NIGERIA: THE HELL OF A NATION AND THE TRAVESTY FROM WORSE TO A GARBAGE By: Lateef Adewale

Been a Nigerian can be gratifying, yet disappointing because of the challenges and usual awkwardness at the face of disappointment on national affairs. For those who tasted the sauce in the pre-independent era and those who were born few years after the independent, it will be a rare testament of a tale far confusing to compare the past with the presents as the country continue to struggle and dwindle in the hand of opportunist leaders.

Coming out of the colonial rule, the independent looked promising as people were pretty confidence it would inspire development and lay the foundation for better Nigeria where common will of the people will be achievable without any complication.
What appeared a mission, a vision and aspiration for the nationalist fathers soon appeared the bane on which the future of the country is ruined.
Certain issues that were abandon for the cause of independent began to reappear and the political elites worsened it with their claims of ethnic superiority, prowess and potentials.

It was realistically impossible to integrate the diverse culture, customs and realities of each ethnic group that were bonded to stand as one Nigeria. Had it not being for the adoption of regional system, the whole adventure would have ended at the initial stage of the independent.

However the issue of power concentration was still a problem because there was a feeling that the regional system did not favor a particular tribe, or rather, put a tribe in advantage over the others. And with the activities of the political parties in each of the region there was need to set up national parties where each ethnicity would be represented. At first, it was aimed to foster unity and the spirit of togetherness but it would only promote selfishness, greediness and sentimentalism which were some of the reasons responsible for military intervention.

Maybe Nigerians deserve apology from the military set up who forced themselves into power by means of violence and conspiracies. Undoubtedly they had no idea of what leadership meant, in their own term any officer that was able to plot his sting successfully was qualified enough to hijack the government. There was no justification for military rule, and the country will rue the consequences as long as there is room for retired officers in our democratic settings.

The most regrettable error of the men in khaki was Biafra war, where thousands of Nigerians were killed in cold blood by engrossed officers who did not want peace for the country. No matter how much we tried to erase the sad memories, the unborn generation would know that the foundation of a better Nigeria was ruined by retired ex military head of states and their officer's.

Another highlight of military flaw was annulment of MKO Abiola June 1993 election by General Ibrahim Babangida who claimed to be influenced by northern leaders at the time to deny Abiolas mandate. It was a pure act of criminality and deserved to face the wrath of the law when the country returned to civilian rule but the northern leaders were so quick to figure out what could be a deserving punishment for Babangida and that led to selection of one of their cabal from Yoruba land who could pretend to be a messiah he did not fit to be.
If there was any opportunity for Nigeria to break, it was in 1999 because it was meant to inspire new dynamics but years later the whole plan began to pan out as military agenda continue to dominate democratic dispensation. The reality is simple, Nigeria will never grow inasmuch as we continue to give space for any retire military officerat any level of government. There should be no room for them because the blood of innocent Nigerians that were killed during Biafra war and June 12 1993 incident would continue to curse their governance.

The Obasanjo/Atiku regime will forever be remember for lack of direction and misconception on what is good or bad for the people of Nigeria which amount to administrative war, segregation and political bidding throughout their second term in office. Prior to last election Obasanjo and Atiku were sworn enemies who still nursed their political hullabaloo for an agenda not related to the benefit of Nigerians in any respect.
Which government has ever care? , perhaps one, but it was unfortunate he didn’t last his tenure. He was the only president ever in the history of Nigeria who truly understand his role and the essence of the office on the day to day survival of Nigerians.

A Nigeria president must be working, thinking and acting for Nigerians. In a situation where you have personalities that are working for themselves, running a selfish agenda under a certain president, then that president is a president of himself, his family and his political parties.
We are who we are today, and where we are because we have not had any president who practically fits the role, someone who understand the core values of emotion and salvation. Not every messiah must be a Jesus, The great Nelson Mandela sacrificed his ego to steer a course against apartheid era in South Africa and he became a global hero after the struggle.

As our national anthem stated , our heroes had live in the past. We always pray that their struggle for independence should never be in vain and yet we continue to have villains at the helms of affair. In the most realistic sense, the current Nigeria is more like a nude experiment at a market square by sets of individuals practicing madness.

It is only in Nigeria that the qualities of a good governance is only read in book. No teacher in his/her good sense would reckon any of Nigeria president during military or democratic era as an exemplary leader to his or her student. And yet, we vote during every election.
Governance is a social contract and the contribution of each parties involves should be respected regardless of who wield the supreme authority. In this climate where government engages professional liars in governance, it is challenging to find connection between what is said, what is done and the way things are run from the federal level to the local governments.

Over the years, Nigerians have been facing much the same difficulties which are lack of basic amenities, inflation and hike in exchange rate. meaning, It has taken Nigeria more than 60 years still struggling to provide basic infrastructures despite our resource's and the rates of government borrowing.
The lack of transparency and accountability in the system has made it so easy for government to just borrow whatever trillions they desire when their usual money-hunger syndrome began instead of investing on national development.

