‘There is a dynamism about Nigeria’s 1960 that far exceeds anything the nation now offers, Nigeria was vibrated then with; technical power, cultural power, economic power, intercontinental power and good governance.’
But as the nation grows, Nigeria political class and leaders sat at tables appearing to be friendly, but in their hearts were inclined to do what was bad. Speaking lies at tables that could not benefit Nigerians, because they all aim in succeeding in their political ambitions.
‘One has the money as the principal means of action, the other servitude’. Their paths are diverse; Nevertheless, each seems called by some secret design of providence one day to hold in it’s hands the destinies of Nigeria”. [This is my reflection of the political climate of Nigeria.]
‘Winning is not an all time thing, but a sometime thing. You don’t do it right all the time, but you do it right some of the time’. Has Nigeria leaders and the political class ever do it right once?
Right before the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates by Sir Lord Frederick Luggard in 1914 and their various accompanied constitutions. The Nigeria nation has not has got it right. Leaders and grafts, the two monsters have crippled everything In Nigeria. Endless Corruption Inc! Transparency International and UNIDO has openly told the world that over 75 percent of corruption in Nigeria emanates from the presidency in form of failed contracts, oil thefts, recycled leaders, ineptitude, and GRAFTS!
Different ideologies, suspicion amongst the ethnic groups, North, South, East, and West dichotomy, paper qualification, NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK! Poor health facilities, poor road networks, infrastructural decay, epileptic power supply, collapsed educational system, non-accountability, master-servants relationships, power at all cost syndrome, and who cares if the masses can rot away. The future keeps getting darker and bleak as there is no hope of seeing the “Sun shining behind the clouds”. As government pirates continue to raid the prosperous Nigeria’s pool of resources.
Why Nigeria as a State? From the beginning the foundation of the country was laid on sand which can be washed away by a powerful flood. The foundation started shaking with diverse and divergent views about the country remain a single entity. The rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer and worst off. The nation becoming the epicenter of dumping ground for imported goods and fake products.
The entity called Nigeria @ 100 still crawls, the country which was at par with India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, and South Korea in the 60’s and these countries are now Asia Tigers exporting back to Nigeria the same products it imported from Nigeria in the 60’s. The receding decay in every segment of the society could be traced to; Nigeria: A Mistake of an Entity!
Various countries around the world has an epithet: “American Patriotism”, “Chinese Attitude”, “Germans Determination”, “Japanese Fighting Spirit”, “Israelis Valor”, ‘Italian Resilience”, “French Diplomacy”, & “Nigeria Altruistic”. Despite concerted efforts by the CSO’s, EFCC, ICPC, and the media in Nigeria, more corrupt practices are still been perpetrated in high places in Nigeria.. Who will tame this monster? Shocking revelations and discoveries keep flowing.
In other countries citizens wakes up to a new hopeful, brighter and a prosperous day. Nigerians wakes up daily faced with a gloomy future, no thanks to the the institutionalized GRAFT! Nigeria’s epigram.
Corruption in Nigeria has defy all the antidotes for it’s cure,may be we just ‘siddon look’ [apologies to late Chief Bola Ige]. When countries across the world has a catchy epithet like: “American Patriotism” “Chinese Attitude” “Germans Determination” “Japanese Fighting Spirit” “Israelis Valor” ‘Italian Resilience” “French Diplomacy” “Nigeria Altruistic”. Nigeria is altruistic with it’s resources. Nigerian officials are so altruistic with the nations resources, no altercation when ferrying the looted funds across abroad, but once indicted the media is a washed with claims and counter claims.
The resources given in trust to these officials are freely shared, NO SELFISHNESS! The nation is STINKING!
With endless institutionalized graft, where are we heading to? Uncertainties, Bleak future, Insecurity, Kidnapping, Boko Haram, Niger Delta Militants, Armed robberies, and Frustrations in the country. The masses are being pummeled each seconds by government with anti-masses policies without accompanied manifestations, who cares? When charter helicopters can fly and air ambulances are available. Simply put: Masses can rot away!
