Hilary Ike Ugwu

Sooner or later, Nigerians would eventually come to a point of critical re-evaluation of the slogan, ‘Baba Go Slow’ which is conventionally adopted by so many people to describe the administrative sluggish tempo of the presidency of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. It would surely dawn on everyone that the idea of ‘go slow’ is actually a clear affirmation of democratic retrogression in an emerging nation as Nigeria. One may ask, this passivity that Nigeria is experiencing since the inauguration of her new leader, is it a calculated strategy, a sort of futuristic preparedness on the part of the presidency or simply an unstated confirmation of laxity, incompetence and a lack of clear vision? Well, I cannot proffer a definitive answer to this impending query, but I could conjecture that Mr. Musa Yar’Adua had given all he has and Nigerians have seen it.

By the way of critical appraisal, the idea of ‘slow going’ when applied to road commutation brings a sense of stock-still. ‘Go slow’ connotes traffic hold-ups, congestions, delays, clumsiness, frustrations, lateness etcetera. If this is the paradigm adopted by the president to move Nigeria forward, then Nigerian is certainty moving backwards. The gradual confirmation of this administrative ineptitude has left so many bright-minded Nigerians helpless, bewildered and crestfallen. In a democratic system, the idea of ‘go slow’ could only be accepted by the masses, when it involved a sort of intelligent bureaucratic tailback carefully willed and initiated to foster some ideological deliberations aimed at making the best of decisions in government policies and programs.

Does Nigerian need to ‘go slow’ in this jet age? One wonders aloud. If Mr. President chooses to go slow in a fast moving global community, it then means that Nigeria would be left behind in the comity of the world nations. Already, Africa as a whole is deemed a third world continent. This sort of slow movements in the past was responsible for pushing her below the competitive line of socio-political and economic development of the new century.

I am of the opinion that Nigeria as a very complex sovereign geographical entity does not need leaders who are slow-moving, nonspecific and ideologically infantile. She needs a strong leader. We as a nation had been broken by colonization, civil war, tribalism, nepotism, military dictatorship, massive corruption, militant groups and underdevelopment. We need at this crucial moment in the history of our making, the brightest mind, most qualified and the self-confident. These are the people who would be able to put the schizophrenic and the broken puzzles together into a unified national wholeness. We need a leader who is fearless, daring, a risk taker, and a leader who is ideological driven. That is, we need someone who is not bound by the nepotism of sectionalistic affiliations. Let us pray for a president who understands the importance of techno-scientific and industrial revolution and a shift from oil driven economy. Most of all, we need a patriotic Nigerian who goes beyond the play of politic and ethnic power-centeredness.

To conclude, let the Obama revolution sweep across every nooks and crannies of the Nigerian politic until we are able to elect a president whose head, when scratched is stuffed with pragmatic initiatives that would take Nigerian to the next stage. We have not gotten there yet. We should fight election rigging—until we stop murdering sleep, we would never sleep.

Robot  # 1 | 30.12.2008 02:30

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Hilary Ike Ugwu Sooner or later, Nigerians would eventually come to a point of critical re-evaluation of the slogan, ‘Baba Go Slow’ which is conventionally adopted by so many people to describe the administrative sluggish tempo of the presidency of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. It would surely dawn on everyone that the idea of ‘go slow’ is actually a clear affirmation of democratic retrogression in an emerging nation as Nigeria. One may ask, this passivity that Nigeria is experiencing since the inauguration of her new leader, is it a calculated strategy, a sort of futuristic preparedness on the part of the presidency or simply an unstated confirmation of laxity, incompetence and a lack of clear vision? Well, I cannot proffer a definitive answer to this impending query, but I could conjecture that Mr. Musa Yar’Adua had given all he has and Nigerians have seen it. ...Read the full article.

ilamosi  # 2 | 05.01.2009 15:17

"I am of the opinion that Nigeria as a very complex sovereign geographical entity does not need leaders who are slow-moving, nonspecific and ideologically infantile." Unfortunately, this has always been the case for Nigeria and I am afraid it will continue like that until inept leaders such as Baba Go Slow and his predecessors are all cast aside. A leader who can take about 5 months to sack ministers and the same length of time to appoint new ones, is nothing to write home about at all! Lovely write, thanks!