Nigeria politics is the biggest fraud in the whole world. There is No difference between our political parties, or the office holders. We are operating a system where there is no distinguished factors between political parties or their outputs. The drama that has surrounded the Edo governorship election should be enough to embarrass the political elites. The desperation engulfing the pre-election process is not good for the people of the states presently or for future and it raise questions about the need for governance when none of the competing parties had ever done any good for the people of the state.

Our chance to effect change is so thin and seem unrealistic. It would only take a abusive husband to let go of a beautiful wife except there is a purposeful in-law who would not want their daughter to die untimely. A thief will always try everything possible to get away from the scene either by killing or intimidate them. And this is exactly the state of affairs in the country where common people has become a sacrificial lamb and a tool to get to power.

What has any president, governors, and senators offered the masses? Death, poverty, unemployment, degradation and even putting the country and states on external debts far beyond what a messiah would be capable to pay off.
Governance should be made for those who have the academic and mental capacity to interpret the roles and responsibilities of the government. In the past, we have had series of individual whose abilities were not best for leadership roles. And it was evident in their performance and interpretation of issues.

Most times it is hard to find the relationship between what people want and what government consider necessary because they just don’t know what a particular situation demands and lack the pragmatic capacity to tackle problems. For instance, security issues in the north has persisted beyond normalcy and yet it would continue from administration to another without clarity or particular effort to surmount insurgency or fish out their sponsors’.

The league of the past administration and the present have questions to answer!, Nigerians needs to know why the country has become ungovernable, why our common problems are unsolvable and perhaps why we cannot do whatever it takes to secure the future of the country.
The administration of former President Good luck Jonathan was ruined by mockery and pre-planned activities to sabotage the affairs of the country. Rather than giving strategic advises, the opposition party was having fun when Nigerians were getting killed like chickens.

Our Democracy is beyond tragedy, far worse than the anguish of the slave trade era to the common people. Nothing could be more devastating than been trapped in a political vicious circle and instead of encouraging positive changes, government continue to add to the predicament by usual trivialization of issues. For example, someone is alleged to have mismanaged public funds, he was summoned by set of Comedian in the Assembly and suddenly began to imagine himself in a theatre location where live and death is only determine by the scripts. In another scene, there was a reported case of embezzlement in certain ministry and the next minute they set the office on fire to escape probe. Or a certain officer is alleged for corruption, to avoid trial he jumps to the ruling party to have his corrupt cases buried without questioning.

The road to the new Nigeria is clear, the only stumbling occlusion is our mindset. As a country, we are in a big mess. It will take radical approaches and tenacity to free our soul and mentality from political captivity which has not yield and will never account any good result for Nigerians.
Some issues are surreptitious. The government perversion to reality is beyond democracy scope. If something is wrong, the essence of having government is to get it right. Our democratic journey has been hell and the greatest enemy of this country is the government.

Taking responsibility is part of Democracy and to survive our present predicaments we may have to go extra length as people to pursue our desire. A nation needs purposeful leaders to excel. There is no known magic for development without the commitment of visionary leaders. In fact, the level of development in any country of the world often replicates the image and character of their leaders.
99% of Nigerians prayer would be answered if we are lucky enough to have a government that sees to the need of the people. A government that won't get trampled by the wishes of political Godfather's or play to the tune of selfish Allies.

The recent accusations of the presidency against the northern elders on insecurity issues gives a clue about how useless the government has become. With almost half of the Federal government annual expenditure spent on insecurity in the North, the number of criminals, bandits and insurgents of different kind continues to multiply in the region. One thing is certain, it is either the security budget are being spent for the insurgents upkeep or shared by Northern Leaders and security chiefs.

It is clear that our expensive political system is not ideal . It will never work because it attracts all form of corruption, tricks and drama that are purposefully designed to steal from national wealth by any possible means regardless of the effect on the masses.

Our hope as people is restructuring and new constitution which will state clearly how the power should be rotated and how appointments will be shared among the ethnic diversity to address Northern Monopoly and reduced political prominence . Also, the reformation will also define punishment for corrupt politicians and re-assess the terms of operation of national forces among other things.

We are in a generation where the youths have become delusional about the processes, sacrifices and perseverance it requires to get rich. The youths have turned corrupt politicians to role models because of expensive and extravagant lifestyle. And the consequence will be that those that are corrupt will continue to be corrupt and inspire more and more people to see corruption as usual norm.

Any hope for desired Nigeria would remain fantasy, a dream and unimaginable nightmare with the degree of insanity and general decadence in our administrative system inspired by money-bag politics. until the people decides to break free from “ e nor concern me syndrome “ and speak in one voice against the usual subservient excuses in addressing our common problems, our power to effect changes will continue diminish until no hope remains for moral sanctity.

Your write up is a bit too long ops but I can see your pain about Nigeria's travesties. I share in your pains. Sadly in next two months it will clock 60years as a nation and it has not yet solved its basic problems.

It is still a long way into the nights and I don't know how soon we will see the dawning of a new country or countries.

You said my mind

No put sand for my gari Na....