UNFORTUNATELY, most Nigerians are nothing if not servile in the face of money, and pitilessly weak, in the face of force; and even indulgent before crimes committed in the name of ethnicity. But the greatest danger comes from the complacency and a lack of any profound sense of moral outrage, by the vast majority of the working classes, against those who are actively undermining the economic and political wellbeing of the nation, as long as they are their kith and kin. This is not maligning anyone, but this is saying exactly who we are. It is clear that such a bleak character trait, is hardly uplifting or conducive to the moral exertions required of all of us, in order to wrest our democracy from the fangs of the money-bags, who have demonized and monetized (Nigerianized) it. It is our collective responsibility to do so, not President Jonathan’s alone.

But uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, and therefore, he must bear vicarious responsibility for all the crimes that are tearing Nigeria apart, including those committed at State and Local Government levels of government. The perception is widespread that these negate most of the gains and development advances of his Transformation Agenda. For the sake of preserving his legacy, he should learn that his natural goodnaturedness notwithstanding, crime and punishment must go hand in hand. Government is not a tea party, and among a people generally corrupt, liberty, uncircumscribed by vigilance, cannot long endure. Government to be effectual, needs both “shepherd and butchers.” And more importantly, he must take on board, Hazlitt’s advice that, all reforms except a moral one, will prove unavailing to the true ends of government. In other words, his Transformation Agenda must go hand-in-hand with the moral transformation of the nation.

This means that laws must be vigorously and impartially enforced and crimes must be punished, and seen by the public to be punished. If not, powerful hedonistic oligarchs and hydra-headed crime syndicates in the society will spring-up to challenge the government, with the ability to control and influence governance, whenever it is in their interest to do so. In short, to quote John Calhum, “A power has risen up in the government, greater than the people themselves; consisting of many and various powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the collective power of their vast surplus in the banks.” This is the monster, “crime without punishment” has bred in our society. People who levy economic war against this country, through massive corruption, capable of undermining the nation’s ability to cater for all its citizens, should be regarded as having committed treason against the state, and therefore deserving of the severest punishment, including mandatory imprisonment for life.

In China, where official corruption is equally rife, such crimes attract the penalty of mandatory, summary execution. Unless such a draconian deterrent is put in place, and impartially enforced, this nation is doomed and on its way to becoming a failed state. That is why, despite the plethora of progressive initiatives by the President to better the lives of Nigerians, these have not meaningfully impacted on the life of the ordinary Nigerian. Consequently, a large section of the populace feel they have been wrongfully treated and made to feel like outsiders or supplicants, who don’t belong, have no ancestral tombs to protect, and no heritage or myths to defend, against predatory usurpers, who have combined to afflict the tyranny of wealth and power on the populace. It is this feeling of alienation and condemnation to the ghetto of the disenfranchised and oppressed that has given birth to the upsurge of violence and mindless lawlessness, manifested in acts of terrorism, kidnapping etc, a scourge to which the nation has been subjected for upwards of five years now.

To be truthful, for people quarantined in this ghetto, it will take a prodigious leap of faith for them to be patriotic. Nevertheless, no one in his right mind, can condone these crimes against the Nigerian state, even though the immediate focus and aim of those behind them, is to undermine President Jonathan’s administration and ipso facto, the Nigerian State. The point is, nobody is asked, or compelled to love President Jonathan, or approve of his style of governance, which is presently defined by the barren criticism of faults by those opposed to him, covering all spectrum of our national life. Indeed, there may be much to criticize, based on each individual’s expectations, but this does not give anyone the mandate to diminish his many laudable achievements, or to disrespect the Office of the President, or indeed run him out of office before the appointed time.

Jonathan’s ascendancy of the Presidency of this nation is a mystery – a mystery known only to God. But we are sufficiently forewarned in Scriptures, that God uses the foolish to confound the wisdom of the wise. Only a fool will dare to question or challenge God’s sovereign prerogative in the matter of the choice of those He wished to honour. So, let our focus, devotion or loyalty, not be directed to President Jonathan, whose moment of glory and power is inevitably fleeting and temporary. Rather, let our patriotism be towards the preservation and glory of the fatherland, whose enduring symbol of national unity is the Nigerian Flag. The Nigerian Flag, even more than the Supreme Court of the land, or the Constitution, exudes exemplastic power – the power that has the attribute or potency to fashion all things into one, and cannot whimsically be suspended, or annulled by either the orderly transfer of democratic power, or an illegal military junta.

It is vital that Nigerians should have a proper appreciation of the significance of the National Flag. Indeed, we should each carry a miniature Nigerian Flag fluttering deep in our hearts, and a full-sized one, hanging from the balconies of our home or roof tops on festive occasions, including particularly on Independence Anniversary days. And it should be noted that the Nigerian Flag is not for the exclusive use of government. Every Nigerian should feel able to use it, when appropriate, so as to develop a devotional attachment to the Flag, in the same way that Americans feel a sacred and loving attachment to their National Flag.

The Nigerian Flag is the iconic symbol of our sovereignty. It is there to comfort and unite us in times of national tragedy or joyful national celebration. It embodies the immanent, indestructible soul of the nation. Wherever it flies or flutters majestically in the wind, there our liberty resides. It is irreplaceable as the centripetal element of national identity and unity. The Flag is the only idol we can venerate and worship, without displeasing God in heaven, or incurring the wrath of clay-footed human gods on earth. It is a desecration and an abomination, for officials, who drape themselves with the flag in their exalted offices, to negotiate bribes and indulge in other corrupt practices. By the same token, it gives legitimacy to those who govern, righteously, under its banner.

The President, as the First citizen of this country, is the guardian and incontestable flag bearer, charged with the responsibility of holding it aloft. And as long as he remains the Flag bearer, we, for our own sakes, have a moral obligation and the imperatives of the “Necessity of State”, to stand four-square behind him, until the tenure of his Presidency comes to an end. And we owe the same obligation, to whoever succeeds him as President. To do otherwise, would be to cut our nose, to spite our face.

Even as I write, vultures, (external and internal) are hovering over what they envision will soon become the carcass of a failed Nigerian state, come post-election 2015. Nigeria expects each of us to do his duty, and rally round the Nigerian Flag. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “A Nation never fails, but by suicide.” You and I can prevent Nigeria from becoming a failed state. Even as our mortal enemies close in to dismember our nation, let us not supinely go gentle into the night of national oblivion the enemy is planning for us. Let us, before doom comes, and a curtain of darkness descends on our land, rage and fight against the dying light of freedom, and claim the rebirth of our nation. This is not a favour to President Jonathan, rather it is for the benefit of future generations of Nigerians, whose lives we have compromised, by our collective failures. In the words of Robert Burns, “We will drain our dearest veins, But we shall be free”.

To be a citizen-patriot is easy, because as Martin Luther King Jnr., has observed, “Everybody can be great, because everyone can serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love” – “The Community of Man”.

And so, as 2015 doomsday forecast beckons, let us with hearts full of patriotic zeal, to the Glory of God, join Cecil Spring Rice, in taking the Vow of Patriots:

I vow to thee my country – all earthly things above.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

God bless Nigeria!!!

Itse sagay has always being a shining light in lawless bayelsa.
it probably has more to do with the environment where he has spent most of his life.

Nice and touching; ...but countrymen don't see any reason to take the right steps because the guidelines are often hidden in short essays as this.
Things are trying to fall apart.