It is true that great nations are built by great men
and women, divinely inspired to do things beyond the ordinary. This include
great minds who elect to selflessly serve the needs of their country and her
people; who eschew nepotism, corruption or any form of aggrandizement.
They are identified by their sacrifices for the
common good and the measure of zeal with which they serve the needs of their
country and her citizens. They place their country above self and value the
lives of their people and are always ready to take risks to protect them.
Can Nigeria ever belong to the category of countries
described above? What kind of nation have our leaders been able to bequeath to
us? What can our leaders be remembered for? How will history see the leaders of
this country especially the contemporary ones?
Right now, the country is in a lull, at a
stand-still and on the edge of precipice. The level of stagnation, deprivation,
frustration, hunger and starvation being experienced by Nigerians presently has
not been experienced since the history of the contraption called Nigeria.
The supreme target of government is the happiness
and security of the people, maintenance of law and order, not allowing society
to become a kingdom of demons as it seems in Nigeria today.
Practically, governance is about principles. It is
about stability, keeping things going, preventing lawlessness, and keeping
society from falling into bits by taking morally sound decisions and actions,
that will translate to the happiness and general welfare of the majority while
taking cognizance of the needs and aspirations of the majority.
It is about making people part and parcel of the
development process, advancing the communities- both formal and informal- in
the most uncommon manner and harnessing their collective advantage and efforts
for common goal.
I do not like rating a government before its first
anniversary. But the high expectation that have been dashed and widespread
discontent occasioned by increasing hardship being experienced in all
ramifications of the life of Nigerians call for the urgency of re-examining and
re-assessing the propriety of the change agenda. I have decided to make public
some of my worries about the unconventional manner the affairs of government
has been run for the past eleven months which has brought us ton this sorry
situation, without solution in sight.
Never in the history of this country has unofficial
pump price of petroleum products gone up by nearly 500%. Very unfortunate
development! Never in this country has the Naira been so weakened without any
conscious effort by government to strengthen it by any conventional means.
Indeed, allowing such a wide gap between official exchange rates and unofficial
rates is in itself corruption of monumental levels. Of course, it is capable of
tempting government officials into sharp foreign exchanged deals which perhaps,
as alleged in some quarters, cannot be said to not be happening within the
ranks of the government.
In just eleven months, the prices of staple foods
have gone up by almost 200%. For instance, before May 29,2015, the price of a
bag of rice was between #6500 and #8000. Now the same brands sell at between
#16000 and #18000 per bag. What an avoidable catastrophe!
Long queues of snail speed have returned to the
feeling stations as a result of sharp deals in the sector. Many Nigerians are
confused at the propriety of the of the anticorruption war, believing that
corruption has increased by unimaginable proportions, leading to frustration,
hunger, deprivation and despondency, practically losing faith in the ability of
those in government to fix the country better their lot.
The
local government system which can help to check poverty by creating wealth
through its constitutional role has been strangulated and in fact castrated by
the excessive greed of most governors This has compounded the economic
conditions of the rural dwellers. And the President seems not to be doing
anything about it.
As a
matter of fact, improvement in the living condition of Nigerians will only be
possible when all the state governors conduct election in all the 774
local government areas of Nigeria as a way of creating wealth and distribute
national resources to the people, majority of who live in the villages and know
the 3rd tier government as the government closest to them.
One of the strong points the opposition had against
the government of President Goodluck Jonathan was his inability to stem
insurgency. One year after Jonathan, insurgency seems to have increased
preponderantly, including that by A K 47-wielding Fulani herdsmen who
dispossess people of their farmlands, not only rape their wives and children
but also kill them without official reprimand. The question in all lips is “Can
this war against insurgency be ever won, given government hypocrisy.
The government seems to have made its
anti-corruption war a mere rethorical exercise than a committed programme. Much
talk without commensurate action or result. Government seems to have directed
all its efforts towards pursuing those it thinks have stolen the national
wealth while much more than that is still said to get stolen daily under the
watch of Mr. President. Result-producing anti-corruption war is the one that is
not noisy but silently achieving results that are seen and practical.
In the words of John Staurt Mill (1806-1873), “No
great improvements in the lots of mankind are possible until great change takes
place in the fundamental constitution of their modes of thought.
As
politicians, we must encourage each other to voice out our concerns.
Politicians need to recognize we can no longer make do with a broken political
system that has widespread examples of corruption,
inefficiency, mediocrity, unproductivity and of course, an utterly
disorganized and ignorant people parading as leaders.
Now is time for those in positions of leadership in
Nigeria to begin to change themselves first before attempting to change others.
Our political leaders should make themselves available to God to change them.
Otherwise whatever they do amounts to mere vain glory.
The change mantra can achieve result when, and only
when the purveyors change themselves first, as example for the citizens to
follow; when they will of their own volition return all their loots and
apologize to Nigerians or are compelled to do so. Except this happens, all they
are doing or will do amount to efforts in futility. It seems to me that what is
happening is reminiscent of pot calling kettle black. Let our leaders first
purge themselves. If not, the society as presently constituted remains a time
bomb and a revolution waiting to happen.
Chris
Nwokeji
nwokeji.chris@yahoo.com
v
Nwokeji,
a Public Affairs Analyst and Commentator wrote in from New York.
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