ZIK GBEMRE PONDERS ON NIGERIA AT 62 – WHAT IS THERE TO CELEBRATE ABOUT OUR INDEPENDENCE?
• With everything that has happened in the country, it is more worrisome that our political leaders at all levels are going about their often ‘self-centered-driven agendas’ – like people who have not learned, and are not willing to learn from the mistakes of the past…
Truth be told, and to put it more bluntly, Nigeria, as it is today, has nothing to celebrate at 62, which is more like 62 wasteful years.
Truth is, Nigeria should not be where it is right now, considering the enormous wealth it is blessed with and has enjoyed since independence in 1960 till date. Our Nigerian citizens should not be running to countries like South Africa and other places in search of a better life, if our past and present Nigerian Governments at all levels had done, and are doing what they were/are supposed to have done with our collective wealth. Why can’t Nigeria take care of its citizens? Or should we say, when are they going to take care of Nigerian citizens? We are supposed to be the ‘giant of Africa’, but that has not been the case. When will Nigeria Governments get their acts together by fixing our roads, giving Nigerians stable electricity, fixing our hospitals, fixing our education system and standard, and so on?
The country has declined drastically from all angles – and we have moved from being a nation of export of agricultural products to a consuming nation whose economy is ‘generator-driven’. I remember when at independence in 1960, the Electricity Company of Nigeria (ECN) then, was generating and distributing enough electricity uninterrupted to the Nigerian citizenry. But as of today, 1st October 2022, the economy is entirely driven by made-in-China generators. Name it, no sector in the country is working as it should be. Even our elections which used to be free and fair to some extent, have today been turned into a shame. Thugs and violent people have taken over government at all levels of governance. It is the more violent an individual is, the more recognition society accords such a violent person. Nothing seems to be working.
Nigeria at 62, the Dreams of our Nigerian Founding Fathers have all been crushed. Where is Nigeria now? What happened to us as a people? What exactly will President Muhammadu Buhari tell us differently in his usual Independence Day Broadcast, which happens to be his last as President?
The close to two decades of Military dictatorship plus the advent of the Civilian administration since 1999 has left a Nigerian populace that is more disappointed with its political leaders than before. Nigeria is 62 currently, but all we see around us as Nigerians are the rising hunger, hardship, and poverty, high-profile corruption at all levels with reckless abandon and impunity; increasing insecurity flamed by our political leaders and threatening the unity of the nation; every sector replete with dysfunctional attributes that make them serve only the interest of the political class to the detriment of the common man, and the list is endless.
Sadly, with everything that is currently happening in the country, which has been shaking and threatening its unity, it is even more worrisome to note that our political leaders at all levels are going about their often ‘self-centered-driven agendas’ – like people who have not learned, and are not willing to learn from the mistakes of the past, which have brought us to where we are today.
The problem here is that while other nations that attained independence at the same time we did, went to work to actualize the needed development for their people and nation; Nigeria on the other hand practically went to sleep.
Sadly, we live in a generation that has access to more knowledge, information, insight, and examples of how things ought to be done for the good of all, more than any other generation in times past. Our political leaders, especially, have all these opportunities, including to hear the truth from a few all the time, but the problem is, they hear so much and have so much, yet THEY ACT ON THESE TRUTHS SO LITTLE, OR NOT AT ALL. Truth is meaningless unless it has been activated through ‘acting on it and allowing it to manifest in our decisions. This is the point where our past and present political leaders should get to, if we want to see changes in our polity that would be for the good of all. The only sad thing here is that these political leaders prefer to surround themselves with persons that would keep feeding them lies to romance their egos, or that they simply do not want to acknowledge the truth and act on it because they went into government in the first place for the wrong reasons.
We can list many countries, which got independence almost at the same time as Nigeria, but today, they have overtaken and left Nigeria far behind in the area of development. The truth is that Nigeria’s dependence on the sale of cash crops and crude oil, condensate, and natural gas, with no invention, no manufacturing, but trading companies with coupling or assembly plants in the name of manufacturing – has to be urgently turned around if we are to become significant in global economic affairs in years to come.
We would keep repeating this statement: no foreigner can effectively and efficiently develop our country for us. That onerous task, no matter how challenging it might seem, only belongs to us and can best be done by us. So, it is high time our political leaders stop making excuses and start using their ‘thinking faculties right’ in harnessing the enormous resources in the nation, develop this country, and get it out of the league of Third World countries in no distant future.
One would have thought that after 23 years plus of Nigeria’s supposed Democratic rule, which ordinarily should have greatly improved the living standards and wellbeing of the Nigerian common masses that went through hell under the hands of the Military; it is however sad to see how Nigerian Politicians have not only pauperized its citizenry but have also widened the gap between the rich and the poor, the governed and the government, the haves and the have nots.
The saddest part in all of this is the fact that the ‘same crop of political leaders that are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” have continued to recycle themselves within the system to remain relevant in the scheme of things and to continue to hold on to political power and influence. That is why already, they have started gearing up for the 2023 general elections; to continue the ‘vicious circle’ of bad governance, the abdication of statutory duties, self-perpetuating high-level corruption, gross unaccountability to the public, gross abuse of the rule of law with impunity, etc. But we, however, hope that the majority of Nigerians would become wiser by, not only electing the right leaders at all levels but also ensuring that the electioneering process becomes more credible to a large extent.
We can make our democracy work, if and only if we allow the principles that guide it, to work in the Nigerian system. The voice of the people is the voice of God. It is time for “people-oriented goals” to be genuinely and holistically pursued and implemented with disregard for all other selfish interests. As we wish Nigeria a Happy 62nd Independence Celebration, let us all strive to do the right things.
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes!