[size=15pt]FORENSIC FORCE: 140 million liabilities
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Salisu Suleiman

October 22, 2009 10:57PMT
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Nigeria has had leadership of all hues - the good, the bad, the ugly and the inordinately slow. Some of our leaders have been assets, but collectively, they represent a profile in moral and fiscal bankruptcy.

Leadership is a product of societies and people get the leaders they deserve (since we refuse to fight for real elections). And just like our leaders, if you gather all Nigerians on a scale, you will end up a nation of 140 liabilities. All international agencies tell us we are 151 million, but the government is yet to count the last 11 million.

No doubt, there are millions of intelligent, honest and hardworking people in Nigeria. These people would gladly be accepted anywhere in the world because they have made giant strides in as many fields as one can think of.

But on the other side of the scale are more millions of small time crooks, petty thieves, corporate criminals and unprincipled politicians who contribute nothing to Nigeria. Added to our national balance sheet, these liabilities would leave us lurching in deep red.

We live in permanent darkness and unending thirst; our roads are from a war zone; our hospitals fast lanes to hell; our schools churn out illiterates; our leadership is corrupt and comatose. But have we not, in our own small ways, contributed to this sorry state?

From the petrol station attendant who tinkers with dispensing machines; the clerk who hides files; the businessman without rules; the banker averse to ethics; the judge who auctions justice; the lawyer who sells out his clients; the teacher who solicits favours from students; the farmer who hides rotten foodstuff under fresh to the hawker in traffic who runs away with your change -the list is endless.

Think of the bread seller who gives you stale bread and tells you it is fresh, or the policeman who asks for bribes, then charges you for bribery, and finally asks for a bigger bribe to drop the initial bribery charge. What about the driver who obeys no known rules and laws of driving, or the doctor, whose malpractice sends patients to early graves, then hides the evidence?

Why do we begin meetings with prayers and end with prayers, but in between plot how to defraud our country? Given various tasks, one group is thinking of how to place shorter adverts, another is thinking of how to settle for cheaper hotels, and a third is thinking of how to hire cheaper transport - again the list is endless.

Even in the conduct of our personal affairs, do we add value to Nigeria? Parents that can afford to, take their children to schools known for having unusually high pass rates. Another name for it is ‘organized' exams malpractice. Do they have the moral imperative to now blame government for falling standards of education?

These days, if you have a grudge against the government (don't we all?) and happen to be from the Niger Delta, just look for an oil or gas pipeline and blow it up.

And government will grant you amnesty. (Though if you are Boko Haram, run for your life!) If you want to loot public funds from state institutions or banks, don't take millions. Grab several billions, so that when you are caught, you can pay off the police, the judiciary, the media, the probe panels, and indeed, public opinion. And live happily ever after.

Once in office, elected or rigged officials very often fail the very first test: the test of character and intrinsic values. They often fall into the trap of regional, ethnic or religious sentiments. And because they are unable to see beyond their very noses, the larger picture would elude them. With elements like this aboard, the red blotch on Nigeria's scorecard becomes a screaming scarlet, straining the scales further into negative territory.

It is only when we discipline ourselves individually; when professionals from all sectors of national life conduct themselves ethically; when students and teachers embrace genuine academic pursuits; when public servants and politicians imbibe the concept of good governance, only then can we add value to Nigeria.

Indeed, it is only when we are able to come together as Nigerians, review our biases, accept our shortcomings and forge alliances to challenge the deficit of leadership we are confronted with at the federal, state and local government levels can we begin to see our huge population as potential assets, and not liabilities.

In the meantime, when you think of 140 million Nigerians (or 151 million), ask yourself: what is our collective worth?

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