There’s nothing wrong with Nigeria

On the morning after Muritala Mohammed seized power in July 1975, public servants in Lagos were found “on­seat” at 7.30 in the morning. Even the “go- slow” on Lagos roads that had defied every solution prior to the regime, vanished over night! Why? The new ruler’s reputation for ruthlessness, discipline and hard work was sufficient to transform in the course of only one night the style and habit of Nigeria’s unruly capital.

That the character of one man could establish that quantum change in a people’s social behaviour was nothing less than miraculous. But it shows that social miracles can happen. A leader’s no-nonsense reputation can induce a favourable climate, but in order to effect lasting change, it must be followed up with a radical programme of social and economic re-organisation or at least a well conceived and consistent agenda or reform which Nigeria stood, and still stands in dire need of.

There is nothing basically wrong with Nigeria’s character. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria’s land or climate or water or air or anything else. Nigeria’s problem is the unwillingness or the inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal-example which are hallmarks of true leadership.

Nigeria has many men and women of conscience, a large number of talented people. Why is it then that all these patriots make so little impact on the life of our nation? Why is it that our corruption, gross inequities, our noisy vulgarity, our selfishness, our ineptitude seem so much stronger than the good influences at work in our society? Why do the good among us seem so helpless while the bad are full of vile energy? Nigeria needs patriotism this time around. What is your own contribution? Are you a caterpillar or a builder? Let your conscience judge you. Patriotism is an emotion of love directed by critical intelligence.

A true patriot will always demand the highest standards of his country and accept nothing but the best for and from his people.He will be outspoken in the condemnation of the leaders shortcomings without giving way to their superiority, despair or cynicism; that is my idea of patriotism.

Akin Agunbiade,
Director, Centre for Human Rights Farmers,
P.O.Box 2265,
Ibadan, Oyo State.

Between Obama and Nigerian politicians

On June 3, 2008, history was made in faraway United States of America, when an hitherto underdog and politically-underestimated African-American, in the person of Senator Barack Obama, demolished all the barriers of racial discrimination in the 232 years of America's existence to become the first black presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. It was something akin to a shocking news, albeit a dream come true, when this fearless Illinois Senator, who is just serving his first term in the American senate redefined the concept of "political naivety", and against all odds, surmounted all the challenges that fell on his part, during the months long campaign, to shock the Clinton political dynasty.

Senator Barack Obama, a young and courageous American lawyer, who right from his youthful days, had committed himself to the defence of human rights and political equality, put smile of the faces of more than 50 million black Americans, when he finally acheived the dream, that was started by Martin Luther King in 1969, and Jesse Jackson, who had earlier been the first black American to come second as an American presidential nominee.

Since this re-writing of history by Barack Obama, enough has been said and written, whether by way of praise, eulogy, and admiration and it cannot be gainsaid that Obama, roudly deserves all the good words. However, one striking aspect of the entire "Obamamania" (as it as now come to be christened), is the usual self-serving, popularity-seeking, and image laundering, praise-singing that has been coming from a class of Nigerian politicians, who have been identifying with this American, attempting to paint themselves as birds of the same feather with him.

It was reported that one Nigerian Senator had moved a motion that Obama should be formally congratulated by the Nigerian Senate, before his motion was thrown out, while some other politicians, have since stormed the Nigerian mass media, trying to sell the virtues of Obama. Though, there seems to be nothing wrong with all these attempts at identifying with a success, but then, one needs to ask these polticians, if indeed they are worthy characters to identify with the quintessence, openness, and transparency of the Obama cum American political system.

It is indeed laughable that these Nigerian politician would leave their own political mess at home, and hurriedly go and start identifying with another man's success.

It is high time the Nigerian political class abandoned this garment of political sycophancy, and nourish that democracy that Nigeria has never had. Rome might not be built in a day, but Rome has to be serious about building itself at all.

Olusola Adegbite,
Faculty of Law,
Obafemi Awolowo
University,
Ile-Ife, Osun State.