The Nigerian Village Square

What a country!

Written by Okey Ndibe

Monday, 24 March 2008

What a country!
By Okey Ndibe

I thought hard and long about a title for today’s column. In the end, I decided to borrow the title of a forthcoming book by Kunle Ajibade, one of the intrepid editors at TheNews magazine and a treasured colleague and friend of mine.

What a country indeed!

Some may not realize it, but a battle is raging for the soul of Nigeria. The venerable Chinua Achebe has written that Nigeria is a country that manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. To read Achebe’s statements on Nigeria is to become aware of the depths of a true patriot’s great expectations—and great disappointment. The novelist, whose classic novel, Things Fall Apart, is being feted globally on its fiftieth anniversary, loves his country so deeply he speaks about its travails with a pained voice.

Nigeria is a country that breaks the heart of many citizens. More than two decades ago, Wole Soyinka, another writer who has put Nigeria on the global cultural map, lamented that his generation was wasted. That assessment has been so oft quoted it has become part of Soyinka lore. What’s not remembered is that, since Soyinka spoke, another generation or two has followed into the wasted bracket. Worse, our youth, who deserve to radiate confidence and vibrancy, are consigned to watching helplessly as their fortunes are turned into misfortune. Our youth may not quite be wasted, but they are wasting away.

One has said it again, but it bears repeating: Nigeria is a country conceived in hope but nurtured into hopelessness. It is a country that boasts some of the most educated and enlightened people in the world, but a perennial member of the world’s least desirable indices. Nigeria’s shame is that, on most social misery lists, it is grouped with—and often below—such countries as the two Congos, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, and Mali. Ghana, Uganda, Cote D’Ivoire, Libya, and Botswana now significantly dwarf Nigeria, which once parroted itself as the giant of Africa.

Nigeria is the portrait of an inexcusable laggard. It has an array and abundance of natural resources—in fact, on such prodigious scale as to make it the envy of other less endowed nations. It also has a complement of energetic, bright men and women who can hold their own anywhere in the world. Why then is Nigeria mired in this dispiriting state? What explains the gap between a nation’s great promise and its paltry achievement?

One major answer lies in the quality of leadership that has run—ruined is the word—the country. Too many of us went to sleep and left the field of public office to a confederacy of dunces, to invoke the title of John Kennedy Toole’s novel. Look at any list of Nigerians who have held exalted political office, and you’ll notice a predominance of men and women of little or no moral mettle, little or no vision, and little or no idea of what it takes to transform a polity. Part of the tragedy is that, even when some of these elements boast degrees, they have lacked the moral insight that makes the critical difference between possessing certificates and being enlightened.

Nigeria has been, and remains, ensnared in a cult of mediocrity. It is a country burdened with rascals masquerading as leaders. These so-called leaders take pride, not in acting as agents of positive change, but in the size of their loot. Their primary organ is not the brain but the gut. Gorging on gruel, instead of mulling social policy, is their favorite preoccupation if not sole pastime. They delight in reigning over, and ruining, the affairs of the collectivity.

And so we have quite a country! And we have a battle taking shape, a veritable contest between those who profit from Nigeria’s tragic state and those who insist that it is time a much-abused people shook off their yoke and realized their potential. It is a fierce battle, even if the signs are not writ large enough for all to see.

Depraved as it sounds, there are many who are invested in perpetuating the country’s doldrums. As we have seen or read recently, there are Nigerians who don’t mind at all that the country’s power supply deteriorates. The more erratic the power supply, the more their private pockets bulge. But there are citizens who are sick and tired of being played for fools, and who won’t stand anymore for the greed of the mindless profiteers from misery.

What a country! Last week, Governors Liyel Imoke and Olusegun Agagu appeared before the House of Representatives panel probing the $3.8 billion (or $10 billion or $16 billion) scandal in the power sector. Before being shepherded into gubernatorial seats, the two men had “served” in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s cabinet, specifically overseeing the power sector. In fact, part of the curriculum vitae they took to their governorship posts was their vaunted achievements in transforming the nation’s power industry.

Yet, here were the men before the legislative panel putting on a shameful puppet show. Suddenly, Agagu did not know a thing about what transpired in his ministry under his watch. Questioned about contracts that were awarded to unregistered, even ghost, companies, he told the law makers that only the bureaucrats could answer to that. He sought to leave the image of a totally disconnected, absentminded boss who regarded the matter of contractors’ legal status as beneath his ministerial attention.

