State Of The Nation: Dwelling on falsehood and deceit; ‘lori Iro’

By Richard Odusanya.

Dwelling on 2023 Elections are illusions and efforts in futility if we do not fix our social political system… This has become a norm which is repeated every four years without any improvement in the lives of the electorate. The political class is not answerable to anybody because all that they need to win an election is a bag of rice and whip up religious and tribal sentiments. Added to this is that poverty has endangered some of the electorate who have lost their sense of reasoning and are “happy” to be in the situation in which they find themselves. For a more sustainable democracy, the Electoral bill must be signed into law which will require a robust judiciary to act without fear or favor

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest Lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, Lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the Lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up you’d better be running. Truly, we have been running a senseless race which has no direction or end so the political actors consume one another without any sense of guilt. They criss cross from one political party to another if the situation on ground is not palatable to them. All for selfish reasons.

I am not really sure if we still have Lions and Gazelles around us, particularly in Nigeria where issues of human rights have been grossly violated, not to talk of animals. They may have gone into prehistory. But the sun is out and very hot, it is a time to run, we sure need to stay awake for our country Nigeria.

There are three signs of a hypocrite: when he speaks, he speaks lies, when he makes a promise, he breaks it and when he is trusted he betrays the trust. This is the crucial moments to provide leadership.

What makes a man is not the many hurdles he has to overcome but the ability to cross them without any hitches. Nigeria as a nation with huge potential, unimaginable resources and human per capita is
at a crossroads of existence. The sun is out and scorching hot for comfort as we have found ourselves at  crossroads of existence. Issues of: kidnapping, killings, poor leadership, nepotism, corruption  many other malfeasance have become the order of the day.

When I came across this buzzword “Lori Iro” meaning, lies upon lies, I pursed and began to ruminate about the meaning of “Lori Iro” a Yoruba vocabulary. I then realized how much trust deficits, dishonesty and lack of transparency can cost a government that prides itself on integrity…. Integrity defines who we are and the reception we receive when we turn up with our green passport abroad is an eloquent testimony of what our nationality has degenerated into.

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. Leadership is about solving problems and giving direction at a time like this.

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND OF TIME ARE NOT MADE WHILE SITTING DOWN. WE SURE NEED TO STAY AWAKE FOR AFRICA.

Odusanya is the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI