ARISE TV Anchor: May Nigeria Happen To Me All My Life — Says Reno Omokri
Reno Omokri, former presidential aide, has said he wants Nigeria to “keep happening” to him.
This is in response to online conversations around the phrase “Nigeria happened,” which resurfaced after late ARISE News correspondent Somtochukwu Maduagwu used it in a post before her death in a robbery attack at her Abuja home.
In a post made on X on Tuesday, Omokri said the phrase is often used to describe the country negatively.
“May Nigeria happen to me and keep happening to me as long as I live! When bad things happen, enemies of this country are quick to say that ‘Nigeria has happened’ to them. But they take the good that occurs to them in Nigeria personally, without attributing it to our great nation,” he wrote.
Omokri noted that unpleasant events occur everywhere in the world but argued that Nigeria’s progress is often ignored.
He added, “Good and bad are as universal as day and night and are part of the ying yang of human existence. This is Earth. This is not heaven! Earth is an imperfect place, which is why unpleasant things can sometimes happen.”
Omokri compared Nigeria with other countries. “Please fact-check me: Every year in America, 20,000 people are murdered. That is more than twice the murder rate in Nigeria. Have you ever heard Americans badmouthing their country as a result of this?”
He cited the rollout of federal government student loans, improvements in electricity generation, a drop in inflation, and the country’s emergence as a net exporter of petrol as examples of positive changes.
He also listed recent government actions adding, “600,000 Nigerians have gotten student loans from the Federal Government to attend universities under Tinubu. Is that not also Nigeria happening to Nigerians positively?”
“Food prices have dropped nationwide. In 1975, inflation was above 40%. Today, it is 20.12%, a 1.76% drop from July’s 21.88%. How many countries on Earth today are moving inflation behind? Look at Argentina, which Peter Obi praised. Today, their economy is ‘in shambles,’ to borrow from Davido!”
“The electricity situation has vastly improved, and Nigeria broke its power generation record with a peak generation of 5,801.84MW and maximum daily energy output of 128,370.75 megawatt-hours (MWh), the highest ever attained in the history of the electricity industry in Nigeria. Is that not Nigeria happening?”
“Nigeria is now a net exporter of petrol. Please fact-check me: When President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, Nigeria was Africa’s largest petrol importer.
“Today, South Africa is Africa’s largest fuel importer. Nigeria’s fuel imports have drastically reduced. Not only that, according to the International Energy Agency, Nigeria has now emerged as the largest exporter of refined petroleum products in West Africa. This has seen fuel prices drop. Only three civilian governments have achieved that. Yar’adua, Jonathan and now Tinubu. That is also Nigeria happening to us!”
“Nigeria is a great country, but it is not perfect because perfection is divine. There is no ideal country on Earth. We can choose to look at the negatives, but there are many positive things happening in Nigeria that we refuse to project because we love bad news!” he concluded.