Imoke was even more pathetic. Nigerians regard him, understandably, the central figure in the scandal. He was both the chairman of a so-called technical team that was supposed to usher Nigeria into a season of regular, uninterrupted power supply and later a minister of power. Far from witnessing any improvement, power supply dipped during his ministerial run.

You’d expect that a man with such an unimpressive profile would show up in a somber fashion. Not Imoke. Affecting the swagger of a well-to-do man, he strutted into the parliamentary session with a retinue of cheerleaders in tow. The legislators and Nigerians no doubt looked to Imoke to provide illuminating answers about contractors who were almost wholly paid for work that was at rudimentary levels of executions. Imoke had other plans. He played to the gallery. His manner suggested a man chagrined about the hullabaloo over the (possibly) $16 billion Obasanjo frittered away in power contracts. Imoke pointed the legislators to South Africa’s expenditure of $41 billion on energy needs. The point was that he and Obasanjo did not squander as much as they might have. To complete the farce, his presentation was punctuated by intermittent applause by his cheerleaders!

What a country! Nigerians heard testimony about the power scandal that only a novelist with an extravagant imagination could have conjured up. It was said that the former president commissioned power projects that did not exist anywhere in Nigeria! We heard about presidential orders that circumvented due process to withdraw huge caches of cash. There were accounts of a president who seemed set on awarding contracts to companies that seemed least likely to do the job at all—and then hastening the payment process.

What a country! In the last week, Nigerians were treated to a tale of two electoral tribunal verdicts. In Oyo, the tribunal split four to one in favor of upholding the “election” of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala. In Edo, Justice Peter Umeadi led a panel that unanimously declared Dr. Oserheimen Osunbor a gubernatorial impostor. In a six-hour judgment that many lawyers have lauded as a model of judicial thoroughness, the tribunal declared Adams Oshiomhole, a former labor leader, as the winner of last April’s governorship election. The verdict in Oyo elicited a mournful public reaction. In Edo, the verdict aroused widespread celebration.

In Oyo, the public’s funereal mood told an eloquent story. In its quietly powerful way, the people of Oyo scolded the four judges who opted to go the Ogebe way, even though the truth—as the author of the impressive minority report demonstrated—was clear. In Edo, the mass of dancers indicated their admiration for a tribunal that refused to be blinded to the truth. Oyo and Edo: battlegrounds in the contest between judicial cowardice and judicial courage. One verdict showcased judicial blight; the other was a bright, proud moment that has done credit to the judiciary, buoyed the nation and boosted democracy.

What a country! Umar Yar’Adua, whose “election” owed to Obasanjo’s do-or-die mindset, has taken to mimicking his despised predecessor’s rhetoric. Last week, Yar’Adua visited Adamawa, a state already tense from the build-up to a judicially mandated new election. Speaking in a tone that revealed his despotic impulse, Yar’Adua served notice that he regarded the coming election as “war.”

Like Obasanjo before him, Yar’Adua is quick to turn every election into a war. It is as if the object is the acquisition of power. Like his predecessor, Yar’Adua does not seem to have figured out how to use his power to lift his nation up. Last week, in his Easter and Eid-el-Maulud message, he implored Nigerians to maintain patience with his slow style, as if slowness were a prized statecraft.

Through forty-eight years of national life, Nigerians have done nothing but wait in patience. They have waited patiently for dependable electricity, good roads, jobs upon graduation, security, credible elections, water, streets that are not clogged up with dirt, even for hope. A people who have waited so long, and whose waiting has been rewarded only with disappointment and entreaties to wait some more, have every right to demand that their leaders take a turn waiting.

Why can’t Yar’Adua and other Nigerian leaders be less hasty in voting themselves scandalous perks and privileges? Why can’t the political leadership patiently refrain from looting the nation’s treasury and aborting its dreams? Why not retreat from a policy of shielding Obasanjo and other serving and past government functionaries who committed manifold economic crimes against their nation? Why not abandon the policy of narcotizing the citizenry with false hope whenever they voice demands for policies that would make their nation fit for human habitation? Why not disavow the temptation to rig elections and usurp power not freely given by Nigerians? Why not stop the habit of approaching each election as a war? Yes, why not?

