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Considering the level of decadence, rot, and despondency prevalent in Nigeria, and the insensitiv...Read the full article.

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Hey Mr Comrade...

There may be something in our collective DNA as Nigerians that may be the root cause. I don't subscribe to the notion that our 'leaders' are solely at fault. We should also look around us. Nigerians in general are very indiciplined.

BTW the same genetic 'flaw' may also be the reason why Nigerians are natural leaders! Go getters and high achievers!

Go figure...

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Fulani,
How can you not blame these evil men that have led nigeria since independence.The problem with Nigeria is that Nigerian's are very ignorant people. No where in the entire world will what has gone on in Nigeria for years, will happen. Passing baton from evil men to evil men. People who have no clue in nation building, and insensitive to the suffering masses.

Nigerian's have allowed themselves to be walked over by senseless men who are in leadership position for years. Nigerian's must wake up from their present slumber, and take their country back from these evil men. These men past and present led Nigeria to the present rot. Nigeria will only be saved from demis, if only Rawling's style is applied in Nigeria.
Ghana is a happy story today, because Rawling eliminated all the evil men. Nigeria is long over due for this clean up, else will still be singing same song for years to come with no end insight.

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Dedee,

Abeg leave Nigerians alone o! We have plenty of options.

1. Migration to countries where others have done the hard work of nation building.
2. Patiently upholding & embracing Nigeria with the hope that our turn will come to chop.
3. Praying to God if all else fails. God performs miracles!

There is not one Nigerian - NOT ONE - who has the courage to undertake the task of building a true national foundation for Nigeria. Africans don't even respect themselves or anything African. Ghanians sure wouldn't have willingly followed Rawlings if he was a pure Black African.

Get Yours!
Obugi.

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No, there's nothing in the gene pool that's made Nigeria backward, or, there's no evidence to that effect. A lot of the blame for Nigeria's rot is a fault of the leaders, and particularly the early ones, just after independence. It is important not to underestimate the effect of the irresponsibility of those who took up the reins shortly after independence; it was a catalogue of lost opportunities, lack of vision, and a general meltdown of any attempt at nation building. Yes, we got the military int he 60s, but that was fashionable then around Africa: unprofessional military boys warming up to "political" power. The Civil War about sealed Nigeria's future. About. To rise from the ashes of the past, something drastic needs to be done.

There's no light at the end of this long, tortuous tunnel: we get a recycling of the m-o-r-o-n-s who've been at the helm of affairs since independence. Which is a reason why the Rawlings option, cruel as it may sound, shouldn't be off the table. A cleansing is needed. The strangehold of the thieving political and military class is impossible to comprehend, a situation that means that the interests of the Nigerian ruling blocks has not changed since independence. This makes the current Niger Delta struggle significant (again: the Niger Delts - for now - holds the brightest opportunity for a solution to the Nigerian problem; but, alas, that opportunity is right now, dim. There's no tight strategy to confront the State and bring about meaningful change; you only need to examine the recent CNN report to see why this is; the report is symptomatic of the non-resilience of our people, and a tendency towards showmanship than real solutions...), once it becomes clear that the huge, brutal machine of the state can be confronted with some measure of success, there may be an awakening.

There's an angle to all these that shouldn't be ignored: because Nigeria's rot can well be graded on geography, it is clear that an attempt at solution will be "smeared" by ethnic nationalistic sentiments; this is an echo of the first coup.

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Ghana has indeed set an unbeatable benchmark. Looted Nigerian money has now filled the Ghanaian economy and they have put it into prudent use to keep their economy booming. These guys studied us very well especially after Shagari's blunder of booting them home and know that only through a stable political system can they woo us to them. check out their schools which our elite now pride themselves to send their kids.
I think that we missed the Rawlings solution indeed. If we did, some of these elements ruining our political and economic space would have gone to meet their makers or mammon long time ago.
God bles Nigeria. :frown: :frown: :frown: :frown:

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fjord,

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it is clear that an attempt at solution will be "smeared" by ethnic nationalistic sentiments; this is an echo of the first coup.

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Wow, sounds "genetic" to me. :lol: What Nigeria needs is an Oyibo or half-Oyibo like Rawlings to come save us. Nigerians or Africans in general will not follow anyone unless (s)he has some Oyibo blood in his/her veins, just like they won't worship any God that isn't in the image of Oyibo ppl.

akuluouno,

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God bless Nigeria.

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I'm sure Jesus & Mohammed will get around to it very soon, I mean....... with all the noise and devotion of Africans to Church & Mosque, our salvation is just around the corner.

Obugi.

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Yet again, this myth that Rawlings' execution of Ghanaian leaders is being peddled as being what 'solved' Ghana's problems. As though people stopped being corrupt the moment those leaders were executed. Was it not up to five years after this event - during the Buhari regime - that many of them were still seeking succour in Nigeria?

If you ask me, Rawlings' real legacies to Ghana were pushing through a painful economic reform program in the eighties and leaving in 2000 when he said he would.

Let's not just limit our focus to removing the problem from Nigeria - let's also think about what to replace it with. Else, Nigeria will be like the house that Jesus spoke about in Luke 11 which had an evil spirit cast out of it. The spirit returned with a vengeance and seven of its friends to re-inhabit the house, since nothing had taken up residence since it had been away.

