It’s 2012. Already, the cacophony of what will be in 2015 has begun. From PDP, to the opposition parties in CPC, ACN, ANPP, ACCORD, other smaller parties & talks of alliance of the opposition: the journey has begun. Only weeks ago, I wrote about the burdening curses of leadership at all tiers in Nigeria. That has not changed, in fact it may not change. Why? Nigeria’s low expectations and an elitist ideal sense of looking for a SAINT/SAVIOUR will keep re-creating the vacuum that exist in Nigeria.
Nigeria is rich. Extremely. Nigeria is lost. Extremely too. Fixing Nigeria is as easy as ABC: find the LEADER who has the will to connect the resources and make it a brand for export, for wealth generation, for creating opportunities; or one who can provide enabling environment for our wealth of resources (human and natural) to thrive and survive. I wish that were simple.
I am not writing softly so Goodluck, PDP, CPC, ACN or any such party won’t hear. We have a nation to build, a nation to fix. Any man who stands in this path deserve to be swept off with the deluge of our wrath. My responsibility, as is yours, is to sow the seeds that will be the bearings of great things to come.
Over the weeks, I consistently had to contend with those who want a MESSIAH for Nigeria, for those who consistently critically condemn every potential candidate for 2015 tossed before us.
Take for instance our President Goodluck Jonathan. Do I hate/detest him? No. But I detest what he represents, what he stand for, what his brand depicts, what he does. I did not vote for him, I knew who he was; not with the jamboree accompanying him all over Nigeria during the breath-taking celebration that followed his campaign trail.They gave us the image of a perfect man, and Nigerians fell of it. They brought the musicians, mainstream media sold us a mirage, and the sentimental Nigerian fell for the gimmick.
Goodluck Jonathan never attended the Presidential debate, so we can’t hold him to any promise. He never told us what he would do, nor did he give us the blueprints. He lounged with Dbanj, created an image that many could align with: of low beginnings and poverty. He deceived the people and raped their emotions; “run Jonathan run” pervaded the air. “i had no shoes” where the blueprints, they were the landmarks, they are what, till now, rings most clear. Those are not what to look for. What I looked for transcended the emotions, because emotions would not solve our problems. Or has it?
I checked his records: as deputy governor, Governor, vice president, Acting President and eventual President. Not much to write about. I believe in Christ, I am termed by the world as a Christian. By that virtue, I should vote Jonathan, but I did not. Why? Neither Christianity nor Islam will fix Nigeria. What will? A GOOD MAN WITH GREAT INTENTIONS AND AN AUDACITY OF HOPE, RESOLVE and STRENGTH TO DO GOOD.
Nigerians have little expectations from public servants. Nigerians have lost that meaning, Nigerians have lost their voice. Nigerians are not happy, why should they be? The nation is in pains. Many of it torn between dividing interests. Why do we deserve to be poor? Why do our children have to be on the streets, in tattered clothes hawking to support their parents? Why must our graduates be on the streets unemployed, idle, and very frustrated? Why do we have poverty amidst wealth? Why do we deserve the leaders that we have? Why do we elect the ones we have? How did they get there? WE CAUSED IT!
All nations have problems. The first step towards change is getting the right people to leadership position who can begin the steps towards nation building, growth and development. Will we allow our division, our ego, our self interests, our tribalism and religion to get in the line of objective reasoning again? The battle has started, the comments have started, the it-doesn’t-concern-me has started. The we-will-survive mentality is sinking in again.
Nigeria has no savior. He doesn’t have two heads, a mighty arm, a magical stick nor does he have a wand. He has probably no fine face, nor the charm that beguiles women; neither will he be your peculiar man. The one in whose time Nigeria will start making positive strides is he who has a wealth of experience, the will, strength, resolve, and guts to champion, lead and inspire change. He will not be drawn or consumed in your daily crucible of ethno-religious hegemony. He will have the track records of excellence, not someone drawn out of the blues to fill a vacant space created by another godfather.
Nigeria’s savior/messiah will not be North or South, he will be Nigeria personified. He will be driven by the hunger and will to set things right. To correct the flaws, to rectify the institutions, to inspire change through the system, to fix our image of corruption, to fix NIGERIA no matter whose Ox is gored. It happened in Ghana, we have such men here. The question is: will our divisive nature allow him get there? Will he be consumed by our ethnic and religious divisions, our sentiments before he comes out?
He will not make promises and renege on them. He won’t promise you heaven on earth. You may not like him. He is NOT A SAINT, he is not then MESSIAH you expect. What to do: study his past. Check his history. He’ll be moved by the afflictions of the common man. He will be down to earth. A breed without greed. He will have realistic plans and pragmatic enough to tackle our problems gradually. Nigeria needs an honest man who will take the PEOPLE above the PARTY; whose allegiance will be to uplift the people out of the trenches of their impoverishing right into abundance, where they truly deserve to be.
On this generation lies enormous responsibility, to fix the sinking titanic called Nigeria. On this generation lies the onus to be sensitive, beyond the critical appraisal of “WE NEED A PERFECT MAN”. In the present crop of those who can fix Nigeria, THERE ARE NO SAINTS. to deny this is to live in delusion. A savior from the generation above us is a mirage. He doesn’t exist. we have no ideal man. No perfect man to change Nigeria. He has flaws, deep ones ; but he will have the temerity to cause change.
So when they come,now or in 2015, remember to check their backgrounds, their history, their track records, ensure he his a man of his words, that he’ll fulfill whatever he promises. Not a smooth talker, not the advertisements, not the full colored paper spread publication, not the fanfare. We had all this paraphernalia with the Jonathan package. Is it working for us? Has it worked for us?
Nigeria MUST change, at great cost and sacrifice, and no messiah or saint will fix her. None. When I find that person who I believe has the qualities afore-mentioned, I will campaign so hard, use all means of leverage to reach as many as I can, canvass and organize young ones (as i am right now) and vote, and DEFEND MY VOTES BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY. If I fail in 2015 to do what’s required, I may have contributed to another 8 years of retardation, of backwardness, of hardship, of slavery!
Our actions of today, our sacrifices, in standing by that GOOD MAN and not the Expected SAVIOR/SAINT/MESSIAH is what will result in the birth of a New Nigeria.
What we do count.
I am @seunfakze
No comments:
Post a Comment