this obnoxious name. The dominant wife overrode him. Indeed the connotation of a name goes after the bearer. Hence the child inherited the inborn anger as he grew up. He gets irritated at the least provocation. He portrays love towards his mother and hatred towards his father. One day he nearly killed his father for his non-chalant attitude in the family. Fortunately the father escaped by whiskers.

Anger went to special school where inborn vices are curtailed by training. Later he went into the University where he studied 'Angriology' (the science that deals with anger). Luckily he got a lucrative work in the Ministry of Humanity. The job paid him. He built a four-bedroom house. Being tired of bachelorhood, he began to search for his missing bone. He went to seek the hand of Miss Hunger in marriage. Her parents turned his proposal down on the ground of incompatibility. It is suicidal for Anger to marry Hunger. They would set the house on an unquenchable fire. After some weeks he was attracted to one Miss Heartless who has summa in beauty. He made necessary enquiry about the latter by looking for the word heartless in the dictionary. He found out that it is an adjective which means 'having no pity.' It is synonymous with wickedness. He asked himself, "Can an angry man like me live comfortably in marriage with a wicked woman?" He shouted, "No! We shall live perpetually in hellfire." At the long run he came across an ugly young lady who bears the name Patience. He reasoned that even though she has grade one in ugliness, her good attitude fits her name Patience. In other words Anger can live peacefully with Patience. Hence he approached her with the intention of marriage. Patience consented and the dowry was paid.

On their wedding day, they marched happily to the Altar of Divine Presence to solemnize their marriage. The officiating priest asked them three preliminary questions. One, "Do you come here freely to be joined as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?" The bridegroom answered, "Yes, I do, if her patience endures." The congregation murmured. On the other hand, the bride replied, "Yes, I do, but only if he controls his anger." The congregation jolted. Secondly, the priest asked them, "Are you ready to respect and love each other as husband and wife all the days of your lives?" They answered one after the other, "Yes and No!" The priest shouted, "What do you mean?!" Again they simultaneously said, "Father, don't mind us. We are joking." The priest said, "Please be serious. We are not here to joke." Lastly they were asked, "Are you willing to accept and train the children God will give you?" The bridegroom answered, "Yes, so far they are not heartless." The bride in turn answered, "Yes, so far they are free of anger." At last they joined hands together in agreement and promised to sustain their marriage in good times and in bad times. Finally, the priest raised his hand of blessing and exclaimed, "What God has joined together, let no man should put asunder!" Like thunder the couple and the congregation shouted, "A-a-men!!!"

Now let us overlook the inscription on the bus and get on board. Our country Nigeria has been like a toddler since her Independence on October 1, 1960. The problem hinges on bad leadership. The past civil and military leaders failed us. Egotism and lack of vision have continued to deprive us of the dividends of Democracy. Military dictators sent our country many decades backward. Some of our past and present leaders are heartless and corrupt. As Giant of Africa, we are just giant in crime and selfishness. Even small countries in Africa like Ghana, Togo, Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Chad, etc. have overtaken us. Few years ago I spent one week holidays in Ghana. The country is booming in infrastructure and economy. Rarely do you experience power outage. The recent report that Aso Rock Abuja the seat of federal might is being installed with solar energy shows that there is no hope in electric power supply. It is to your tents, O Israel. Thus the Nigerian masses have lost patience in reaching the Promised Land like the developed the countries. Anger and hunger are written boldly in the faces of ordinary Nigerians.

A few political parties came together in 2015 and formed All Progressives Congress in order to oust the former President Goodluck Jonathan of Peoples Democratic Party who was in power and was seeking a second tenure as President. The Presidential candidate of APC, retired General Muhammadu Buhari promised Nigerians 'Change' to better living and economic conditions, if he wins. Eventually he won. His first tenure of four years expired without meaningful change. He enthroned nepotism at all levels. Luckily he contested the second time and won. Anxious Nigerians hoped to see the positive change this time. Instead President Buhari asked Nigerians to be patient with him. We waited and waited, but hopelessness was the answer. He left when the cost of fuel was N220 per liter. The cost was outrageous for the common citizens. Instead of Buhari defeating insecurity as he promised, insecurity defeated him. He left in 2023.

Hungry and angry Nigerians hoped for a political messiah in the 2023 Presidential Election. Unfortunately the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did an electoral magic which produced the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This magic was justified by the Supreme Court. Thus, President Tinubu ascended the throne in Aso Rock with the mantra of Renewed Hope. Instantly he removed fuel subsidy without cushioning it side effects. The cost of fuel per liter rose to N660. The masses wept furiously. Within a short time it sold for more than one thousand naira per liter. Consequently, the cost of living skyrocketed above the reach of the poor masses. Insecurity worsened. Kidnapping for ransom is presently heightened. Harvesting and sale of human organs are now rampart. The national currency was also devalued which gave rise to immeasurable inflation. The economic policies of President Tinubu are extremely harsh but expected to bear fruits in the long run; perhaps when the poor masses are all dead. Nigerians are crying hopelessly. Hunger and anger are the order of the day. The marriage between Anger and Patience is no more feasible today. Some sycophants of the Tinubu government maintain that prices of essential commodities are coming down. The Human Right Lawyer Femi Falana in a recent interview in Channels TV stated equivocally that the prices are coming down for the bourgeoisie and not for the masses. The pertinent question on every lip is: "Where is the Renewed Hope agenda?" In contrary we are experiencing Renewed Hardship. Above all, President Tinubu's nepotism has crossed the boundary. His tribe's men dominate almost all important national offices. Thus equity has been trodden under foot.

In his national broadcast recently to mark the completion of his second year in office, President Tinubu like Buhari asked Nigerians to exercise patience with him? If the first child does not walk, can the second run? Half time is enough to score winning goals. Changing the National Anthem is not the answer. When hardship is mesmerizing the masses, the politicians have started tussling for 2027 General Elections. Some governors and lawmakers are defecting to the ruling party APC for selfish political reasons. The president, governors and lawmakers should concentrate on governance for now by providing the dividends of democracy to the masses. A certain married couple was quarreling over the name to be given to the baby in the womb. Eventually the baby was born still. The couple sank in regrets. Who knows those to be alive in 2027 and what happens between now and then? The past is gone. The present determines the future. In God we trust!