Nigeria: The stillborn that has refused to live

BY AHMED AYANFE

“This city is what it is because the citizens are what they are” – Plato

To become an opinion article writer or columnist in a country like ours is one of the easiest things to achieve because of the provocative and newsworthy events that are happening on daily basis. Go to the centre of Oshodi market, Eko Idumota among other cities and you will see how citizens inundate newspaper stands to deliberate, argue and render unsolicited solutions to the chronic diseases battling the entity called Nigeria.

Believe me, to become an acknowledged columnist in this part of the world is not a difficult feat to achieve. All you need is to just pick up your pen and paper and join the bandwagon of other writers to chastise, chide, criticise and even crucify the government of the day.

To crown it all, send your write up to a friend or acquaintance in a recognised media house, take a seat, sip your drink and watch your story generate thousands of likes, shares, and comments on their social media platforms.

As a columnist, it shouldn’t be news if I say I derive joy in reading the opinions of acknowledged writers like Pius Adesanmi, Hanatu Musawa, Olumenhse Syndicate, Rodolf Ogoo (a.k.a correct me if am right) among others. Their analytical skill to dissect the policies of government and their consequences is second to none. And I wonder how Nigeria would fare if knowledgeable people like them hold public offices and dissipate such vast knowledge on governance rather than on paper.

Meanwhile, they are not alone in making every government policy look like disposable junk. There are millions of acclaimed knowledgeable Nigerians inundating a newspaper joint, flooding Twitter, Facebook and other platforms to express their supposed solutions to revive the dying orphan called Nigeria.

And I start to wonder how a country that has such knowledgeable citizens that know the cure and remedy to the malady facing our country is on the cliff of underdevelopment. Then a Yoruba adage popped up in my mind which says “Afi enu wa oko oki jamu (He who drives with the mouth has no accident).

We are in a part of the world where the spectators tend to know how to play the ball than the professional players on the pitch, where a football novice boos a trained referee. We sit in the comfort of our homes to criticise every step of government, forgetting that these people at the helm of the country’s affairs are under intense pressure than we are. Nobody can chastise us for that anyway. After all, we are only doing our part as political conscious citizens.

I expect this article to look heretic and unconventional to you. Moreover, I have also criticised the government countless times. Yeah, and it was a pleasure. After all, a writer is expected to point out the flaws and shortcomings of the government.

But we need to take a break from the norm. Let us look into the mirror this time around.

Someone will wonder why and how a country endowed with people of high morals, people with good antecedents, a country full of professional economists, professors of political science, erudite scholars in diverse disciplines has defied all applicable remedies. A country that has practiced different systems of government; from parliamentary to presidential; from military rule to democracy, yet still gasping for breath to survive. To say the country is retrogressing would be an understatement.

Many people will ignorantly say the reason we are going through the scourge of socio-economic backwardness is because the country is being led by a school certificate holder (a certificate that is even controversial). They forget that our immediate former president is a PH.D holder, a former deputy governor and governor of Bayelsa state. But how far and how well was the country under him?. Abiku Nigeria so Ologun re di eke ni (the stillborn called Nigeria rendered the revered herbalist clueless).

In Nigeria of today, your educational background and integrity are no longer enough to guarantee success as a leader. You need to be fortified with “eyonu awon agba” else the good image you have built for years is on the verge of being murdered.

MILITARY INTERVENTION IS THE PANACEA?

Even the military that came to power six years into our independence with the intention of restoring sanity to the political sphere and return Nigeria back to the path of greatness gave corruption, impunity and other social vices the wing to sway.

It is not surprising that some of us are silently clamouring for another military intervention, at least to flush out the power drunk and selfish politicians parading themselves in the corridors of power. Perhaps, many of us yearning for a military takeover were either still strapped to the back of our mothers or still flying kites when the military juntas were ruling us with impunity. It’s never a way out!

THIS CHANGE IS NOT NEW

As a student of history, I was made to believe that the excitement and celebration that engulfed the nation when the British colonial masters granted us independence was overwhelming. The citizens breathed new air, and their joy at being free from the shackle of colonialism knew no bound.

THE FIRST CHANGE IN NIGERIA

As if it was a trap, six years after independence, there were ethnic and tribal loyalty, corruption, inflation of census result and public outcry – which forced the military to hijack power from a democratically elected government. Another wind of change blew all over the country and the masses reluctantly embraced this change due to the fact that the military was known for its aversion to indiscipline and corruption.

Even though the coup was a bloody one, the citizens cared less. All they wanted was good governance. Even a primary school student can tell what ended the military regime. The stillborn refused to live.

Fast forward to 1999, Nigeria was returned back to civilian rule and Olusegun Obasanjo that was seen as a hero and prisoner of conscience rode to the seat of power with high expectations. The wind of change blew yet again.

