By Richard Odusanya
“Africa is behind because Nigeria has not realised her potential. It’s time the leaders rise up because one in every five Africans is a Nigerian.”-PLO Lumumba.
The African continent has lagged in most facets of human development because its largest country Nigeria, has remained a sleeping giant enmeshed in abject poverty due to lack of vision, incompetent leadership from local government to state and finally at the footsteps of the Federal Government. Fraudulent activities in both private and public service have become the order of the day while we all play lip service to what we don’t practice. Corruption has become increasingly difficult to eliminate from the conduct and attitude of Nigerians. The public office holders, civil servants and the youth are not exempted from the malaise of corruption. It has, therefore, become a norm where townsmen/women, old students association, relations, in-laws, members of the church/mosque all await their share of the national cake when the daughter/son of the soil gets political power. And sadly, anyone who does not pacify these people is seen as a fool or failure.
“Under this administration, life has lost its value, and more and more citizens are coming under the influence of criminality. We do not see any evidence of a willingness on the part of President Buhari to honour his oath to provide security for Nigerians. In civilised nations, leaders who fail so spectacularly to provide security will do the honorable thing and resign,” the Northern Elders Forum had said.
Under the Buhari regime in which issues of Nepotism, corruption, banditry, kidnapping, killings and Boko Haramists have been elevated to statecraft, where non-state actors have taken over the functions of the state. The likes of Sunday Adeyemo ‘Igboho’, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi and others have become heroes overnight for taking certain initiatives which would be strange under normal circumstances if we are to put on our thinking caps.
It has been a very difficult time in the Eastern region, and lately the Western parts of the country where, suddenly, a Sunday Adeyemo “Igboho” response to the failure of governance turned into a messiah and liberator, for a sophisticated race, like Yoruba, the descendants of Oduduwa. So appalling and unacceptable but systematic failures turns such men into phenomenal heroes.
The most interesting aspect of the shenanigans going on now is, how is it possible that Sheikh Abubakar Gumi can traverse the forbidden forests, jumping from Zamfara to Kastina and Niger States, navigating and negotiating with bandits and killer herdsmen, but the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, police, state security and other paramilitary forces cannot locate and exterminate the criminals. But they have no problem locating the ESN that do not kill.
Sheikh Gumi took several photographs with the bandits, similar to that of Governors Aminu Masari of Kastina State, and Matawalle of Zamfara State, who regularly holds nocturnal meetings and negotiate with the bandits. It seems everyone has access to the bandits and the killer herdsmen except the Nigerian Military Under the Command Of Major General Muhammad Buhari.
The recent outburst and discordant statements from supposedly statesmen, like Governor Bala Kaura Mohammed’s encouragement of ammunition “AK47” for the Fulani herdsmen as a right. And the recent statement of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on the Southwest Governors position on open grazing. These are what gives people the impression of divisiveness and sectional view of the present administration, apart from the issues of lopsided appointments, including the headships of the three arms of government coming from the same religious and ethnic groups.
When professionalism is turned on its head for mediocrity to prevail, then, it becomes imperative for failure to become the order of the day. And in a situation where the voice of the people is stifled, tribalism, nepotism and religious bigotry is elevated, then, the people are bound to suffer for no fault of theirs.
Time to do the right thing is now. Nigeria is bleeding and under siege.
Odusanya is Convener of Africa Covenant Rescue Initiative (ACRI).9.;o.==