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The country has suffered from poor quality governance and the effects are telling. So visible for all to see. Before we had a country but suddenly we are almost losing the treasure. At no time has our country been divided as we are today. The centre is not holding, institutions are collapsing with disturbing rapidity. The only good news is the acknowledgement that Nigeria is the hope of the black world, therefore, no price is too big to pay, to set it right.
For that reason, among Nigerians there is a growing consensus that we must collectively work to remake every process that has stalled positive development of the land. How do we start? Mindset renewal. That has already kick-started and the uniqueness here is that the young ones are the new vanguard. They are moving with amazing commitment. The process is the electoral system in place. The election offers them the biggest opportunity and activities are beginning to gather momentum.
One truth about positive changes or transformation anywhere is that citizens left on their own have limited ability to effect such changes. A Russian politician Stalin once described them as majority without a mind and direction, they are like the wind vane, spun about in every direction by the wind. The citizens are the sovereignty, they are the repository of power quite alright yet experiences have since confirmed that left on their own they are unable to chart a united course. To successfully do so and in a most meaningful manner they require a «vanguard» to lead them.
Enlightened youths have offered to play this strategic role and it is gladdening to see a hitherto very docile population waking up to their responsibility to the fatherland, but they still require the assistance of the elders for reason of experience, balance and the involvement of the more established institutions. This is where the media comes into play. The media should not only report the state of the nation, it must begin to do so from the ideological standpoint that the task of building a virile country is more urgent today than it was five years ago. More than this, it must give shape to progressive forces now stepping forward to sacrifice their resources, comfort and possibly life to find a new Nigeria we badly need.
There are many things that make us very sad today. One of them is the fact that the awe surrounding leadership has been torn apart, there has been a huge debasement of things we once held very dear. The country has lost respect in the comity of nations, our nationals today are the butts of mockery and maltreatment across the globe; even among the people at home hope has been lost. We are few steps away from the precipice of monumental disaster. The first task for the media is to ring it and implant it in every heart that the major challenge today is a roll back from the path of destruction. We must have a country before proceeding to the kind of development we desire to see. The media should not only write about this necessity, but in its many encounters with the various candidates, journalists must extract clear commitment to building a new Nigeria. This is very important.
The media must get the presidential, governorship and National Assembly candidates to tell us in very clear terms their positions on holding a national conference that would be acceptable to all. Dodging this all important matter on account that many of such have been held in the past and nothing came out of them will not be a tenable excuse this time. The fact those conferences failed is the reason our country has been taken to the cliff, waiting for a small push to tumble over.
The truth is that the National Assembly is not well placed to midwife the new country we all envisage. The structure of the legislative body itself is a product of very skewed federation created by the military that was not supposed to be in power but shot its way to power. It is therefore no wonder that it brought disorder. The leadership of the military leadership who assumed political power prided themselves as correctional agents but their actions proved they were like or worse than the civilians they overthrew. Like the civilians they were myopic and not immune to the pressures of ethnicity and religion – part of why they shot their way into the political arena.
If every speaker today still worries about unity, it is because the military messiahs gave the worst blow to bonds of unity, especially by their unreasoned jettisoning of federalism and redrawing of country›s accepted political architecture. That action is at the root of current upheaval in the country and will continue until it is properly addressed. This is a strong reason why a National Dialogue is necessary and vital. Nigerians must sit down and decide what country they want, the vision and terms of social relations. If nothing is done then we risk a perpetual journey round the mountain.
Now this is very crucial, there is big difference between people promoted restructuring and devolution of power as may be undertaken by a single individual riding on cover of being the nation›s president. People-propelled restructuring will be far reaching than that of any individual. The divergence in political view between the North and the South is a big issue though not insurmountable if truly we want a New Nigeria where life will be abundant. The South wants restructuring because they feel the weight of injustices introduced by the military, while the core North opposes it for the fact that the advantages taken favour it. So they talk of devolution, which they have said means the federal government giving away to states some of its responsibilities. Devolution may delay the impending implosion but it won’t be a panacea to the many challenges of nationhood. Restructuring will improve sense of worth of each component part, create a structure that makes our country very productive and competitive.
So let our leaders state their position on national conference and the idea of restructuring. Nigeria our country has huge potentials, poor leadership has remained the bane between it and positive progress. Before, the people allowed things to roll on, but now there seems to be a rethink. The cost of past neglect has been costly. The new resolve will turn out well if the media will decide this time to play her agenda setting role to the fullest. They must hear Albert Einstein who said change can only come by way of constant struggles.
