The above title and essay were implicitly inspired by a book by Barrack Obama – The Audacity of Hope. An enjoyable read each time one turns its glistening pages proclaiming the very crux upon which the book rested. Barrack Obama himself - the first Black US President and the strongest man alive as it stands – seems to be under a barrage of criticisms lately stemming from his many supposed heroic inactions but rather many proposed actions for the upturn of the difficulties of the American society, its people and the world at large. Brian Browne of the Nation newspaper branded and brandished him as a man of mere words rather than action in his review of the latest speech by Obama on the current state of America and the world; himself (Obama) acquiescing that he could be overly verbose in his book anyway. His recent criticisms may also be associated with the sole fact that his re – election year is fast approaching; a good time for a well placed and capable opponent to dent his image. The American billionaire, Donald Trump, had this in mind. He has since been silenced of course when his feeble and precarious allegation was seamlessly faulted. But I think he’ll (Obama) pull through. He always does.
My beloved and darling country Nigeria still remains a burdensome and rather poignant matter in my rarely dithering mind – for I could hardly come to terms with its fickle and flickering reality before me – restless as it always makes me whenever the mind decides to broach the almost unavoidable subject. It seems that out of the primordial past of complexities in the foundation and conflation of Nigeria comes a blaring presence of retribution, putrid comeuppance and constellation of inadequacies in the present day Nigeria. I do not by chance refer to the very beginning of Nigeria as part of its problem neither do I accede to the popularly accepted explanation of fate – “that’s the way God wants it” as many Nigerian people may like to believe to deceive and mollify themselves. Put simply, I do not believe that this is the way God wants Nigeria to be. We are who we are today only by what we were yesterday and not by what we hope to become tomorrow. It is possible that it’s this same attitude of “it’s what God wants” that may have contributed to the foisting of GEJ (after all it’s the perception of the majority of people that was translated in the election) on us in the dubbed ‘freest and fairest election’ in the history of Nigerian politics. That itself makes me laugh satirically. Now we have to deal with his gutsy parochialism for the next four years. The same gutsy parochialism that he displayed in the occasion of his swearing – in ceremony to which by now more than 830 million – 1.3 billion naira of Nigeria’s hard earned money have left the coffers of the CBN never to return. It is this same gutsy parochialism that he displayed in his swearing - in speech to a nation of more than 160 million Nigerians home and abroad and also to the watching and discerning world. I can’t help but think of how America, Britain etc would perceive his noteworthy speech – forget the emotional trappings - from which no substance emanated, no veritable plan or course to take Nigeria to the next phase enunciated and definitely no definite idea to quell and squelch the many problems of Nigeria. The whole speech seemed like a clueless ramble of a new but no so new president of the largest black nation who had not given a single deep thought on the intricate entity called Nigeria. His speech writer – if he had one - should be sacked. Even the speech by the Governor of Nassarawa State sounded better.
Nigerians – from Garuba to Emeka to Wole – are good, dynamic and usually benevolent people who love their country rather dispassionately. However, the calibre of leaders and politicians we produce do not appreciate this salience and embrace rather flippantly the meaning of democracy in the context of the people they serve. They seem to forget and forget rather quickly that “in a democracy, the most important office is the office of the citizen” as opined by a U. S Justice; Louis Brandeis. Dimeji Bankole – who has met his waterloo in the # 10 billion loan scandal, Alao Akala and others have learnt from the experience and are licking their wounds now. Let others including GEJ learn as I advised in an earlier blog. Nigerians are difficult people to mess with in all ramifications and from all indications.
Our strength as Nigerians still lies in our exhaustive diversity and collective existence as a group of people under one umbrella – not the sham of an insignia symbolizing the PDP – even though we sometimes like to think the contrary. As Barrack Obama made mention in his book “what unites us is greater than what divides us”. The onion farmer in the North, the business man from the East, the astute banker from the West are all Nigerians and may need each other to remain existent than we may care to admit. Our dear president himself is from the minority group of the Niger Delta as he rightly made mention in his maiden speech - an action quite needless, unprecedented and may betray his intents if he ever has good ones. The recharge card retailer under the Ikeja Bridge, the sweaty ‘cold’ la casera hawker in the traffic jam of Apapa –Oshodi, the roasted plantain seller with the appropriate groundnut to go with it, the aboki man that fetches water for a token, the road side mechanic are all Nigerians and deserve and desire a better life devoid of privation and anguish, bereft of melancholy and condescension. We all deserve a better Nigeria; a Nigeria of our father and forefathers dream – a dream yet to be ever manifested in the most subtle of expectations which keeps getting lowered as the dream itself dwindles. One wonders if the Nigerian dream will become a reality in our time – a loaded question, one difficult to answer.
