Since independence, Nigerians have been presented with various policies by different political leaders at state and national levels. These policies in most cases have not met their objectives. The motivation for this piece is the inability of various governments to see to a logical conclusion various policies. What could have been responsible for a performance that is below par in most cases in the implementation of policies cannot be explained by this writer. This writer is of the view that most times there is lack of political will by various governments which has disabled success of policies despite the nation’s capabilities.
It is known that democracy is a complex system of government with many players and varying personal interests. On many occasions a phrase such as ‘national interests’ has been defined and analyzed but nothing has been heard about Nigeria’s national vision. This piece is not to condemn previous or contemporary policies, strategies and visions of any particular government or leader but to rethink if Nigeria needs a national vision.
A national vision is that which will be regarded as the strategic intent of the entire people of Nigeria. It is not the vision of an individual, neither is it that of an ethnic group nor a religious body. It is a vision of all Nigerians, irrespective of socio-cultural backgrounds, that seeks to chart an economic and social growth with a clear strategy about actualization. It is from such a vision that leaders in all strata of the society will draw inspiration whenever they occupy any public office.
Ideally it is expected that most times national leaders would always leverage on opportunities to dream and most importantly to act, while the most effective ones provide a vision to effectively create wealth for citizens. Wise leaders know the direction in which they will like their country to advance, balancing the interests of current and future generations.
Unfortunately, when those perceived as national leaders in Nigeria are leaving office regardless of their policies, they end up creating challenges for children yet unborn. Why is this so?
Since the beginning of democratic governance in Nigeria, the nation has seen policies of government and visions which reflect where national leaders want the nation to be. Nigerians regarded as men and women of goodwill have crafted the Vision 20:2020 for Nigeria to enable her be among the 20 most industrialized countries in the world. These Nigerians are regarded as ‘thoughtful doers’ who, by this writer’s assessment, love their country, and are patriotic. They deserve to be commended.
Though we have five more years to get to the year 2020, economic challenges which the Vision was initially intended to solve appear to be disabling factors for successful implementation. Since the APC government claims it met an ‘empty treasury’, it could be deduced that the nation’s economy is depressed. If our nation continues in this path of ‘treasury looting’, how do we get a generation of leaders who will lead and implement various reforms with the ultimate aim of improving governance?
Leadership is absolutely key but not sufficient to take the nation out of the woods. Ability, integrity, commitment, and vision are values that those to be regarded as national leaders must possess in order to get Nigeria out of its current economic woes.
You do not need Pythagoras theorem to solve the problem of corruption in the society where an ex-president was reported to have said that ‘corruption is not stealing’. However, a leadership scholar believes that ‘corruption is worse than prostitution, the latter might endanger the morals of an individual, and the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country’.
There is a report that Norway has avoided the ‘curse of oil’ by having the sum of US$ 800 billion in its sovereign wealth account. This fund, according to the report, ‘owns 1.0 percent of the entire world’s stocks, and is big enough to make every citizen a millionaire in the country’s currency, the kroner’. The report further says that Norwegians do not regard themselves as rich because they know that savings from the sale of crude oil is for the future to take care of unborn Norwegians. Indeed, a professor from the Norwegian School of Economics says, ‘We trust the government, we believe our tax money will be spent wisely’ (www.bbc.com accessed on 24 Jul, 15). As a Nigerian, do you trust governments at federal, state and local levels, and believe that taxes and revenues in federation account as well as the excess crude oil account will be spent wisely? Your response is as good as mine. Having gone this far, let me state that Nigeria as the ‘giant of Africa’ needs a vision. Without a vision, our nation cannot grow.
If a survey was to be conducted as to what is the vision of majority of Nigerians in all the six geopolitical zones of the country, you will be bewildered with visions that are likely to be 180 degrees out of phase from each other. It is likely that the vision of a geopolitical zone would be self-determination, while others will yearn for state creation when about 50 percent of states cannot pay workers’ salaries. Others may want to have absolute control of resources in their zones forgetting that in the past that they benefitted from monies realized from other zones’ resources. Interestingly, the vision of the incumbent president of Nigeria is likely to be different from that of his predecessors. Do not worry, these capricious and antagonizing visions are expected because of our socio-cultural and developmental differences which over time have pervaded the entire nation. If our collective goal is the same as a nation, it is time to have a shared vision. Without a vision the country cannot survive in a global competitive landscape.
For a start, it would be most appreciated if President Buhari presents his vision to Nigerians. He must stick to his vision. It is this vision that Nigerians will use as a gauge to assess him and his yet-to-be appointed members of cabinet. The vision must be broad-based, to enable Nigerians align themselves with the vision. As President Buhari leads, Nigerians follow. Above all, our leaders must be prepared to make necessary sacrifices for national greatness with the needed courage and stoicism. God bless Nigeria.
MA Johnson
