The African trajectory and tragedy of poor leadership: Nigeria a classic example of worsening insecurity

“When a government becomes powerful it is destructive, extravagant and violent; it is a usurper which takes bread from innocent mouth and deprives honorable men of their substance, for votes with which to perpetuate itself.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

The recent events, policy somersault, double talk and inter agency rivalry among themselves in the same government in Nigeria is worrisome and has become increasingly intolerable.

The negative trends in the country are unceasing and incessant, they rather get complicated or sophisticated over time. Nowadays, the headlines we wake up with is mostly about murders, kidnapping, rape, banditry, genocide, and accidents. Little wonder whether the government have lost control or there is a hidden agenda to all we see. Everyone irrespective of how much you earn or make in Nigeria should be very concerned.

Nigeria as a nation with over 200 million population and the largest democracy in the continent of Africa with its attendant challenges, is becoming a failed state. Terrorism is having a field day in northern part of Nigeria, especially. Issues of kidnapping of school pupils at different times is apparently looking much more like a movie with series of episodes, with claims and counter claims.

Governors laying claim to the successful return of the supposedly kidnapped pupils, military claiming to have rescued the kidnapped pupils without any threat or ransom paid. The supposedly kidnapped pupils in a science secondary school virtually all of them could not speak a word in English and are going through debriefing, what to say, how they were kidnapped and the identity of their kidnappers.

Currently, kidnapping, and armed banditry has become a lucrative business Ventures in Nigeria. We are in this vicious cycle because the nation’s leadership has failed to take assertive and proactive actions to curb this menace because we are “playing politics” with our security.

Apparently, these banditry issues will escalate the kidnapping of school kids now that they know the government will rush to negotiate and pay for their release and proceeds of ransom will then be used to buy more arms. Kidnapping is gradually becoming another way of providing jobs for the boys!

The height of Impunity! Insanity!

The most recent of the policy somersault is the NIN registration codes for telephones in the period of second wave of pandemic. The current government has not disappointed in their legacy of always making the wrong decisions at the wrong time.

The whole NIN compliance issue could be addressed later when another wave of COVID-19 outbreak was not imminent but government policies and pronouncements, lately contradicts their position on fight against covid-19. This whole “brouhaha” to serve as a distraction to lure people’s attention away from their abysmal terrible handling of everything.

Majority of the citizens, even at the height of government administrative insanity and impunity are still cajoled to comply to every garbage and rubbish by the “evil” administration. They seem to somehow carry everyone along to be mute, trust “GOD” and just “follow, follow”, even if no one wants to be a scaped goat, even when we all have become caged in a dilemma worse than that of a scaped goat, including the leaders themselves too.

A young man was interviewed regarding the NIN registration process, the man claimed it was quite easy to acquire because his friend worked in that office, and therefore had assisted him to get it quick and easy.

Who knows, perhaps the government agencies, who are also their “paddy” pick up a few sycophantic folks to defend their absurd decisions and ideas, which has been the common trend of the current administration. They regularly induce the citizens to “acclimatize” to every form of impunity. What a failure they are!

It is not until majority of the compatriots begin to get actively concerned and become more involved to demand government accountability. We all must come to the point where we develop this positive and responsible attitude towards our own lives and that of the future generations to come, there might not be a change, only deterioration, sadly.

As the saying goes “Revolutions are not made by men in spectacles. “-Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1871.

“No one makes a REVOLUTION by himself, and there are some REVOLUTION which humanity accomplishes without quite knowing how, because it is everybody who takes them in hand.”-GEORGE SAND 1851

Odusanya is the convener of AFRICA CONVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE (ACRI)