:::::::::Nigeria Horizon:::::::: Alternative news for national development

Not too long ago, President Musa Yar’Adua repeated his mantra to the effect that a state of emergency was being declared on the comatose power sector. My first reaction was to say “you can’t be serious”, but then I realised he was probably well-meaning. But how could our leaders get it all so wrong? Again not too many years ago this futile and wishful declaration was first made by late Chief Bola Ige as the Minister of Power under President Obasanjo. In Nigeria, it makes perfect sense to ignore real objects and engage in chasing shadows.

It is common knowledge that there’s problem in every sector and segment of the Nigerian society. Truly, may be some problems are more serious than others and therefore deserve a more aggressive attention in finding solutions to them, but the other problems remain nonetheless. So the pertinent question is how many emergencies will the government declare to clean the rot that has symbolised a country? Nigerian roads are in a terrible state of disrepair, public education had collapsed long time ago, armed robbers are now running their business with the greatest ease, the nation’s bureaucracy is in a permanent state of decay, and in spite of EFCC and ICPC, public office holders continue to loot the treasury at a mindless rate. Lawlessness reigns supreme from university campuses to the motor park, everywhere you turn in the country, there’s filth, how about clean drinkable water?

Nigeria needs nothing short of a revolution to get out of her slumber and move her into the next stage of human growth and development. It doesn’t have to be a violent one but we need something like a national movement that will give Nigeria back to Nigerians. Something that will bring the best, not the worst out of us. Something that will turn our leaders into the servants they are chosen to be. Something that will direct and convince us into loving our dear country more than ourselves. Something that will mitigate our arrogance with humility that’s so acutely missing in our leaders. Something that will restore our sense of humanity.

Why are we not shocked that there’s carnage on our roads on daily basis? Why are we not treating every single human life as a divine gift from God? Do we have a national conscience? Is there anything, anything at all that bind us together as a nation apart from oil and our geography? Do we share any collective moral obligation towards each other? Is there a philosophy, a national sense of direction that’s guiding our relationships? Are we just a nation in vacuum where no good deed is good enough and where no crime is shocking enough?

The other day at the International wing of the airport in Lagos, an attendant there had confiscated the toilet papers in the men’s washroom, now he planted himself at the door making a point that there was no toilet roll for me to use and that I had to pay him to release part of what he had in his possession. My sense of rage was only tempered with my feeling of shame at his behaviour. I started to lecture him about the need for him to behave decently as the airport is a symbol of our connection to the international community; he quickly peeled a handful from one roll and handed it to me so I could get off his face with my unrealistic act of superiority. To this guy, controlling the point where people answer the call of nature is an easy way to get them to open their wallets. There was not a sense of shame, guilt or decency in doing that. Have you ever noticed how you could insult or even curse the police officer at the check point or the customs officer at the airport and still get away with it with a bribe?

This is symptomatic of a country where most people have lost their sense of being. I do not think this is only as a result of poverty rather this national phenomenon is partly due to a culture of greed and partly due to the absence of political role models. Everywhere you turn the problem is the same in the country. The small man or woman in the licensing office is a thief just as the big governor of a state is a looter. The lecturer in the university needs to be gratified with money and sex for his female students to pass just as your local mechanic will fleece you for a part you do not need for your car. The bank manager will feign pain at granting your loan application until you make a promise of inducement just as the reporter will kill your story until you grease his pen.

Having constant power supply is a great thing and it is also the right of the people. But to declare a solitary emergency in that sector alone is honestly, a waste of time. If however, the government is interested in one emergency at a time, then I have a suggestion for our leaders. Let the President declare an emergency that’s unequivocal and total on corruption in the country and voila! , there will be constant power supply, our roads will be motorable again our schools will start to regain their past glory…

But can the present government do that? Does it have the moral courage and the will to fight corruption in all fronts? The answer to this will be a deafening “no” considering the events of the past few months capped by the removal of Nuhu Ribadu as the anti corruption Czar of the country. But I also want to believe in miracles. I am trying to convince myself that Yar’Adua may still have a change of heart, grab this historic opportunity that has been bestowed upon him and move the country forward. That is when the President will have the opportunity to see the other side of Nigerians-the good side- which has not been on display in the last many years.

Yes, I am usually critical of my beloved country, yet it is a country that I love to a fault. If you were a child who grew up as I did then you know that there’s no love that can be too much for that potentially great country called Nigeria. As a child, I lived with my uncle until the age of fourteen in what I will call the darkest years of my life. Yet my immediate community offered me everything he denied me-protection, refuge, solace, and education. Therefore, I have known since my childhood that Nigeria is a country full of good, great, patriotic, progressive and compassionate people. For every ten bad eggs you can assemble in the country, there are twenty good ones to match. So as the Kegites will say: “sukunmus suramus”, (when we cry, we still manage to see through our tears).

The only problem though is that the forces of evil being controlled by the few bad ones have taken over the country in the last several years. That is why every good Nigerian must rise up to repossess and reposition this slumbering giant. Nigerians are now using whatever available means-there are now lots of them- to admonish, criticize, encourage and even energise their leaders to do the right thing. In unison, we all agree that the scourge of corruption must be confronted and dealt with without any fears or favours by the President.

President Yar’dua can now start charting a course for Nigeria to reclaim its glorious destiny. But first he needs to reassemble his Ministers. He cannot rely on state governors to nominate potential ministers for him. He will be abdicating his presidential mandate to let that happen again. How, for instance did Obasanjo get the likes of Dora Akinluyi, Obiageli Ezekwesilli, Ngozi Okonji-Iweala, Charles Soludo, Nasir El- Rufai and of course Nuhu Ribadu to work for him? Yar’Adua must do whatever it takes to recruit the best people into his Cabinet, who will in turn reorganise the various Ministries under their control. He needs people who are smart, hard working and fearless, people who will be willing to cross party lines in order to do the right things for Nigeria, some of them must also be prepared to die for the Nigerian cause, if need be, as exemplified by Ribadu.

The National Assembly leaders also continue to under perform and under achieve because they fail to realise the enormous constitutional power they can wield in moving the country forward. They have the power to routinely summon any Minister to give an account of his/her stewardship. They could invite the Inspector General of Police to answer questions as to why the crime rate in the country is not subsiding and what he’s going to do about it. They could have a charge of perjury preferred against any government official who hides the truth. Tragically we are yet to see the National Assembly utilise these various constitutional tools for the general good of the country.

Finally, Nigerian leaders must start to demonstrate a new sense of purpose. They must also start to treat each day as their last day in office, not by emptying the treasury but by fulfilling their mandate. There must be on display a new national sense of urgency. Why wait for four years what you can do in one year? Instead of Vision 2020, how about Vision 2008? Now is the time for Nigeria’s Renaissance and all we need to accomplish that are a few good men and women at the helms of our affairs. May God help us.