10 Aug 2008 |
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Often, we Nigerians are quick to point fingers at the leadership at all levels as being responsible for the sorry state of our economy and the general misery that fills the land. We would waste no time in reminding anyone that cares to listen how our politicians and their military counterpart have stashed away the nation’s resources in foreign bank. From the beer parlours to the parliament, that is a usual Nigerian past time. Although the ostentatious and wasteful lifestyle of the political class is not in doubt, the ordinary citizens in the words of Fela ‘Bloody Civilians’ also share a bulk of the blame. It is the little things that we all do or better still don’t do either individually or collectively that has brought us this harsh reality. The bible says it is little foxes that spoil the vine. It is popularly said that leadership is a reflection of the people it leads. If the government is bad, we can deduce a bad society since they are a sub-set of the society. We say xxxx stole $xxxx billions, £xxxx billions, but we fail to mention how we pay (did I say pay, I mean bribe) PHCN not to cut our light when we occasionally forget to pay our bills, how we drive against traffic, how we bribe our way through a long queue, falsify our children’s age so they can be allowed into school earlier than prescribed by law, “runs” your NYSC posting, throw trash on the road, how we vandalize infrastructure because some person’s in authority has offended us, the list is endless. But I will not stop from mentioning the mother of them all (in my opinion) not tax evasion and tax evasion. If Mr. (now a days Mrs.) xxx stole from government coffers, we say he is corrupt, but we fail to mention that we have not paid our taxes which is also a classic case of stealing government money. The only difference is that someone is stealing it at the government house while another is stealing it before it gets to the government house. Many institutions have been established with the aim of solving the perceived leadership problem but thinking of it, is leadership the challenge? We’ve had great leaders from the Awolowo’s to the Azikiwe’s of this world, yet not much in terms of progress. We can therefore state emphatically that the challenge is not in the leadership, the challenge lies with us. In the words of Tunji Bello: “We are a nation of undisciplined people. We lack a sense of order. We like to trample on the law, abuse positions, offices and relationships. We can’t wait for our turn in any situation. We are always in a hurry, drive one way, bend the rule, destroy the city landscape because we want to build our ‘palaces’, doctor the books, look for short cuts to success, lack respect for other human beings, neighbours, road users, and even children. We are always impatient, very vain; celebrate what is not important and wasteful. We do not believe things can be done without corrupting the system or knowing someone. We are very loud, boastful and like to destroy any orderly society we visit through credit card, visa and social security scam. This is why people don’t like us abroad.” This is the kind of people we are in Nigeria and no society that is developed today is made up of people with such features. Often times we don’t see these things that we all do as issues but they are the main issues that pull back our society. If we all stop littering the streets, driving against traffic, constituting ourselves in such a way that we are a nuisance to our neighbours and simply obey rules, conduct ourselves in an orderly manner; we can begin to think of development occurring. The developed nations today are developed because their people held on to some basic values that have guided the conduct of their citizens through generations. Nigeria is a great nation with lots of untapped potentials; we can say she is a nation sitting on a gold mine. However, for us to unearth these potentials that lie within and around us we will need to stop doing some things and start doing some things. The only way forward for this nation and for us as a people is for us to change our ways and become good people. In essence, there is an urgent need for a moral rebirth in this nation. Some of our rather religious compatriots have maintained that it is only God that can help us out of our present predicament, though I am a Christian I strongly disagree with them and therefore state categorically that though God can save us he is not the one that will save us, we are the ones that will save ourselves. The bible says righteousness exalts a nation. In the last 25 years or thereabout, the number of churches that dot the Nigerian landscape has grown astronomically. But has this growth in the number of religious institutions exalted our nation? That is has it brought about development or has it done otherwise. Although there is no empirical data that supports this claim, I don’t think our religious institutions have lived up to the expectations of their divine assignment. Otherwise how do you explain young men who should be actively engaged in some form of productive activity just perambulating from one church to the other seeking deliverance or one pastor that will lay hands on them for their breakthrough. Indeed, there is no breakthrough anywhere but “workthrough”. Bishop Oyedepo will always say that any faith that makes God totally responsible for your life is an irresponsible faith. Someone said nothing ever happens because you think or wish they should happen but rather they happen because you make them happen. If we start praying from now till Jesus comes for economic development nothing will happen until we begin to work for a change. A wise man once said it is not a great nation that makes great people but great people make a great nation (paraphrase). For Nigeria to ever experience development we all must change our ways and stop waiting for God or our leaders. WE ARE THE CHANGE.
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