15 Aug 2009 |
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PRESIDENT UMARU MUSA YAR ‘ADUA, WHERE IS NIGERIA HEADING? Christopher Odetunde, Ph.D. Mr. President, Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua (UMYA), for once, let’s put the Nigerian situation in true perspective. I start this essay by asking the following pertinent question, does every Nigerian deserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Every Nigeria means your children inclusive. The Nigeria you lead does not have stable electricity/energy, engine that drives industrialization, does she? Nigeria’s educational system is in a state of collapse, isn’t she? Nigerians are no longer going to the Universities to acquire knowledge but to have a worthless certificate on their walls, is this not true? If this is so, citizens’ education is now but a mere waste of talent and merger resources. Isn’t it so? As you know, sir, education is the ingredient that provides informed citizens knowledge, reduces friction and do-or-die politics, and releases the entrepreneurial spirit hidden in every of your creative citizens that have the potential to create meaningful middle class and sometimes needed technology jobs. Nigeria lacks road infrastructure which helps to move citizens and goods seamlessly for increased productivity and improved quality of life, encourages commerce, reduces misunderstanding between each tribes, encourages resolution of religious conflicts through spirited dialogue and may, on the long run, deflect if not eliminate the Niger Delta conflict. This is just looking at the nation’s problems mildly. Granted, the problems of Nigeria existed before you were ushered in as the President no matter by what vehicle. Sir, isn’t two years enough time for Nigerians to begin to see the dividends of democracy? If you are satisfied with your performance, I as a citizen, I am not satisfied because I believe you can do better and hence, I am asking you to regroup and restart. I am personally saddened that as much capital as we invested in Nigerians in the sixties, seventies and early eighties (of which you were one of the recipients of Nigeria’s generosity through some form of scholarship), all she can show for her generosity are whiners, educated thieves, unpatriotic citizens and an educated President, that is you, that is asleep at the switch. I expected presumed educated citizens to be wise and some to be visionary but the bunch of No Future Association, NFA you surround yourself with are uneducated, unwise, and lack vision. Wisdom is not the province of those that read the most or those with uncountable degrees but the characteristics of those who can see, experience and feel the plight of the down trodden and willing to pick them up even when such minor slow down could mean losing a little along the way. Our past leaders have not exhibited wisdom but absolute selfishness. I’ll assume further that because you were a Governor, you were conversant with the gravity of Nigeria’s problems when you were drawn into the political do-or-die battle field by the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. I said it then and I am saying it now that Western education does not guarantee good leadership or good governance. What guarantees good governance are vision, patriotism, wisdom to see Nigeria not from tribal or zonal point but from how best to bring citizens of all persuasions to buy into a shared vision. Even if you did not understand that enormity of Nigeria’s problems before being sucked into the political craziness, you ought to have realized the “You break it you own it” syndrome. Whatever problems OBJ left unresolved, the next president owns the problem the moment he/she get into office and it is assumed that he wanted the position because he is a problem solver not a problem creator. Ask President Barack Obama of the United States of America. Yet, sir, you have not gone beyond what OBJ left but instead, the nation is retrogressing under your leadership and there is fire on the roof, citizens are becoming restless and the prediction of US CIA of the eventual collapse of Nigeria is looming ever so fulfilled. Will this happen during your tenure or will you have moral clarity to move the nation positively forward? Mr. President, please name three things you have accomplished, just three since your accession into office beyond assuring that you northernized most juicy governmental positions in your cabinet, you travel overseas for your healthcare needs when 95% of Nigerians are dying of treatable diseases, and the religious and Niger Delta problems are getting ever escalated. Mr. President, many believe that you are not one of the kleptomaniacs that Nigeria is currently saddled with but you have the distinguished honor to know a lot of this NFA Nigerians and for some reason, you protect some of them. An example of these distinguished kleptomaniacs is Ibori who has not gotten the benefit of your well toothed rule of law. By the way, when will this rule of law kick in, we are curious? Also, remember the saying that those stealing and those receiving stolen goods are both thieves. Again, sir, I am disappointed because even though many doubted your ability to govern a nation like Nigeria because of your simplicity and because you only effectively governed a small monolithic, mono-tribal and minimally educated citizenry. I believed then and now that ability to successfully govern a small State is not a panacea for governing a multi-dimensional, culturally diverse and religiously polarized nation like Nigeria. Many stated that you were tough, you walked to kiosks to buy cigarette without security, you balanced your state budget, you are prayerful and you’ll be the first graduate to govern Nigeria. What happened, sir? To test your freedom, I want you to go to “Isale Eko” without security I order to measure the pulse of the nation. Nigeria is slipping into coma. Electricity is worse than when you took over as President, there are conflicts here and there, citizens are not given benefit of the rule of law which you blew out of proportion during your campaign and thereafter, corrupt leaders are becoming violently brazen and daring in their approach while recruiting pauperized citizens to do their dirty work. If your rule of law took hold, the religious sect leader that was gunned down by the police could have been given his day in court, get more information that would allow the police to stop other sect leaders from terrorizing, and operating with impunity. Where are you going with this? Because of Nigeria’s location and her abundant crude reserves, she is said to occupy a strategic position on the African continent. I see you on the international news such as CNN not as a President of the giant of Africa but as irrelevant head of a condemned nation, condemned by her citizens, by the international community and even by God because Nigeria has not hacken to the voice of the almighty. For of this reason of her strategic location and abundant crude oil reserves, it has been difficult for nations that would have ignored her to do so. Hence she is being tolerated. Nigeria also has many intractable problems just like any other nation but her inability to find a lasting solution she has refused to grow up, advancement, in development, and made her the giant of Africa simply by imagination. Nigeria gets, on occasions, solicited and unsolicited solutions to her unending, sometimes, self inflicted wounds from her citizens. For instance, Nigerians deal with the effects of corruption in their daily live and the pain of their agonies can be felt even in outspace, yet, they are hoping that one day this too shall pass. Yet, the politicians within your control do not see this as a problem because their personal flowers are daily watered. In the nation you preside over, female children are the ones supporting their parents from some illegal activities such as prostitution. For that, parents that ought to straighten the ways of their children no longer have a decent voice to correct the hands that feed them. The result is the advent of dysfunctional families which lead to conscienceless children, armed robbers, religious zealots, disloyal and unpatriotic citizens whom you have inherited. What can you do, sir to turn the tide around? Mr. President, please let us go back to the basis of governance. First, remember that a hungry citizen is an angry citizen. Even, Jesus Christ recognized that to preach His gospel, he had to feed the crowd first. That, sir, is wisdom. So, sir, you need to create an enabling environment for job creation. Stop your ministers and commissioners from asking Nigerians without viable businesses to be exported to Nigeria from being asked. “Where are the oyibos/bature, Whites in your company?” This questions show among other inferiority complex which we have been trying to shed. Toward this end, why don’t you encourage serious Nigerians in Diaspora who have values to add to the system to repatriate themselves in a reverse brain drain. Some of the skills they have acquired which the nation paid for can then be harnessed to the advantage of our dear nation and yet the thieving governors, Ministers, and ordinary Nigerians will benefit tremendously. Even, Nigerian Universities will benefit from the influx of Diaspora Professors. Secondly, we need to reduce the effect of religion in governance. Religion is be personal since the bible says that the Lord shall judge all individually. Therefore, de-emphasize religion in governance in your administration. Whoever wants to pray should do so in his Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques or in the comfort of their homes. We cannot afford to use religion as a component of governance as it has failed us for more than four decades. Religion should have its place in so far as it is a moral compass in governance. Should religion be injected to politics, then, Sharia must be total in its application and form by making sure that any State that effect such a law should treat corrupt persons equally. The State should apply the law uniformly by making sure that all corrupt persons get same treatment from little a kid that steals a piece of bread to quench his hunger and whose hands are removed as a deterrent to politicians that transfer their State monthly allocation to foreign accounts. You can help create high paying jobs by making registration of businesses less stringent and friendlier. All you want is to increase tax base of the nation. You must make sure that corruption is reduced by making sure that those who choose to be corrupt pay a high price no matter whose ox is gored. More importantly, special criminal code should be assigned to those that choose to be corrupt and transfer our developmental funds into their foreign accounts. You must flight corruption war and be sure that the citizens buy into a real war on corruption. OBJ at least was seeing to fight corruption because he spoke passionately of reducing it and went all over the world to seek help until he was drawn in by the centrifugal force of corruption through those that surrounded him. Mr. President, please recall that you had scholarship for your Secondary and may be University education from Groundnut, Cotton, Cocoa, Palm. Why not use your religious believe of equality before the Lord to provide better education by providing scholarships to good students with the meg amount of Petro-Naira being looted transferred out by the NFA that surround you? UMYA, let us discuss the health of a nation. Your case is an example. I would have thought that you would have champion improved healthcare system by challenging Nigerian professionals in Diaspora to set up hospitals in different States. The performance of these hospitals could attract capitals all over Africa by patients that need healthcare help. As we know, a health nation is a graceful nation. Initially, the cost might be prohibitive but we can subsidize then cost with the money being stolen and sent to foreign accounts. This will be a win-win scenario for you as president and for the citizens. Remember, sir, that governance is ability to be an advocate for 90% of the citizens not 10% the looting crowds. These are a few areas that I want you to consider for the next two year. Of course, Nigeria can also serve as a gate way in Information Technology and other related jobs. There is great potential resident in Nigeria especially Nigerians in Diaspora. Mr. President, what will be said about you when you face creator. Will it be, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua came the world and was conquered or he made a difference in the lives of those he governed and changed Nigeria positively forever. The ball is in your court and I hope you make something positive and leave a good legacy to be followed by the next generation of Nigerians. Yet, sir, I am still sad that we have not moved forward through series of corrective military and civilian so-called corrective steps but I am not discouraged and hopeful. Note that I have not focused o the key component of governance, the citizens or the lead because your action will ultimately precipitate their kind of reaction. Some are thrusted into leadership by divine providence and some by self and sometimes selfish actualization but you were picked by OBJ for whatever his reason best known to him. It is not how we get into leadership that matters but our overall conviction to buckle the system for the benefit of majority of citizens. Is Nigeria going to continue in the state of perfidy and lawlessness or on the road to recovery as a strong, stable and self-sustaining sovereign nation? The call is yours, sir?
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