OPINION | 07. 07. 2022
Nigeria’s repositioning has long been over due. Rather than grow, she has passed from retardation to decline. In comparative terms with her contemporaries, it may not be out of place to state the obvious, that it is a near failed state. Whereas countries like Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, and many others of an equal status with her had long advanced considerably. Nigeria’s case remains a tale of woes. Her state is no doubt a reflection of institutional failures, attributable to leaderships that have consistently been clueless, rudderless, without vision and very painfully, of self-aggrandizement. While the downward trend in the nation’s growth and development may be highly connected to the effect of long military stay in power, it nonetheless remains a fact that nothing better had come out of democratic governance so far. What we have seen since 1999 and especially in the last seven years has pushed the country to the brink.
To reposition Nigeria would take into cognizance the fact that the downward trend in the fortunes of the country stems from its bad management. Decades ago, Nigeria was in an enviable state with its economy booming. The country was so highly productive that it not only assembled or manufactured many products locally, but it was also a high exporting nation. The production level was high to the effect that back then, the naira was higher in value than that of many other countries, including the American Dollars and British Pounds. There were high exports of farm products like cocoa, palm oil, groundnut, rubber, cashew, cotton, to mention a few. Our refineries were able to meet the fuel needs and many industries were thriving, including several vehicles assembly plants located in various cities. Evidently, our productive level was high. With the mismanagement that was unleashed, retrogression set in and with time we slid down from being a production to a consumption economy, and this comes with very biting consequences.
The take-off of the 1999 democratic experience did not throw up credible leaders. There were serious doubts over the military junta’s readiness to handover. So, much of those it threw up were people of far less reputations to be entrusted with leadership affairs. This falls across all elective positions, especially the legislative arm of government that seemed to be ignored or left for the ‘boys’ to occupy. In the end, the occupants of the various legislative arms not only failed to re-engineer governance through quality legislation but failed in oversight functions, a critical aspect of their engagements. And, rather than become watchdogs, they became accomplices and initiators of corrupt enrichments. Unfathomable fleecing of national resources became the order of the day, perhaps to help their perpetuation in power.
The question one repeatedly asks is, what is the essence of seeking political positions, if it is not to serve the people for good. Unless and until ambitions of political office seekers align with the people’s expectations, it serves no humane purpose and therefore of no good purpose. What are the mindsets of these crop of leaders who have so strangulated the nation to almost an unthinkable state? is it that their religions taught them that their acts are necessary and sufficient conditions to inherit God’s kingdom? Else, who bewitched Nigerian leaders to the point of unconscionable actions of self-service, greed, wickedness, cruelty and somewhat insanity that results in the amassing of ill-gotten wealth.
For instance, a look into the pattern and trend of those who have served or serving as governors, deeply reflects how unconscionable these leaders are. How would one imagine the fact that some of those governors ruled their states for eight good years, only to retrogress them at their own individual enrichments or lack of foresight? How does it always sound that most state governors rather than improve their state, only leaves tears of sorrows for the workers and indigenes, by not only failing in basic infrastructures but leaving so many debts in the form of unpaid salaries, pensions, and gratuities, and yet painfully, huge piles of loans obtained for no just cause. How do one justify the fact that the same people could ever have the mind to contrived laws that made themselves life pensioners with unimaginable emoluments? How do we fathom the unprecedented craze that now sees almost every outgoing Governor of a state translating to a Senator? Do we now take it as an unwritten law that our hallowed chambers shall serve as retirement place of former governors? In the build up to the 2023 general elections, a whooping twenty eight former governors are already candidates of their parties for senate positions. What a demonstration of craziness in our democracy?
As painful as the ruinous activities of these leaders have been over the decades, the followers’ gullibility never seems to have abated. So, repositioning must take deep root in the mindsets of the citizens. The average Nigerian lacks the willpower for confrontation of what is wrong as long as it is perpetuated by the high and mighty. This gullible nature of the majority of people had only ensured a continuous milking and plundering of the nation’s abundant resources. Funnily, we seemed to have been bewitched to the extent of constantly singing the praises of the same people that plundered our common resources. Instead of attitudes of loathing everyone who has made life miserable for us, we have acculturated to the laughable syndrome of praise singing and rewards with chieftaincy and other titles, and even crowning them to continue at both the traditional and religious sides. What a Nigerian way of so much decadence and obvious theatre of absurdities? No wonder we are always quick with utterances like “Na today?”, “Na you start am?”, “Wetin we go do nah?”. These are evidence of very obvious defeatist and pessimistic mindsets that seemed to have given up on the dynamics of life. The age long saying that it is only change that is constant now beckons.
True to some forces of nature, there is now empirical evidence to show that change is the only constant thing in life as the people have woken up to the realization that their collective amnesia and complacencies in political and leadership choices had been our collective undoing. Much of what we see now is a brooding revolution at the voting pools. The rush for PVCs reflects the fact that Nigerians are tired of uncertainties remaining their only certainty, hence the need to work towards revising the ugly trend. We have now reached a stage where and when impunity from the high levels may no longer be sustained. The fallouts of the recent political party’s primaries have changed the orientation of Nigerians to the understanding of the leaders and the inglorious and iniquitous intentions underlining their aspirations. The transactional politics are clues of the clandestine and very mundane characters of our political actors. How do we imagine the fallout of the primaries that was dollarized? Indeed, it is absolutely true that party primaries are the alter upon which the best of candidates are always slaughtered and sacrificed.
The necessity for repositioning is not only absolute, but urgent. There can be no repositioning without desired changes in the leadership choices. A new set of leaders with totally different mindsets are needed to fix Nigeria. Incidentally, nature seemed to have thrown up someone who has so far broken the records with regards to acceptability, especially among the youths. Never in Nigeria’s history has someone emerged politically that has pulled people in such a manner to warrant the kind of momentum and voluntary works and services as been seen with Peter Obi. He should not be expected to enjoy a holistic support, else democracy may become questioned. However, his antecedents are an eloquent testimony of the fact that he is fit to kick start the much awaited paradigm shift in leadership recalibrations towards a redefined nation that offers hope and hope alone. The rally round Peter Obi is so organic that it passes for a revolution, in what has now become an Obivolution. The Peter Obi Movement has created an existential state that has given room for such terms as Obicracy, Obidient, Obify, Obidiency et al. The man may not be an angel but has a pedigree that dwarfs those of his frontrunners.
Beyond the routing for Peter Obi as President, it is good we face the reality that what would quicken our repositioning is not within the reach of the President alone. There has to be very deliberate decision to clear and clean the polity of the unwanted folks that have adorned the space for too long. We may have a good President, but without people of good minds around, he may not succeed. What are we doing to herald good leadership in our various State Houses of Assembly (HoA), the National Assembly and other elective positions and organs of government? If we must have a governance that would be of hopes and hopes alone with assurances of unwavering growth and development, we must work with or through institutionalized systems. Unfortunately, institutions do not run themselves, but people do; hence the necessity to be very keen on persons seeking other political leadership positions as their dispositions matters a lot. There can be no denying the fact that political power is next to God’s power and that all other things revolve round it. And very importantly, anyone desiring a repositioning for good must start with himself. The change one desires must always start with oneself. Obviously, it is clear that, in the search for better leadership, Nigerians have chosen Obicracy in an Obidient movement with people being Obified in an Obivolution ladened with Obiism being the order of the day. As it is, there is arguably no better choice than to move Obidiently.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Clement Uwayah is a public affairs analyst