However, the Nigerian dream is not farfetched and is realisable too. Many of the things we clamour for are the normal things that we shouldn’t be deprived of or shouldn’t be pleading for in the modern day society for they are so common that a three year old child in Ghana or South Africa will never understand why it’s not available. Thus, it saddens me when an infamous politician decides to use such common things as a campaign advert or manifesto however clichéd they are and sound to every Nigerian. It just further reveals how insensitive those we refer to as leaders are. We shouldn’t be pleading for good water, good roads, good healthcare delivery, stable electricity etc. We shouldn’t. I was petulant and drawn when during GEJ’s massive campaign for election, he campaigned that he’ll build airports in every city in Nigeria. Yet we voted for him. The building and presence thereof of airports in every city in Nigeria itself maybe a laudable project if there were no other far-reaching matter at hand that needs not be stated publicly like the presence of good roads for starters. The expansion and refurbishment project of the Lagos – Ibadan express road has been awarded through a Public Private Partnership – a laudable progress itself – yet nothing close to anything has been done on the most plied road in Nigeria for the past year and a half since its been awarded. What we keep seeing are billboards and signs suggesting that work will soon commence. When? I ask. Wale Babalakin is more a politician than a business man, I must say.
As Nigeria stands and for the Nigerian dream to ever be manifested, two things need to apparently change – a change in Government and a change in attitudinal culture – both of which are interrelated and may not be able to stand alone. We need not only a change in Government; we need also a change in culture to realise our Nigerian dream; an apparent emphasis on the change in government however. The change in attitudinal culture deals with the Nigerian people - whether in Nigeria or not - been governed together with their historical, social and political relevancies while the change in Government deals with the government itself, the leaders who govern us and the polities, policies and procedures therewith.
It is almost unfortunate that we have not had an appropriate change in government since the fourth republic democratization of our dear country in 1999. What we have had rather is a vicious cycle of the same mendacious and vituperative leaders, sometimes ambivalent and vacillating constitution and often policy summersaults and pussyfooting. Thus, it is not by chance that we (Nigeria) always arrive at the same junction of perplexity and remonstration each and every time. The same dubbed mammoth party PDP has been in control of the reigns of presidential power for twelve years going with no ostensible and perceptible change in the living conditions of the common man. This makes me wonder sometimes if the mammoth PDP has any defined or refined strategy to improve the lot of Nigerians as their action and activity always assert contrary to this. It took the PDP controlled presidency, senate and house of representative more than seven years to churn out the Freedom of Information Bill which has eventually been signed – the superficial document itself seemed like a carefully orchestrated but still ambivalent document for it still leaves a leeway for a staged maneuvring.
A change in government may sound familiar for we have successfully had three different presidents in our almost inchoate democracy – the rabid Obasanjo, the wobbly but sincere Yar’dua and the seemingly parochial Jonathan. All of whom thought – or still think - they were (are) the best Nigeria could ever have. A change in government may seem not to address the very many Nigerian issues at a first glance for the mind may dwell on the present in the pretext of the past and effortlessly conclude that it may make no difference. However, a more careful and introspective delve will suggest an antithesis. A change in government does not only mean a change in the kind and calibre of the leaders we have but also a change in the policies and procedures that makes them become our leaders in the first place. A change in all levers and tiers of the government – a careful and stringent revamp of our ambivalent constitution is a good place to look and start – is appropriated. The decree that suggests that our senators and representatives at the house be salaried or should earn far more than can be fathomed and more than a University Professor needs be abolished. A change in the polity and policy that makes politics itself to be less pecuniarily attractive to a below average mind needs be instituted. A change that sees and brings people who actually want to make a difference and make a positive impact to the forefront of Nigeria’s political landscape should be embraced. People who do want to make a difference in the Nigerian politics do not even endeavour to dabble into it anymore for they do not want to mar their name or image.
A change in attitudinal culture is closely tied to the change in government for Nigeria to be able to produce the kind of future leaders that we may desire, a change in the decrepit value system of our culture will be needed. It is no longer news that our value system has degenerated far beyond what it used to be with what is left of its putrid essence being rubbed in our faces. Yet, we sit and look. How then do we cultivate and nurture future leaders in the midst of all these? How can we guarantee future leaders who won’t just end up like the present mendacious and corrupt ones we have now? How do we raise future leaders for our dear country? In an earlier blog/essay “Hues of a quizzical reality”, I posited the society may be partly responsible for the degeneration of our value system whether we like to hear it or not. How then do we rescue our value system from further degeneration? I dare say this can only be done through a change in attitudinal culture which can only start right from the homes in which we raise our children. However, a change in attitudinal culture cannot come about in our children if we do not have it first taking place in the parents themselves who will then pass it down to their wards. Also, the change in attitudinal culture in our parents will be difficult to institute unless their perception of their government, leaders and the society changes. And what better way can we have this occur if not through a change in government itself. A change can only occur through a change.
A wise man once said, “Everyman is living to make up for his father’s mistake or live up to his father’s expectations. Let GEJ decide which part he belongs to, decide what he wants to be remembered for and deliver a better Nigeria to us. Let him be reminded that “Democracy is a difficult kind of government. It requires the highest qualities of self-discipline, restraint, a willingness to make commitments and sacrifices for the general interest, and it also requires knowledge” as opined by John F. Kennedy. Let him translate those emotional trappings in his swearing in speech to a sublime reality of the common man.
Thank you.
Foye.