Not too long into his administration, Nigerians picked up their sticks and drums to sing their melancholic hymn of a visionless and corruption-infested administration. Obasanjo was dubbed “the most corrupt president Nigeria has ever had”. Throughout his eight years in office, he was unable to make the stillborn stay alive.

Not to bore you with stories, we all know what ended the 7-point agenda of Umar Musa Yar’Adua. Failure!

Jonathan found his way into the hearts of Nigerians with his transformation agenda and his “I don’t have a shoe” mantra. The fact that he was from a minority group and a politician from a poor background gave him an edge over his opponents. The sheer number of votes he got from the north and southwest was overwhelming.

Just like his predecessors, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan ended his 6-year administration on a sad note. He was branded a clueless and incompetent president for his inability to tame the stillborn.

Both Obasanjo and Jonathan are acknowledged, respected and awarded at the international community for their sacrifices to the growth of Africa. Has the international community lost touch with reality? One wonders.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s case is a perfect explanation of the axiomatic quote: “winners never quit and quitters never win”.

Buhari came on board with a messianic robe, anti-corruption garb and the crown of integrity. Honestly, if the only problem facing Nigeria as a nation is the problem of leadership, Buhari would have broken that jinx because his resoluteness, commitment, and determination to take the country out of the woods when he contested for the presidential seat three times consecutively were second to none.

He cried, yelled and bemoaned the deplorable state of the nation. And God so good, Buhari made it to the seat of power on his fourth shot. But what happened two years into his administration? The stillborn called Nigeria has rendered him incompetent and clueless.

Let’s face it. The simple fact is that Nigeria’s problem has gone beyond leadership ineptitude.

The city is what it is because the citizens are who they are.

No matter how transparent, vision-driven and purposeful a leader may be, if the follower nurses the kind of mindset being nurtured by Nigerians, failure and frustration would be the end result. A country like ours that has corruption as a second religion cannot move an inch even if we have Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore or Nelson Mandela at the helm of power. Simply because our political culture and orientation are inimical to national development.

When the foundation is faulty, what can the righteous do?

Nigeria is the only country where you can loot the treasury, go to jail and get a befitting homecoming after your release, as long as 10 percent of the loot is invested on your kinsmen in form of stomach infrastructure.

What does the future hold for a country like ours where potential public office holders see the helm of power as a means to enrich their pocket rather than for service. The future will continue to look dark and gloomy when the citizens cease not to see politics as a business venture.

THE INCURABLE DISEASE

A major cause of the economic recession we are going through today is the incurable disease called corruption. Directly or indirectly, we are all beneficiaries of corruption in this country.

Someone close to me working in a reputable bank as a branch manager didn’t mince words when he confessed how he made his quick money, built his 12 bedrooms flat (3 each) during the Charles Soludo’s regime as CBN governor. He didn’t steal any money but the Forex policy that gave bank managers the freedom to sell dollars at will was detrimental to the country’s economy growth.

Without much ado, the policy was scrapped by Sanusi Lamido due to its unsustainability. Till tomorrow, my friend is still raining curses on Sanusi for cutting off his means of quick and easy money. Such policies with short-term benefits are being scrapped on daily basis but the beneficiaries won’t breathe a second without crucifying the government for taking away their means of livelihood.

The Punch reported sometime in 2015 how car dealers were gnashing their teeth due to low patronage from people who had been feeding fat on looted funds, simply because there was a “new Sheriff” in town. Corruption is like a cobweb. Imagine the impression that a media report will create when it refers to a particular office as a “juicy position”.

It would be an aberration if the juice (public fund) flows without someone taking a sip or cup.The bribe giver bears the same surname as the bribe taker.

The citizens are as bad as the politicians. After all, the people at the of power are not aliens. They are Nigerians like us who have once criticised, cried and yelled at the top of their voices. They are born, bred, groomed and nurtured on the same soil as the common men.

The simple fact is that they turn to usurpers the moment they clinch the seat of power because of the political culture and mentality that you must be filthy rich as a public office holder.

Don’t tell your constituency cock and bull story when they ask you to “drop something” anytime you come around, else you’ll look like a political novice to them. The watchword for Nigerian politics is “if you can’t beat them, you join them”. Who will save us from ourselves?

Corruption has turned to the oxygen we breathe. You kill corruption, you kill the citizens. So, somebody should tell me how we can whistle and wrinkle the nose simultaneously.

In an article I wrote last year, titled “The two elephants and the grass: who bears the brunt”, I concluded that the only solution to Nigeria’s woes apart from God’s intervention is a selfless, visionary and transparent leadership coupled with the right-minded and informed citizens.

The bottom line of this article is to urge the citizens to embrace attitudinal change, support the government and seek information on government policies before criticising and I’m sure the stillborn called Nigeria would be glad to live.

“The purpose of a writer is to prevent civilisation from destroying itself”

I’ve done my part.