“Vibes and Cruise” is a slogan that is thriving in the Nigerian conversational space lately. This slogan describes situations that Nigerians would rather make jokes about than take seriously. Nigerians are widely known as people who try to adapt to situations, especially in difficult cases.
Late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a famous Nigerian musician, once sang in one of his songs that Nigerians like suffering and smiling. This assertion is evident in the Nigerian society, given what one could describe as a lack of accountability to the people on the side of the government, and a lack of serious interest in holding the government responsible, on the side of the people.
Over the weekend, series of events took place, bringing Nigeria, its people and government before the world stage, especially on social media. First, the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, made a series of tweets, sending warnings to a secessionist group operating in the Southeastern part of the country. The group has been accused of burning government properties and killing security operatives. In the last part of the tweet’s thread, the President referred to the events of the Nigerian Civil war, implying that he would apply the tactics used in the war against the group. This led to an uproar on the social media platform because most people saw the statement as a reiteration of the genocide that is believed to have happened during the war.
Social media users repeatedly reported the post as inappropriate, and Twitter handlers deleted the tweet.
In the space of 24 hours, the Nigerian government responded by banning all activities of the social app in the country’s internet space. After the ban was announced and implemented, Nigerian resorted to using virtual private networks (VPNs) to continue their social affairs on the app. Among the trending topics was Vibes and Cruise, representing thoughts of disappointment, anger and censure against the government and, at the same time, the levity with which Nigerians had coped with the situation.
The myriad of issues facing the country has all gone through a similar process. The government drags foot on its responsibilities, and the people keep vibing and cruising. The moribund state of the nation’s power sector should be a point of call to the government and its people.
Shouldn’t the government’s level of energy and speed in banning Twitter activities be applied to resolving the power sector challenges? The country’s economic growth has been hampered as a result of the unavailability of adequate electricity.
Rather than solving the primary challenges facing the country, we see a state of vibes and cruise.