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Solutions To Nigeria's Problems...Pat Utomi (A Thought) Prince Charles Dickson pcdbooks@yahooo.com pcdbooks@gmail.com pcdbooks@hotmail.com Jos, Plateau, Nigeria
People often ask me, 'Will, where do you get your jokes?' I just tell 'em, 'Well, I watch the government and report the facts, that is all I do, and I don't even find it necessary to exaggerate. ~ Will Rogers I have followed the campaign trains of as many Presidential hopefuls as possible, from the pretenders to the real deal if any, I am aware of those candidates who are not known beyond their parlour, those that would not be able to convince their wives to cast a vote for them and also those that are only exploiting public sentiments for a false cause. We have witnessed modern day activists, we have also seen born again democrats. From candidates that have according to them about N500,000.00 as personal fortune and not regard themselves as rich in a nation where about 71% are poor. Also we have in the sitting President's allusion seen bastards seek our votes. We have seen the President in a dance of clowns with the PDP candidate, so also, have we seen, all the sweeping of the AC hopeful who afterall may not be part of the whole show...then I cannot feign ignorance of the little quantities, FRESH, PPA, DPP, Labour Party, JP...ppppp and more P's. Then I saw ADC of Pat Utomi and co. In Jos, just days ago, he sneaked in, at least that was my impression because he did not use, or could not afford the popular Polo field or Township Stadium. Ironically the PDP Guber campaign was being kicked off same day.
It was an unusual train but it was a beautiful one, I shook my head because as he spoke he made sense. He questioned the rational behind mammoth crowds for such rallies on a workday, he noted that there was no way an employed society would skip work by 10 in the morning just to hear rubbish in the name of a campaign. He talked with a passion for the Nigerian dream, you could not fault that this man had a grip of the problem, yet an idea of what the solutions should be, it was only obvious that we are at point of our national life when men such as Pat should ordinarily be the solution but we still are naively pursuing the mundane. I am not surprised because at times I have towed that line of argument, which is that men like Pat Utomi stood no chance and so we concern ourselves with the crooks and behave like we have no choice. It is painful because we do have a choice. Listening to a man like Pat Utomi made it really painful as I reflected on how intellectuals out there were more concerned arguing about clowns and crooks, how we spent more time discussing a confused Atiku and a shameless Obasanjo, in the shadow of these men we have been blinded to reality. The truth being that after eight years Obj had offered nothing and some of us were even contemplating another eight of such with Atiku.
And with both men even criminals have become legal experts, sad indeed! He spoke of his impression on issues as they regard the project called Nigeria, one in which everyone should be a VIP, a man to his vote, you could see that Nigeria had a future with men like him but we either were in denial that we need such men or we just wanted to continue in our merry go round dance to nowhere. He re-echoed my feelings that at the rate we were going that we were risking the Nigeria dream and moving towards anarchy. On Atiku he was quick to say that INEC had goofed, and had no right to exclusion of any candidate, let the electorate be the judge, he wondered why the fear and expressed in a joke that Atiku had no plan for Nigeria per say but with Obasanjo as Atiku's campaign Manager, Atiku had gone far...akin to a country of blind men. We as a nation needed to restore national pride, a lot of us had lost hope in the system, the structure, the leadership, it was obvious that Nigeria was just an empty plastic cup, to light to hold a cup of cofee cold or hot.
Again it was sad to watch someone remind us of the successes of Malaysia, a success that was championed and achieved simply because of purposeful leadership, leadership that had the confidence of the governed. That leadership brought about economic prosperity, industrial strength, intellectual pride and dynamism. Unfortunately we have a circus, a President that has been dancing from the Tiv bend down low, Benin Makosa, Aba Ariria and Jos Jarawa tones and grabs the mic and tells us that we would be one of the 20 most industrialized nation in 2020, yet Vision 2000 of Shonekan has remained a mere vision. It was only expected that when a nation barely commits one percent of its GDP on education, we would have a collapsed Unity school set up, a crazy university system. We all weep at the situation but no one really thinks how can we have national competitiveness when the level of investment in human capital is abysmally low. As Utomi talked a new Nigeria unfolded, fast paced infrastructural development, rapid push in human resource development, healthcare delivery, the man believed that with approximately 130,000 graduates expected out this year, only 10% had a chance of a job, with time the remaining 90% slowly became an unemployable bunch with redundant qualifications and this had to be stopped.
The final part of this essay is the part that calls for concern, I watch the government, I watch Nigerians, I report not just the truth but the facts, very few people know Pat Utomi down North, even South, not many know him apart from the intelligesia, at that this group has refused to make a collective effort to promote men like him for the purpose of a reformed leadership. We sit idle and complain. How many of our critics have said I know of ADC, we all are entangled with the AC, PDP mess and simply refuse to look at the alternatives. Living a nightmarish life. Pat Utomi and his likes never get anywhere because, we cannot exaggerate them, they are likely not to play ball, after his press parley, he did not give honorarium to the boys so I heard, so his visit to Jos, and off course other places are under reported, yet a man breaks his leg while in a gym when Nigerians do their own exercise by trekking and it is front page because someone has bought another person. We are bothered so much about Obj and Atiku and Atiku has played into Baba's hands, any false move, now seems to be our move and boom we are wrong footed, a people that play with their calabash in the presence of others risk the calabash being broken in their absence.
In our case that calabash contains our freedom as a people, fundamental rights to the best that we deserve as a people. Today's Nigeria, lacks education, health and development with all the wealth, we are breeding terrorists, frustrated young man, sad mothers, senior citizens that daily curse the nation because we have refused to give them their dues. I ask like I always have done let us stand as a people and resolve to fight to get. One does not have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things — to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated, Nigeria is a fine place worth fighting for, let us fight for the future today so that we do not live in regret, we deserve the best, nothing less...Almighty Allah help us.
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Posted by Robot| 19.03.2007 14:33