The North foresee this when the late Northern Nigeria premier Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto told the then parliament in 1958 that the North is not yet ready for independence from their colonial masters. Despite drawing public protests and condemnation from Nigerians when USA and Libya predicted that within a period of 15 years there is foreseeable evidence that Nigeria will dis-integrate into North/South, Christian/Moslem States. Qaddafi was blunt as he openly told Nigeria to break up peacefully. The chapter is beginning to unfold and the clock is TICKING………!
Despite the hue and cry of oil and gas, the “BLACK GOLD” has turn Nigeria’s hand of development back as oil blocks, oil thefts, foreign conspirators and illegal refineries rocks the sector in collaboration with the military, government officials, and the major players in the industry.
Billions of dollars of Nigeria’s oil money are siphoned and frittered away with impunity. Land locked countries in Africa are surviving without oil; South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Zambia, Senegal, Gambia, Egypt, Tanzania and Benin all has a prosperous economy based on other sector rather than oil. Most of Africa’s oil producing states are worst off compares to South Africa, Botswana, Egypt, Tanzania, Benin, Seychelles, and Mozambique. Factories in Nigeria are closing up and relocating to neighboring countries and empty factories premises are turned to Mega churches for Nigerians seeking spiritual solutions.
Thank God for Prof Attahiru Jega’s historic nation saving 2011 general elections the time for Nigeria eclipse would have been closing up. People are becoming pessimists about Nigeria’s future. Policies formulated today are discarded tomorrow, high fly corruption cases are technically closed, appointments into high offices are not based on merit, recycling of leaders, endless grafts, bastardized society, a ribbon of wasted younger generation, no hope, no FUTURE! No favorable environment for business to operate.
Emerging from the brink of dis-integration in 1967-1970’s 42 months of civil war, many would have thought this would have place the nation on stronger foundation. The decay of today was a carry over from the first republic and through the second, third, fourth, fifth and the sixth republics.
The blame of Nigeria’s woes on the military is rather a funny concept, non-of the military governors, administrators, minister, and head of states has brazenly looted the country treasuries compare to these civilians governors, ministers, commissioners, special aides, members of NASS and the presidency and has in recent times being arraign, charged and jailed in various law courts in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Police; the custodian of law, order and security in Nigeria becoming ‘OPEN SESAME!’, Power Holding Company of Nigeria [PHCN] can no longer hold power, the nation’s airport becoming an eyesore at the point of entry!
Akwaaba in Ghana means ‘Welcome’. Akwaaba to Nigeria’s corruption square where the King must not dance naked even if asked to dance to appease the gods. It is a taboo for him to dance naked in the corruption square, he will be shielded by the palace guards.
Plea bargain is now the order of the day as corrupt bank CEOs, federal government officials, NASS members, state and local government officials simply walk Nigeria streets free! “As they must not walk naked”, they cannot be jailed.“Prick your fingers, and a drop of red will appear, not a drop of red but white, or a drop of black”.
Plea bargaining is Nigeria’s export to other corruption-riddled nations to copy and emulate. Simply loot or embezzle. Get arraigned in a court of law; go to the court with a cheque. Get sentenced, issue a cheque and you are freed! See Nigeria’s ingenuity?
A nation that is bleeding under the scorching hardship inflicted on the masses by the king[s], never to be tried nor sentenced by any law court and in any case, the king[s] are welcomed back with a live television broadcast thanksgiving, celebrating freedom from the VIP prison with pomp and ceremony. The king[s] must not dance naked as they leave behind endless footprints of corruption and graft!
Is it because I am a Nigerian that I can be so bastardized by my rulers? Show us your face God, the masses of Nigeria are before the hangman! In pursuit of a better world through one ideology or another, mass graves are being filled.
