Nigeria is a man-child. It could be likened to a 54-year-old man who has the physical features, size, and behavioural attitudes of a pre-teen child. The oxymoron, Nigeria is a man-child, aptly and fittingly captures Nigeria’s pitiable condition. For all its human and material resources, Nigeria has not joined the league of developed countries. Have Nigeria’s peers not out-paced it in the areas of economic prosperity and technological advancement? Think about Malaysia, Singapore and India.
So, what is wrong with Nigeria? Nothing – absolutely nothing – is basically, congenitally, and intrinsically wrong with Nigeria. Our soil is fertile and arable and our weather conditions equable. Abundant natural resources are deposited beneath our soil. Do acts of God cause destruction of human lives and property in Nigeria as they do in Europe, America and Asia? The answer is a categorical no. We only hear about the devastating effects of typhoon, tsunami, volcanic eruption, and others in countries other than Nigeria. More so, we have an educated populace and skilled manpower that can drive our developmental initiatives. So, why has Nigeria not realized its potentials and become a technologically advanced country? The reason behind our national ills is a total failure of leadership.
Since our attainment of statehood and political sovereignty in 1960, Nigeria has not been led by its best politicians. And it is a known fact that no countries can rise above the visions and leadership qualities of their leaders. The legacy of the imposition of leaders on the populace left behind by our colonial master, Britain, has continued to deal a fatal blow to our national progress. Shehu Shagari, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Olusegun Obasanjo were beneficiaries of our egregious culture of the imposition of leaders on the citizens. But did they positively transform Nigeria? No, they didn’t.
So, the imperative of having an independent and efficient electoral umpire that can conduct free, fair and credible elections cannot be over-emphasized. Sanitizing our electoral process is a sine qua non for national growth. Happily, the national electoral umpire (INEC) didn’t let us down during the 2015 general elections. The elections conducted by INEC passed muster. And, against all expectations, Muhammadu Buhari defeated. Goodluck Jonathan, the then incumbent president, to become our executive president. It was an unprecedented electoral feat.
Now President Muhammadu Buhari is tasked with the onerous and cardinal duty of nation-building. Nobody is in doubt that Nigeria is in dire political and economic straits. No system of doing things works here. That’s why our educational system is dysfunctional and the health sector comatose. The economy is in a tailspin with the concomitant effect of spiralling graduate unemployment. But at the root of our national problems is the issue of corruption. Corruption, which pervades all strata of our national life, has rendered Nigeria prostrate.
So President Buhari’s resolve and efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria are commendable. He should assemble incorruptible men with probity and leadership qualities to form his executive cabinet. We may still find some Nigerian technocrats cum politicians who cannot compromise on their positive morality for the sake of pecuniary enrichment. In this regard, he should look beyond APC and the factor of religion when nominating people for ministerial positions.
Furthermore, he should strengthen the institutions of the state that are tasked with fighting corruption in the country. No acts of corruption executed by anybody, no matter how highly placed, should be condoned. And making examples of perpetrators of corrupt and criminal deeds should serve as deterrence to other would-be perpetrators of corrupt and criminal deeds.
Corruption has become endemic in Nigeria. It has become part of our culture and national ethos. Daily, millions of Nigerians are being socialized into the culture of corruption. Some seemingly educated parents bought SSCE certificates and university admissions for their children by offering monetary inducement to those in charge of SSCE and post-UTME. Their children are now imbued with the erroneous notion and belief that it is not morally wrong for one to circumvent rules and regulations to achieve one’s goals.
It is an indisputable fact that the erosion of moral values in our society is intrinsically linked to our youths’ perpetration of corrupt deeds in our country. Those that perpetrate bad deeds are hailed to high heavens while those that engage in good deeds are vilified, despised and called unprintable and uncharitable names. So, the necessity of effecting moral regeneration among us is overdue. It is a sine qua non in our efforts to reclaim Nigeria from the jaws of systemic corruption.
The family, school, and churches and mosques are agents of socialization. Instead of assisting our children to carry out corrupt deeds that will benefit them, parents, teachers and religious leaders should inculcate in our children the virtues of industry, love, hard work and righteousness. A morally upright youth whose character is set cannot indulge in unwholesome deeds; and he cannot become a religious insurgent or a kidnapper. The bible says this much: “Teach a child the way he should follow and he will not depart from it when he grows up”.
Our today’s political leaders were sired into immoral deeds and weaned on the milk of corruption. So, not surprisingly, they’re imbued with the wrong notions and philosophy regarding leadership. They perceive their occupation of leadership positions as opportunities for them to make good for themselves. Now many states in Nigeria have become insolvent owing to mismanagement and plundering of their financial resources by their governors.
Effecting moral regeneration among us, forming an executive cabinet that is composed of incorruptible people, and strengthening the institutions of state are part solutions to our seemingly intractable national ills.
CHIEDU U. OKOYE