For more on Ndibe, visit www.okeyndibe.com

Robot Robot is offline
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	# 1 What a country! By Okey Ndibe I thought hard and long about a title for today’s c...Read the full article. Posted by Robot\| 24.03.2008 14:20

philipikita philipikita is offline
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	# 2 Just how do we get out of this hell? I'm just sighing and sighing in pain! I think we need more writers like ON. Actually, our people's sense of consciousness had been emasculated over the years. We need to know, and understand the deceit, understand clearly the standards and dividends of governance in other climes that do not possess up to one tenth the resources we do. We have never had a leader in Nigeria... Now, what am I writing here? I guess I'm incoherent because of so much anger.:cry::cry::cry::confused1:confused1:(:( Posted by philipikita\| 24.03.2008 14:43

philipikita philipikita is offline
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	# 3 Well, Villagers please tell me, Do we need a critical mass of Nigerians to be sufficiently angry enough to act...with the strength of peaceful force...like Gandhian peaceful force... But whenever there was a sit-at-home protest/strike in Abuja, You still see our police heavily armed on the streets...Lawrence Alobi...or is it Sunday Ehindero...release their men unto empty streets with gun, to do what? When NLC asked people to stay at home? I was telling my friends the other day, in other countries, the police have water cannons and rubber bullets, our own have live amunition, If you're in the forefront of a protest and the "olopa" ever shoot, you are gone... Posted by philipikita\| 24.03.2008 14:59

Bode_Boluz Bode_Boluz is offline
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	# 4 All it needs is for Folks to Do the right thing when the situations presents itself. Too many folks are NOT doing what is needed, when it is needed. *Evil triumphs, when good People DO nothing.* There is a lot of Nothing Going on in terms of action on the ground. That is why there is so much evil action. If those on the ground show some back bone, it may re inspire the diaspora and other well meaning friends of Nigeria to act. It does not have to be violent either. All it takes is for folks to cooperate and combine resources to improve their immediate circumstances and environment. After all, if you do not take active steps to improve where you live, then what case do you have for blaming others? The mental mind set that Government has to do everything has to change. Also too the irrational aversion to hard work that many Nigerians seem to gain as they seek to improve their lot. You folks on the ground are the ones who need to take your circumstances seriously. Outsiders cannot do it for you. Besides you will not even listen to us anyway. IF I see changes, I will be one of the first on the ground helping. I did it in the past and got some serious lumps for my trouble. I endured the silly statements like "It is our Culture...", "This is not 'Oyinbo' land...", "It is not local enough..." " People would not understand..." "Keep Quiet you Small boy".. The list goes on... It is an incessant cacophony of people with no vision trying to deflate and deflect me from the truth. I couldn't beat them so I left, like many at the time, for greener pastures and thrived. Well I think you have sown the wind folks... So reap the whirlwind or Move to make changes... Posted by Bode_Boluz\| 24.03.2008 15:23

NWANZA NWANZA is offline
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	# 5 What a country! Last week, Governors Liyel Imoke and Olusegun Agagu appeared before the House of Representatives panel probing the $3.8 billion (or $10 billion or $16 billion) scandal in the power sector. Before being shepherded into gubernatorial seats, the two men had “served” in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s cabinet, specifically overseeing the power sector. In fact, part of the curriculum vitae they took to their governorship posts was their vaunted achievements in transforming the nation’s power industry. What an achievement in deceiving the masses with lies...when they only achieved to be used by the President. Yet, here were the men before the legislative panel putting on a shameful puppet show. Suddenly, Agagu did not know a thing about what transpired in his ministry under his watch. Questioned about contracts that were awarded to unregistered, even ghost, companies, he told the law makers that only the bureaucrats could answer to that. He sought to leave the image of a totally disconnected, absentminded boss who regarded the matter of contractors’ legal status as beneath his ministerial attention. So, what is the use of having ministers or even the ministry? Imoke was even more pathetic. Nigerians regard him, understandably, the central figure in the scandal. He was both the chairman of a so-called technical team that was supposed to usher Nigeria into a season of regular, uninterrupted power supply and later a minister of power. Far from witnessing any improvement, power supply dipped during his ministerial run. What do you expect from these men of laughable PDP stock. They are just here to entertain the house of Rogues, i mean house of Ropes, sorry em house of Rapes. Posted by NWANZA\| 24.03.2008 16:30