Most people have become too tolerant of murder, punished it too lightly and excused it by perpetrating the most abominable atrocities against their fellow human beings, when it was in the service of Utopian visions….!
Let the rain come down and wash away Nigeria’s scourge of corruption and save the masses from the shackles of poverty and enslavement, as the king[s] can neither be de-robe, nor allowed to dance naked [go to jail] in the corruption square.
“Nigerians are weeping like a woman for what they cannot have as a man”. In the name of governance the politicians have perpetrated the most abominable atrociousness against their subjects.
Between the conceptions and creation, between the emotions and response….falls the shadow!
Nigeria rulers who should have known justice exploited Nigerians, as if tearing the skin and flesh of sheep and breaking their bones. They are like brier or a thorn hedge. Nigerians get scathed, clothes ripped, dealing with Nigerians unjustly, treacherous and corrupt.
We are like in the midst of their roaring lions; the judges were evening wolves that gnaw Nigerians bones till morning. Nigeria leaders are like rapacious, wild lions, disregarded righteousness, ravenous, insatiable wolves, devouring everything. How could Nigerians stand-up under this?
Justice has been ripped to shreds by Nigeria leaders who preyed on the people rather than caring for the masses. We dream peace, but we are plaque by war, we cherished law and order, but we are cannot stem the rising tide of robbery, rape, and murder. We want to trust our neighbor but we have to lock our doors for protection.
We love our children and try to instill wholesomeness values in them, but all too often we watch helplessly as they succumb to the unwholesome influence of their peers!
The Nigeria civil war is over but in tragic sense, Nigeria has now been made safer for ethnic, tribal, and religious vengeance and savagery. We have watered down our moral standards to the point where many of our youths are confused, discouraged, and in deep trouble.
We are reaping the harvest of parental neglect, child abuse, teen pregnancy, divorce, school drop outs, illegal drugs and streets full of violence. It is as if our nation having survived the great earthquake we called Nigeria Civil War is now being eaten by termites called our Rulers and Leaders!
Ill gotten loot is used to buy the poor masses votes, buy expensive automobiles, armed Mobile Policemen as escorts with siren [intimidating the masses], private jets, overseas medical checkups and holidays with the family.
In the streets, villages, rural communities, the masses are left at their own peril. No water, no electricity, lack of Community Health Care Centers, no accessible roads, government officials comes once in four years to seek their mandates during election, children of the poor graduated with a dream but face a bleak and hopeless future! Plundering of Niger Delta by JTF in the name of dis-lodging the militants, annihilation of Zaki-Biam and Odi by the military.
The story is the same everywhere across the 8,810 wards, 774 LGA’s, and 36 States of the country; STAGNATION! While the rich can afford a house worth millions of dollars, the poor are cramped into a dingy one room in the ghetto, sleeps at about 23:00 hrs and wakes up at about 04:00hrs; struggle continues! The cycle is repeated year in year out, the elite can afford to power their respective offices, homes and guest houses with stand by generator.
The poor goes on a meal a day with his rural areas counterpart, the elite eats at will and his dog eats the best of the best. Medical facilities, air ambulances convey the rich abroad within seconds to treat headache, the poor are left at the mercy of Traditional Birth Attendants [TBA] with crude and non-sterilized implements, school fees for the poor are hard to come by the rich resorts to private schools and overseas schools.
The elite is feasting on the delicacy of Nigeria’s already prepared and served resources. Life for the poor in Nigeria could be likened to “Anthill of the Savannah”, once regarded as the “Giant Of Africa” becoming the” Laughing Stock Of Africa”.
From Dreams @ Dawn to Shattered Destiny @ 100. From “Whispering Prosperous Footsteps @ Dawn” to “Epicenter of Stagnation @ 100”. Lady Flora Shaw Luggard must have being regretting in her quite grave for giving an entity called Nigeria a name that preceding generations will hate, abhor and DETEST!
Nigeria: A Mistake of an Entity; The Clock Is TICKING………..!