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obugi where have you been ,

okay lets put it like this,

if murtala muhammed or buhari/idiagbon had continued i dont believe that nigeria would still be a basket case.

that would have disproved your theory wouldnt it?

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH NIGERIA EVERYTHING IS WRONG WITH THEIR LEADERS , IN PARTICULAR OBJ WHO IS AN ABSOLUTE ***** .............

The average nigerian who by the way is not people like you or I is still very ignorant of most of the issues arising.

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This is what Rawlings thinks of today's Ghana

Rawlings to skip Ghana@50


Former President Jerry John Rawlings has declined an invitation by President Kufuor to join him and other dignitaries at the Independence Square to celebrate the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Ghana's Independence on March 6.
"Ghana is faced with pervasive corruption at all levels, missed opportunities for genuine progress, nepotism, tribalism and known cases of political torture and killings," read a statement release by Rawlings’ special aide, Victor Smith

"There is also decay of our local industry, the breakdown of our educational system, and an empty façade of “good governance” which earns the applause of those who seek to control us," the statement continued

"I deeply regret that I cannot therefore join Kufuor’s government for this anniversary. My conscience and my principles will not permit me"

We present the full press release below

Message From Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, Former President Of The Republic Of Ghana, To The People Of Ghana And All Well Wishers Of Ghana On The Occasion Of The 50th Anniversary Of Ghana’s Independence
FELLOW GHANAIANS both at home and abroad, Dignitaries and most especially Heads of State and all those friends of Ghana who have come to Ghana in a spirit of goodwill to share in the nation’s 50th Anniversary .
As a citizen of Ghana and a Head of State for almost two decades of our 50 years of Independence, I deem it my responsibility to share my thoughts with you with frankness and sincerity, on the occasion of our Anniversary.

First of all, I join all of you in thanking our Creator for bringing our dear country to the mature age of 50. I honour and respect the memory of the late Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the patriot and freedom fighter, who not only led this country to independence from colonial rule but also laid the foundation for Pan- African freedom on our continent and in the diaspora. I wish also to honour all those valiant men and women who made sacrifices in various ways, as well as those who lost their lives during the struggle for our independence from colonial rule.

And I honour every decent, hardworking Ghanaian citizen - our farmers, teachers, nurses, doctors, security personnel, market women, all workers, the numerous unemployed, who have struggled to hold fast to their principles through the hardships, frustrations and intolerably stressful circumstances under which they have had to exist and manage their lives today.

I welcome the very many foreign dignitaries who have taken time off their onerous responsibilities at home to be here for this anniversary, especially those who have played significant roles in the struggle for justice in Africa.

But I am compelled to ask: “What is being celebrated?”

I am not alone in asking this question. Many people have already asked these questions. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah achieved independence for us 50 years ago by winning freedom and justice from white colonial rule. Many traumatic events have occurred after that culminating in the spontaneous uprising in June 4, 1979, which attempted to wrestle freedom and justice this time from Black Neo-colonial rule.

The early days of the PNDC government were times of great sacrifice but by the time we, as NDC, a political party, handed over power to the present Government, we had restored Ghana’s pride and had regained the respect of the international community. When therefore we handed over power to the present government, we wanted a genuine cooperative handover, a milestone in Ghana’s political history. Instead, we were criminalised and we continue to suffer indignity and persecution.

In what sort of country do we celebrate this 6th March?

Ghana is faced with pervasive corruption at all levels, missed opportunities for genuine progress, nepotism, tribalism and known cases of political torture and killings.

There is also decay of our local industry, the breakdown of our educational system, and an empty façade of “good governance” which earns the applause of those who seek to control us.

I deeply regret that I cannot therefore join Kufuor’s government for this anniversary. My conscience and my principles will not permit me. I cannot share the same platform with the same people who have taken every opportunity to denigrate us for the last seven years and see no good in what we did for this country. And I cannot be part of a cover up for the defilement and violations of the principles of self respect, pride and hope that underlie 6th March 1957.

I repeat my criticism of certain international powers, as well as sections of the international and local media, who have tried many times to gloss over or cover up the difficulties we face in the country today, all in a bid to whitewash the present government. They will, in the long term, be doing the people of Ghana a great disservice. To them, I say that I cannot relinquish my present unshakeable belief that Ghana is merely being made a “show-case” whiles so many people are being denied the basics of life and their freedoms but cannot find the courage to speak up because they have been terrorised into a state of subjugation. A planned peaceful vigil and procession by followers and admirers of Kwame Nkrumah to commemorate the anniversary has even been disallowed and threatened by this government.

So fellow Ghanaians, let us soberly reflect on our present circumstances; let us make this 50th Anniversary of our Independence a pledge to each other to consolidate social justice, integrity, honesty as the basis for the years ahead. Because when all the celebration is over, we still have to ask ourselves where we are going to get our next job, our next meal and money for rent and our children’s school fees and hospital fees.

I wish you a reflective 50th Anniversary.
Jerry John Rawlings
Former President of the Republic of Ghana
March 3, 2007