Eulalie Eulalie is offline
JJC


	# 6 Well, It is no wonder, Nigerians and Nigerian Buisnesses are now herding to Ghana in droves, At my last visit to Ghana, There had been 24 new Nigerian Banks registered in the last 2 years, (from a source at the central bank) Adenuga;s Globacom is now Headquatered in Accra and so is Ovation's Momodu.. I hope this in flux is not to Ghana's detriment, all in the name of Ecowas and Good Neighborliness. It is a shame that a Country like Nigeria, is not taking its place of leadership in Africa, it is rather a country of shame.. Maka Maka Posted by Eulalie\| 24.03.2008 16:35

ALORAINIDDEVIL ALORAINIDDEVIL is offline
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	# 7 "Last week, Yar’Adua visited Adamawa, a state already tense from the build-up to a judicially mandated new election. Speaking in a tone that revealed his despotic impulse, Yar’Adua served notice that he regarded the coming election as “war.” ON thanks for your article but regards the quote above, let us not be ignorant of the kind of political arithmetic playing out in Nigeria now. UMYA just went to Adamawa for the sake of going or better say just to put in a mere political appearance. The Discussions has long been concluded; Atiku/AC will take back Adamawa and also they will be getting an extra state (reason why EDO was sacrificed by UMYA/KINGIBE) as compensation so that Atiku who has a strong case can soft-pedal at the Supreme Court. QED Posted by ALORAINIDDEVIL\| 24.03.2008 16:55

draftman draftman is offline
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	# 8 Everyone, enough of these nonsense from your comfort badmouthing Nigeria without any concrete solution. I'm tired of these complaints for all these years, no wonder we have bad rapport in the world, since we are telling them how bad we are. No matter how bad the country might be, we need to promote the goodness in the country, instead spreading our dirty laundry, or else we will be a laughing stock of the world. All country have issues, you don't see many country bad mouthing their country like Nigerians do. With all the issues in USA, they all say "God Bless America" Why can't we look at the glass as half full instead of half empty? No matter how good/bad Nigeria, it is the only country we truly can call our own. Let work together and invest in it, and pray for it, and love it, because nobody can fix our problem better than us. So, please enough of these non patriotic hating, if you don't like your birth country, just move out and stay out to your master country and let us patroitic Nigeria fix our country, you have no right to complaint if all you have is critics with no solution. I love Nigeria with all its fault, it is the only country I understand. Yes, Yes, we have problem like many country, some have it worst, but I will never disgrace my country for the world to see, while they cover their internal issue. Why do you think the Chinese, Indians, Lebanese, full for 9ja ? Obviously, our country have a lot to offer, they can see it, but we don't. We are too busy looking for fault instead of the opportunies. Politician going to be politician, average nigerian should seek the opportunity and take advantage of it, small businesses is what will fuel the economy. God Bless Nigeria!:smile: Posted by draftman\| 24.03.2008 17:05

apanajare apanajare is offline
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	# 9 This is a country that is terminally ill. In medical terms it means it can not get well and it will definitely die. I am tired of complaining. I am already involved in positive action i.e. to have Nigeria DISMEMBERED. All this complaints will get no one anywhere. When something belongs to no one, this is the kind of fate reserved for it. Nigerian belongs to no one or no group. So no one cares. Those who care, only do so for their pockets. Nigerians will never cooperate to reform Nigeria because they do not trust each other. They suspect each other. Each is trying to have undue advantage over the other. Where there is no unity of purpose, THERE WILL NEVER BE UNITY OF ACTION. This is the issue. It is time for all to wake up and smell the coffee. "THE MAN DIED IN HIM WHO KEEPS SILENT IN THE FACE OF TYRANNY."- Wole Soyinka.COLOR> Posted by apanajare\| 24.03.2008 20:02

TsuliyanDodo TsuliyanDodo is offline
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	# 10 =apanajare;4294998771>This is a country that is terminally ill. In medical terms it means it can not get well and it will definitely die. I am tired of complaining. I am already involved in positive action i.e. to have Nigeria DISMEMBERED. All this complaints will get no one anywhere. When something belongs to no one, this is the kind of fate reserved for it. Nigerian belongs to no one or no group. So no one cares. Those who care, only do so for their pockets. Nigerians will never cooperate to reform Nigeria because they do not trust each other. They suspect each other. Each is trying to have undue advantage over the other. Where there is no unity of purpose, THERE WILL NEVER BE UNITY OF ACTION. STRONG FOOD FOR THOUGHT... I'm with you. Absolutely!!!!! Posted by TsuliyanDodo\| 24.03.2008 23:07

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