SERVANTS VS
PRINCES
I have
often said, the summary of our present conundrum in Nigeria is in Ecclesiastes
10:7 – Servants riding upon horses and princes walking as servants.
You only
have to look at the present state of affairs in our politics and you see what I
say. On any given day, I will pick a Peter Obi over an Atiku, An Osinbajo over
Buhari but life seems not to work that way.
It’s been
that way since ages ago. Very rarely do the best of us get to rule us or set
the pace for the future. That is the reality of our world. Nebuchadnezzar and
Daniel, Pharaoh and Joseph, it’s been the story for ages. Our world is never an
ideal place and Nigeria is not an exception.
This
reality means that even when we’ve got possibly better candidates within other
parties, reality speaks back to you that only the two major parties will win
except the kind of work that was done by Emmanuel Macron in France is done by
one of these candidates.
We need an
unusual event to get the kind of leaders we want. A non-event, like the
military taking over, a revolution or something. But reality is that those
options don’t give us the best shot because we have tried that route before and
today, we see where it led us to.
The only
route which we have not tried is HARD WORK. It is hard work to build a nation
and it will take time and patience to build the Nigeria, we all dream of. The
other nations in the world we often refer to took decades to build what they
have, and we can be no different. We must be willing to pay with both sweat and
sacrifice.
Also, there
are things Nigeria and Nigerians need to learn.
POLITICS
AND GOVERNANCE
Nigeria
like many other nations faces the problem politics and governance. Politics and
governance are separate issues though they are linked but very often the leader
who is good at governance is not good at politics and the leader good at
politics is not good at governance.
Nigeria
needs both kinds of leaders and it’s hard to have to pick. Very rarely do we
find men who are adept at both. Nigeria needs leaders who are good at both
because of our diversity. Our diversity makes it compulsory that whoever must
lead us must pay attention to the politics of governance while at the same time
giving more attention to governance because, good governance is what we have
lacked over the years.
THE LONG
ROAD AHEAD
It’s
election season again and we must choose those who will stir this ship called
Nigeria for the next four years. If there’s anything I have learnt in the last
8 years, it is that ours is long road. The change we seek will not be swift. It
will be painstaking and long. Democracy is not a system of government that lets
you fly, it makes you move at walking pace.
The
military rule of several years has done so much damage to our systems that
whoever governs Nigeria for the next many years must be aware that He/she lays
a foundation for many years to come and has a work to build systems that
strengthen institutions and builds the character and competence of the
individual.
COLLECTIVE
PROGRESS VS PERSONAL PROGRESS
The
progress we will make as a people (collectively) is no more tied to just a man
sitting in Abuja anymore. While He wields the most power, He wields little
compared to what He used to. Our collective progress is now in the hands of
many, not in the hands of a few. In the hands of you and me, the local
government chairman, the state governor, the state house representative, the
national house representative, the senator, the senate president, the minister,
the justices of the courts, the chief justice of the supreme court, the vice
president, the president.
Although your
personal progress is entirely in yours and God’s hand because the world is now
one and only you can stop your own progress for even God will not.
But we must
grow beyond the progress of the individual and begin to think of the progress
of the collective. The progress of others is what makes our own progress
worthwhile, hence why our progress as a nation is important to me.
We need to
pay more attention to those elected into the lesser positions, the past few
years have shown that while the president holds a lot of the cards, He does not
hold all the cards, such is the nature of democracy. Devolving power to the
judiciary and legislature has left the executive somewhat dependent on the
other two. The exclusive list and concurrent lists mean that our eyes cannot
only be in Abuja, it must be at all levels of government.
LONG TERM
VS SHORT TERM GAINS
There are
hard decisions that need to be made in the coming years that will leave us in
pain for a while but eventually will pan out the best decision we have made. We
must focus on building systems and long-term gains not the short-term gains.
While there are quick wins, a long-sighted focus will be for the benefit of us
all. Not just the few.
This
government while having many short comings have taken the long route on a lot
of issues and I commend them for that considering current resource constraints
as well as other issues. But they have left too much to be desired in many
areas. They need to begin to readjust their priorities to areas where there is
multiplier effect on benefits. Optimising benefits from their various
initiatives should be put in focus.
MY BUHARI
SCORECARD
The Buhari
government has made some progress but have made work of some of the areas we
need for our collective progress.
Have we
progressed from the Jonathan Era? I will say confidently Yes with a lot of
buts.
If we had
continued with the Jonathan Era, I’m not sure where we will be now because the
issue with that era was that it lost its focus towards the end because of
politics and forgot to focus on governance.
The nature
of politics is scratch my back I scratch yours and we saw that begin to fester
with the many stories that are now out in books and different publications.
What the
Buhari Era has done is save us from going down that part and keep us in the
direction we ought to go. We have not gotten to the promised land, but we are moving
ahead. The problem I have with the progress we are making is that it is too
slow for a nation with a population growth rate of 2.1%. We must progress
faster, we must make decisions faster, we must act faster we must focus on
areas where with the least effort we can get the most benefit while not
forgetting what the goal is.
WHAT SHOULD
BE NEXT?
We cannot
be great if we do not focus on productivity. Our little social experiment in
Federal system of government needs to end. States need to the coerced into
focusing on productivity. Note the word coerced, not forced. We must leave this
system of sharing based on population, Land size and resources and focus on productivity.
We must create a system where the cow that makes the most milk eats the most
grass.
Whether, we
like it or not fuel subsidy needs to go. We all benefit from it and should not
complain about it, but the truth is that it has held us back for years. It is
like the man who has wood in his farm who goes to the market to buy firewood
because he is too foolish to realise the wood in his farm and that in the
market are the same or you could say it is like a man who spends all his money
on fuelling the generator in his house for electricity when he could have spent
the money on solar panels and batteries and be free from such spending. The
opportunity cost of Fuel Subsidies has borne its brunt on our economy and it is
beginning to show in how much we spend on debt.
Our
educational system needs serious attention. While I understand that the
educational system is largely in the hands of state governments and local
governments, the federal government must work to set it right because if you
build all the infrastructure you want, it is only as good as the people who use
it and maintain it. A five-star hotel in a village is a waste of money.
Healthcare
needs to be revamped and while like education it is largely in the hands of the
lower levels of government, The Federal government must provide leadership
because a lot of Nigeria still needs direction.
There’s a
whole lot of things that needs to be done. But I will stop here cos we all know
our problems but solving them has been the issue.
CONCLUSION:
NIGERIA WILL BE GREAT ONLY IF.......
I will
conclude by saying that Nigeria’s fate lies in the hands of its people. And if
it’s people will let it be great, it will be all that and more. But if it’s
people will make excuses in selling their tomorrows today, I’m afraid there’s
not much that can be done.
Nigeria
will be great by the hands of every Nigerian working in the streets both home
and abroad. If we all will be willing to sacrifice and focus on the virtues of
righteousness, justice, excellence and the good of the person next to us. Then
we just might have a shot at being the Nigeria of our dreams, the giant of
Africa, a nation flourishing built on foundations that cannot be easily swept
away by the winds and floods of a stormy weather.
Your Vote
is your power, your vote is your voice. Get out there and have your say. And
when the results are out be an active citizen of Nigeria and give support to
everything that will make us great to whoever it is that wins or loses and make
a stand against everything that sets us back. Then We will be Great.
God Bless
You, God Bless your Home, God Bless your State and May God Bless the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
Thank you.
