Nigerians always blame the government in power
for the problems of the nation even though many
of these preceded the government in power. Why
do we always do this?
For instance, ask any Nigerian what the problem
is with Nigeria and they will say like, Chinua
Achebe, that it is leadership, forgetting that
Nigeria’s leaders come from amongst us; and if
we are saying that our problem is leadership, we
are invariably supporting the racist Rhodesian
doctrine that a black man would thrive best under
white rule.
So if our problem is not leadership, what then is
it?
I propose that our problem in Nigeria is that we
lack a sense of history and we live only in the
present moment which means that we are always
reacting and hardly ever pro-acting.
If my five year old son comes to me and tells me
that he has lost his toy, I would ask him to think
back to the last time that he saw it and begin the
search from there.
Nigeria has seen phenomenal growth in the last
three years with our Gross Domestic Product,
GDP, growing at a rate of over 6% per annum,
making us one of the world’s 10 fastest growing
economies. Yet, we still have areas of Nigeria
where population growth is higher than the
growth rate of our GDP; and it is only common
sense that where population outpaces production,
there will be crisis. This is a theory that Reverend
Malthus propounded and which has stood the test
of time.
Between 1960 when Nigeria got independence and
1966 when we experienced the first military
intervention in governance, Nigeria experienced
phenomenal growth – a feat that has evaded us
since, except for the growth we have had in the
last three years. Almost all of the national
institutions that were responsible for our growth
pre-1999, were products of that first golden era
before the first coup, such as the four great
universities, (Lagos, Ife, Nsukka and Zaria), Kainji
Dam, Nigeria Airways etc.
Also, in the same time period, we had some of the
best civil servants in the world and our public
service was very functional. There were reports
from that era that some of our politicians were
corrupt, but it is universally acknowledged that
our civil servants of those times were above
board. Our hospitals were renowned worldwide
and it will surprise some to note that the Saudi
Royal family received treatment at the University
College Hospital, Ibadan, in the early 60s.
At that time we did not have oil in the quantum
that we have today, yet, the nation was thriving,
we had little or no foreign debt and we were first
amongst equals in the council of emerging
nations that included Indonesia, Brazil and Egypt.
But all these changed after 1966. So, as I would
say to my five year old, if you are looking for a
thing, go back to the last place where you saw it.
That place is 1966!
Pre-1966, admission into primary and secondary
schools was purely on merit. The same was the
case for universities as well as the federal civil
service. After 1966 when the military intervened
and ended the First Republic all that changed and
has remained the same till today.
A child could no longer bank on academic
prowess as the yardstick for his gaining entry
into primary and secondary schools. Children at
their most tender years, when they were being
emotionally scripted, were told that even though
they passed and passed well, they were not good
enough for government funded schools because of
where they came from.
With the Quota system of entrance into public
schools introduced after 1966 and enshrined by
the military into our body polity extant laws,
children as young as nine got to understand that
in Nigeria, where you come from is more
important than how intelligent and hardworking
you are.
Now, the sad thing about the policy of quota
systems is that geneticists in the very best
universities of the world have established that
some races and tribes are not more intelligent
than others and as such you can find intelligence
in almost equal measure wherever you use it as a
yard stick. In fact, many, including the Harvard
Medical Journal, have reported that culture is
more to blame than intelligence for the reason
why some peoples are backward while others are
progressive.
And our culture has been that children who are
more endowed intellectually are held back and
children who could grow their intellectual capacity
are prevented from doing so because there was
no need to challenge them intellectually. Come as
you are, the system says.
This system would probably have brought
minimal damage if it was limited to secondary
schools, but it is not.
After completing secondary school, post 1966
Nigerian youths faced the same issues in gaining
admission to Nigerian universities. Cut off marks
and catchment areas were discriminately
apportioned using region as a yard stick. So, after
being told at age nine that were you came from
was more important than your intelligence or your
academic hard work, the message is reinforced at
age 16-17 when you are still in your formative
years.
At 16, you enter university and study for four or
five years (ASUU permitting) and then graduate
and go through your National Youth Service (one
of the best policies the military bequeathed to
Nigeria) and then you start to look for a job.
The largest employer of labour is the government,
so naturally you start there. And what do you
find? At age 24, just as when you were nine and
sixteen, you are now faced with a policy that says
where you are from is more important than what
you can bring into the system. You are told that
although you are qualified, the system must take
people who are less qualified than you because of
where you are from and where they are from.
So, between the ages of nine and 24, your psyche
has been reinforced and scripted with the
message that where you are from is more
important than what you bring to the table.
Why wouldn’t a post 1966 civil servant face
temptation to steal when merit is not the order of
the day and you are forced to serve under
someone who did not get his placement by merit
– who enjoys perks and privileges far in excess of
you? How can such a system promote morale and
how can you have efficiency where morale is low?
Prior to 1966, an Nnamdi Azikiwe could win
election in Ibadan and an Umoru Altine could win
election as the first mayor of Enugu, but how can
we replicate that ideal when, in every form you
have filled since the age of 6, your ethnicity, state
of origin and religion has mattered more than
your Nigerianness. But whenever you watch
television in the 1980s you see the MAMSER
directorate showing you clips of your leaders
telling you that where you come from does not
matter and what matters is that “we are all
MAMSER people who want the basic things of
life”.
It is not until you get to your 30s and you watch
as those same leaders that sold you and your
parents that line form themselves into Northern
and Southern Political Leaders Forum that you
realized that you have been had!
And then young people who through no fault of
their own have been conditioned to only live in
the moment are then manipulated by these same
set of leaders to begin to blame the government
of the day for crumbling infrastructure that has
been neglected for years and is only now being
addressed after decades of neglect for the simple
reason that we now have a leader who emerged
not through the establishment but through events
that could only be described as divine. And then
you wonder, do they know their friends from their
enemies? I mentioned Kainji Dam earlier but
young people would be surprised to note that
between 1979 and 1999 no new power plants
were initiated and the one commissioned in 1982
was initiated in 1978! Yet, these same young
people egged on by those who have milked the
system in that time frame point accusing fingers
at the man who is making a difference.
Take something as universal as power. In Nigeria,
history has been made as the power sector has
just been privatized by President Goodluck
Jonathan in fulfillment of the promises he made
to Nigerians when he launched the Roadmap to
Power Sector Reforms on August 26th 2010. But
before then, Nigeria has and is still suffering from
chronic power shortages.
Now, power is one of those industries that rely
strictly on efficient manpower in order to function
properly. But power has been exclusively managed
and operated by the government. Now who would
the government hire to run our power plants,
transmission grids and their commercial offices?
Of course it would be Nigerian citizens.
Now, are those citizens the very best Nigeria has?
No! These are citizens employed as part of the
federal civil service that depends not on merit but
on ethnicity for its hiring. So, what then do
Nigerians expect from such a venture?
You can repeat this for our refineries, airports,
railways, sea ports, and other vital national
institutions.
It is a notorious fact (yes, that phrase again) that
you are only as strong as your weakest link.
Therefore, where you have not taken in the best
right from secondary up to university and up to
the civil service, your system is only as strong as
the least endowed person.
To put this into perspective, if you have a school
entry system that gives someone who scored 2
admission, and stops someone who scored 290
from getting admitted, your system is only as
strong as a 2.
The saddest thing is that if he knew that he
would only get in if he had a 290 and nothing else
would ensure he gets in, he would be forced to
build his capacity to at least a 290. It is called
competition and that is what existed between
1960 and 1966.
That, my people, is the problem with Nigeria.
President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership
he offers to Nigeria is not our problem. As a
matter of fact, it is part of our solutions. Why do I
say this? Because this is a man who has seen
that even though we have made phenomenal
progress in the last three years such as we have
never witnessed between 1966 till date, yet we
can do better.
And speaking as a private citizen, it is my hope
that the coming national conference would look
into these issues and go back in time to the place
where we lost it.
Reno Omokri is Special Assistant (New Media) to
the President.

www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/146038-real-problem-nigeria-reno-omokri.html

Gibberish what a waste of time. Thanks for the needless research we all know this anyway. I was expecting a funky ending. Mr man Jonathan is not the saviour. I know you are doing what you are payed to do. Job sickers allows as usual.

slimfit1:
Gibberish

Do you know the meaning of gibberish?

Op u are one of the people dat refuse to wake up from d slumber of ignorance nd naiveness.who do u want to blame if nt our leader?Oh or are u blaming the weak and helpless masses?Mcheewww

vb0mb:


Do you know the meaning of gibberish?

No there is no dictionary in my library.

This is not gibberish, but a complete rubbish.
If a committed, disciplined and skillful leader is in place, all other things would simply come together.

@OP: a good Example for you: if daddy is a crack head and mummy is also a prostitute, there is 95% chance that the kids would turn out to be useless and confused.

Leadership is a serious business and it remains the number one problem we have in Nigeria for over 35 years now.
I must confess that things will not change until Nigerians start using their heads and elect real leaders, and not criminals, thieves and hopeless leaders (eg: Fayose).

There is nothing new Fayose could bring or offer, but craziness and confusion. therefore, Ekiti people haven't seen nothing yet...this is just the beginning.

I disagree with this article. Leadership is our problem.

I thought it is the job of a leader to state the problems clearly, analyze them and implement practical solutions within specific timeline. If your strategy and results fall short of expectations, admit your mistakes and move on.

This article clearly articulated that our problem did not just start today. The problem of corruption, power, regionalism, tribalism, religious intolerance, social infrastructure deficit, economic injustice and other regressive problems has always been around for more than 54 years.

I thought leaders create vision, mission and take initiative to solve problems. Leaders are elected to change status quo based on vision.
Lets take corruption for example; Having agreed that corruption is a cancer that needs to be eliminated completely, else the country is going no where. It is the job of the leader to understand the fundamental causes of corruption, effect of it on the nation, and to articulate vision, mission, strategy to eliminate it completely, resources needed (human, financial, and others) implementation, timeline and success/failure KPI's.
Now after implementation of blueprint/strategy within stipulated timeline (more than 2 years), and corruption is worst than ever before. Then, should we still call that person a leader and is that person worthy of the position?

Everything rises and fall on leadership; including direction of the economy, culture, corruption, standards, profligacy, incompetency, nepotism and others based on expected leadership influence cascading from the top. People elect their leader based on perceived strong ability (value addition), capacity, personality that deviate from status quo to improve moral, living and economy standards. Are we be better as a country, or are we regressing based on results? Is the leader still worthy of the position?

I thought leaders accept responsibilities for their actions and inactions. It is so easy to point fingers, or blame others for your responsibilities when things are not going well. Can the leader who blame others for problems they caused be trusted? Are we sure he's not going to do the same over and over?

I will choose integrity above any other character in this next coming election. "say what you mean and mean what you based on your history". I will choose courage over weakness "discipline to do what is right, and not what is popular" and lastly, I will vote to eliminate completely ordinary stealing and corruption from our society.