Nigerians have lived with the slogan that depicts what the country is capable of achieving if all resources are rightly harnessed; yet this remains a dream in comparison with the condition of Nigerians. The hope of Nigerians winnows as the day goes by; we are largely surviving rather than living. The prosperity of this country has been too oratorically vocalised on the lips of our leaders while the living condition of the majority is in sharp contrast to all these sayings. Simply put, Nigerians want to witness tangible evidence of a prosperous nation. Nigeria needs to liberate itself from the shackles of potentiality. We have exhausted excuses for such description. Now, we have to close up vocabularies and act. We must “just do it”.
All the arsenal and weaponry needed to reposition our country to greatness must be optimally utilised. We have crude oil but non-functional refineries, reviving the refineries is a compulsory step in resuscitating our nation. With the age of our dear nation, taking our crude oil outside the shores of Nigeria for refining is indescribable; it is a phenomenal enigma to me! It is a result of age-long, directionless, visionless and misplaced priority of leadership. Call it corruption, guess what, Nigeria is not the only country with such challenge. If every nation were to succumb to the whims of corruption, the world would almost be inhabitable. Corruption is a parasite; parasite thrives when the habitat is conducive. Tackling corruption has to do with the will of leadership: where there is a will, there is always a way.
We must be brutally open with the state of our affairs if we are to progress and must be sincere and pragmatic in solving the challenges; anything other than that is tantamount to playing to the gallery. If Nigeria is to attain a respectable place in comity of nations we must solve a problem, we must be known as specialists in some industries; potentiality is not a product, it is simply a prospect. Just like in business you must solve a problem, that is what gives the venture longevity; because profitability is embedded in longevity; such venture that continually solves problems will outlive generations. India has a very bad record in cases of rape, corruption in police yet when you think of ICT experts or health intervention this country is highly rated in those sectors.
German products are synonymous with durability. China is becoming the manufacturer of anything conceivable, 20 years ago you would most blatantly reject a made in China mobile phone; Bangladesh is a poor nation yet they are making strides in cloth production. Egypt exports the highest quality cotton in the world; in the same country in which 90% of its land is inhabitable; it is a desert, yet it has a very good irrigation system for farming. All these countries had or still have challenges but it has not deterred their progress.
Education is the bedrock of development, a country with majority of educated people at least has an emaciated, intuitive and forward-thinking mindset. Education must be redesigned to teach people how to add value to themselves; Education must also harness human capital; redesigning the syllabus to align with the positive development of the contemporary times must be factored in.
There’s always an undertone of hopelessness when we discuss our challenges. There is an astounding air of hopelessness among Nigerian youth; convincing them otherwise is herculean because there is few or no manifestation of evidence, either tangible or intangible that will activate hope. It is hard to argue against this sentiment when meritocracy and objectivity have been jettisoned for nepotism and political patronage.
This has generated divisive tendencies across ethno-religious lines. Prosperity cannot co-exist with disunity. The government must take actions that will convince citizens to display unparalleled unity going forward, so that the citizens can emulate it. Every region of this country has what it contributes to the development of the nation. Each region is of equal importance, there is a reason God has enabled so much diversity in Nigeria and the world at large. The onus lies on us to bring our strengths to the fore and complement our weaknesses. This is essential in nation building.
As citizens we should eschew divisive characters. The masses cause retrogression in some way. Citizens encourage corruption directly or otherwise; any leader who shows the capacity to lead rightly is tagged a “fool”; Nigeria is a national cake waiting to be devoured by leaders who are in authority; this is a statement on the lips of common Nigerians; and when our progress retrogresses, we blame same leaders whose milking of our resources we endorsed.
A lot of us have dysfunctional thinking, because our mindset has been programmed in rationalising abnormality, we justify actions of corruption and impunity with slogans like “We are not saying they (government) should not steal but they should provide conducive/enabling environment for citizens”. It’s like tossing a coin and expecting to have both head and tail as result at same time; how can you be living with a thief and expect not to be robbed?
There are examples of public office holders who have done well in Nigeria, but the point is we should be demanding the right accountability from them, that’s one of our duties as citizens. Authority, responsibility and accountability are the tripartite ensemble of leadership, when you don’t question the actions of leaders, even the sincere ones can easily derail. Our actions are the representations of our thoughts, if our thinking is not redefined, our society will not progress. You cannot express what you didn’t conceive.
The problems bedevilling our nation are not peculiar as we quickly assert, the problems we have faced and still facing are not customised for us. Our problems are not insolvent, we are not doomed. We need the right leadership, who will direct the nation in the right trajectory, with competence, capacity and character as a base for appointment and recruitment. Such should be done without fear or favour. With priority on Security, Economy, Welfare and Education; being the cardinal points under which all other sectors of development fall. Nigerians want leadership devoid of propaganda. We want leaders that will lead by example. Our leaders must walk the talk.
However, there is a serious disparity between the words of our leaders and their actions. There is a no Nigerian leader that will not tell us that he will perform his best in office: but what has been the result over the years? Our leaders need to search their hearts and lead our nation with sincerity. Therefore, above all, we need truthful and purposeful leadership at all levels.
This piece is not intended to project pessimism; it’s intended to re-awaken the need to restore our nation’s glory, because in the journey of greatness, facing brutal facts is a step that must be taken.
Our leaders, it is time to roll up your sleeves and fix Nigeria!
Hussein writes from from Abuja via
linkedIn @ Adelasoye Hussein
