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Ojike John Akiri
Any historical narrative on Nigeria should be deemed wantonly deficient, if it is silent on the inherent throes from its infinite diversity, whether by its multi-ethnic configuration, its multi-confessional leanings or even its multi-occupational peregrinations.
In addition to these broad-based centrifugal forces, the nation’s “genome” is also afflicted with such “grave ailments” like unbridled corruption, exaggerated egocentrism, nepotism, religious bigotry, inordinate opportunism etc. We have for nearly 60 years of independence been grappling with these problems.
For rather too long, we have been the butt of cynics who prefer to taunt us as a potentially great country, while the question beckons for answer as to when that famed potentiality shall actually translate into uplifting reality to impact positively on the common man. For example, the story is told of how the Malaysians so many years ago disembarked on our shores to procure some oil palm seedlings, but today they have overtaken us as NUMBER ONE producers of palm oil in the world. They are now net exporters of same product and are supplying the West African sub-region, including, paradoxically, Nigeria. In a myopic leadership posturing, totally bereft of foresight, we had abandoned our flourishing agricultural sector, with its rising groundnut pyramids in the north, the tons of cocoa bags in the west and the tons of oil palm/kernel in the east, for the pursuit of easy money generated during the oil boom era characterized by reckless spending and wasted opportunities. Our leaders spared no thought for updating our electricity and health infrastructures etc, or the consolidation of emergent industries to provide jobs for the teeming population. Could you pause for a while and try to reconcile our enviable world ranking in crude oil production with our simultaneous massive importation of refined petroleum products. Does that tell you something about the much-talked about racketeering on oil subsidies and the feigned importation of refined products by fraudster-business men?
Going by recent reports, Rwanda has apparently recovered from her devastating fratricidal genocide and is already showing laudable indices of strong developmental plumage, under the visionary leadership of President Paul Kagame.
The leadership factor has always remained the bane of our country with our history littered with military coups and countercoups. After the disastrous debacle of June 12, Providence facilitated for us the exit of the maximum ruler and the goggled one, thereby affording us the opportunity of a fresh start, but our politicians disappointingly bungled the occasion.
In four years’ time, the tenure of our charismatic and foremost anti-corruption leader will be constitutionally terminating, and we are undoubtedly convinced that he is not the type of leader that would condone the unsavoury opportunistic promptings of sycophantic “third termers” à la Mantu.
The ill-timed and unfortunate youthful exuberance of an Omoyele Sowore, who in his deranged fantasy has romanticized with the idea of stirring a crisis in Nigeria, reminiscent of the Arab Spring-type revolution that swept away Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, or Muammar Gadafi’s Libya must be strongly condemned. He should be told in unmistakable terms that Nigeria does not deserve such embarrassment, because we share no similarities with those countries. Omoyele Sowore’s crave for political martyrdom is therefore absolutely misplaced and should be directed at other climes. He has certainly misread the Chapter on Nigeria in his obviously truncated and misconstrued political manual. Sowore and his ill-advised co-travelers must be tutored that Nigeria is today a democracy in spite of our ugly warts and patches. After all, he had the unfettered freedom to create his own political party, the African Action Congress, and even the opportunity to contest for the highest office in the land. In Nigeria, there is liberty of expression, such that an Omoyele Sowore could, without repellent obstacles, create his own online publication, SaharaReporters. How many African countries can boast of the prevalent air of freedom we are breathing in Nigeria? For a start, we invite Sowore to undertake a casual study tour of Togo where reigns the Gnassemba Eyadema dynasty, the Cameroun where Paul Biya has been in the saddle for over 33 years, and the règne sans partage of Teodoro Nguema of Equatorial Guinea for nearly forty years.
To resolve our leadership dilemma, we can start now to assess our up-and-coming politicians for the requisite qualities for a pace-setting leadership that can steer us to laudable, purposeful and progressive horizons. We must not despair in embarking on this search even as from today, for IT IS BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! I have been inspired to do this write-up after reading recent newspaper interviews with great Nigerians like Dr. Christopher Kolade, the former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and our grossly under-esteemed but foremost Inventor, Dr Ezekiel Izuogu.
A man can only showcase what is already in him. Take a peep into some of the ministers and leaders the world over, and you will realize that a good or bad leader would never sprout from a void. The racist tweets and white supremacist ideas of President Donald Trump had always been there in the man’s character and personal utterances. He could not just have woken up one morning to describe the Third World as composed of shit-pit countries or des pays merdes as the French would say. In the same vein, the visceral racism of the current leader of the extreme right wing in France, Marine Lepen could not have begun yesterday. In fact, in her case, such negative populist and politically extreme views are until today unapologetically peddled by her father, Jean-Mari Le Pen. What about the new Italian government and its Trump-incarnate of a Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Mr Matteo Salvini? The latter would care no hoot if all the poor migrant––Africans, Syrians and Libyans––seeking economic refuge in Europe were to be reported drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. They may be fleeing the poverty in their war-torn countries, in pursuit of the evasive Eldorado in Europe. Go and probe into Salvini’s past, and you will be amazed at the fascist and Mussolinian tendencies of his earlier life. He is today merely ventilating his sadistic traits which we now hear because he is in a visible leadership position. Now, compare these to the loveable and caring disposition of France’s young and composed President Emmanuel Macron. During a brief official visit to Nigeria not too long ago, he expressed the desire to savour some good dose of our music by finding time to visit the famous Fela Afrika Shrine, where Femi Anikulapo-Kuti thrilled him to the delight of all. Do you think that Emmanuel Macron’s love for the poor and down-trodden began just yesterday? Only few months ago, he approved that some highly symbolic cultural artefacts carted away from Benin Republic by his colonialist ancestors should be returned to that country.
Today, he is the champion of multilateralism and humanitarianism to the shameless chagrin of the egocentric Trump who want to make only America great, thereby raking up incalculable confusion in world trade order.
