This Wicked Generation of Leaders: The Agony of a Very Confused People

By

Marcus A. Eze

marcopoloplus2000@yahoo.com

The response of Nigerians to the massive corruption, mismanagement and abuse of power by this generation of leaders is difficult to explain. Normal human beings would have long exhausted the ability to absorb pain and suffering, but how can one explain Nigerians? Would it be right to assume Nigeria is cursed or that Nigerians are simply fools to think of a second term for these rogues? Trying to understand the behavior of Nigerians is difficult, but some seem to think the people are simply confused.

Let’s begin with the choice of the leaders by Nigerians. Knowledge is a powerful source of power, and wealth. Knowledge also becomes easily outdated and one can fall behind in today’s knowledge explosion. Little wonder, people are constantly updating their knowledge. More adults are acquiring more education as can be seen with many evening programs, online programs etc.

To be an effective leader, one must have a solid knowledge base and it is unfortunate Nigerians have never elected leaders well equipped to manage the economy effectively. For instance, in the civilized world, it is common to hear a President is a product of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Oxford and in Nigeria we have U.I., A.B.U, and Unilag etc. But this has never been important even amongst educated Nigerian voters.

Amongst people that have been Presidents of Nigeria, only Nnamdi Azikiwe had college education worthy of note. In 1979, Shagari was elected over Obafemi Awolowo with sound, and impeccable credentials and solid managerial background. In 1993, Nigerians came near installing a chartered Accountant as President. In 1999, Nigerians elected Obasanjo (who was the first to voluntarily handed over power to civilians) over Harvard educated Olu Falae.

Across the Atlantic, with a troubled U.S. economy, economic analysts are confident that George Bush being the first M.B.A. to be President is very capable of handling the situation. Back in Nigeria, when Universities introduced evening MBA and LLB programs, there was a mad rush by professionals to acquire either the LLB or MBA. In this rush to acquire more knowledge we have seen such Nigerians as late Joseph Garba, Mohammed Buba Marwa and others become Harvard educated. The Diyas, Jemibewons, Madakis, Ibrahim Harunas became Lawyers. No one knows why Babangida, Abacha and Buhari never went to improve themselves. Dr. Yakubu Gowon went to England to acquire more knowledge, and even Alex Ekwueme added more feathers to his cap. The awareness is there for the need for more knowledge in Nigeria, but why is this not a factor in choosing a leader? Why does Nigerians insist on having ignorant people lead them when this may be one of the major reasons the management of the economy seems to have no direction?

As 2003 draws near, again there is the usual line up, Buhari, Babangida, and Obasanjo. Obasanjo is aware of the handicap and could this be the reason for his frequent travels in search of knowledge that could help him? Nigerians presented Obasanjo as the best Nigeria could produce but this is misleading. The world has seen the man for who he is and why Nigeria chose him could be simply explained by the fact that the people are confused. The whole irony is that new graduates can’t get a job because according to employers, these graduates lack experience. What experience did Obasanjo, Buhari and Babangida bring into the Presidency other than that they are accomplished coup plotters? What does Nigeria consider relevant qualifications for holding offices that make decisions that impact the entire country? A History graduate was once appointed Governor of the Central Bank with only experience as Editor of a regional newspaper. From there, this same person became Finance Minister managing the Nigerian economy. Obviously, it appears such positions were zoned to the North at that time, but the north has experienced people in the relevant field who could do a better job. Why is Nigeria more interested in mediocrity and other factors that bear no relevance to effective running of whatever sector of Government?

Today, hunger, starvation, insecurity, lack of health and hospital facilities, lack of pipe borne water, fake drugs, un-motorable roads, non-payment of salaries, lack of electricity, fuel scarcity, high unemployment are being used as legitimate instruments of governance– thanks to this generation of leaders. High inflation has priced essential commodities out of the reach of the common men and women, coupled with unpaid salaries for as much 7 months and up to one year and this is true– Nigeria is the fifth largest supplier of oil to United States of America. How have Nigerians been coping in the face of a deplorable standard of living? To answer this question, one has to look back to the era of the new found oil wealth. There was plenty of money, embezzlement and corruption and ostentation became the order of the day. Contracts were awarded to friends and family with no experience and mobilization fees  were paid out and the party began for a few privileged people. Then the military struck on July 29, 1975 led by Murtala Muhammed and his gang of anti-corruption crusaders. Among the crusaders were Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari and others. Murtala did not live long enough to show his true colors but the members of his gang that still live today are living testimonies of what that regime may have turned out to be. By 1985 when Babangida finally took over, corruption became institutionalized and the decline of the economic fortunes took a steady course with only a few beneficiaries.

Again, how have the people coped with hunger and starvation over the decades of misrule? Schools began to be shut down as teachers were unpaid, government began to owe workers and pensioners salaries, children began to hawk drinking water to help their parents make money to survive, some turned to armed robbery, others became more creative by developing scams and 419 scoops etc., others fled Nigeria in search of green card for survival.

The vast majority of Nigerians unfortunately belong to the group that has children hawking water and other small wares to make a living in the face of months of unpaid salaries. Nigeria’s higher institutions are usually shut for more than half of the regular session either because lecturers are on strike or the students are mourning a gunned down mate. When college is in session, lecturers are selling handouts to supplement or substitute their income whichever is the case. The irony is that this suffering in the land cuts across ethnicities and different religions.

Public Safety and Insecurity:

Nigeria is unsafe as there are many unsolved murders and crimes and the populace go indoors as early as 7pm. No city in Nigeria has an emergency response plan or even a public safety network. When there is a national disaster, the government is beaten hands down as government is usually unprepared. The National Police force is not catered for as they too have been paid their salaries late or denied years of promotion. Unfortunately, though the Police know who to blame, they turn the public into victims and exhort them till their blood is dry. How on earth can a hungry and deprived police guarantee a safe and secure environment? It took the Police to go on strike for the government to become sensitive and release money that is owed the suffering Police. Further, the organizers of the strike were punished because Government had no intentions of paying or promoting the policemen. WHAT A WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS!

Unpaid Salaries

In several states of Nigeria, workers are being owed salaries for over 7 months and in some cases for almost one year. In the face of resentment and indignation of the masses, some of these leaders have approached opinion leaders/molders- spiritual leaders to buy their conscience and remain quiet. A Bishop in Awka is reported to have rebuffed a state Governor who gave a large sum as donation to the church when schools were closed in his state and teachers and workers owed several months in salaries.

WHAT A WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS!

Even the NBA in that state had to give the Governor an ultimatum to pay the salaries. Are these the kind of leaders Nigerians should be giving a second term? Refusal to pay salaries is a definite way of forcing people into starvation and struggle for survival. Our children are hawking water instead of being in school, the youth are taking to paid hit squads and armed robbery and the clever ones are taking to 419 – all these caused and induced by THIS WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS!

How about the senior citizens? They too are being owed arrears of pension and in most cases their pension has not been realistically adjusted to inflation. WHAT A WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS!

Lack of Healthcare/Hospitals and Influx of fake drugs

There is no medical care in Nigeria as most of the hospitals are ill equipped and have no drugs. Even where equipped the medical care is priced out of the reach of the common man. People of means can afford the National Hospital in Abuja or fly overseas while the rest end up consuming fake drugs and finally wasting away in prayer houses. Drug abuse is rampant in Nigeria as prescription drugs are dispensed over the counter to helpless patients. Medical care is necessarily expensive even in the U.S., Europe, Asia everywhere no wonder why countries have health insurance schemes.

Nigeria has had a national health insurance scheme on the drawing board for years without implementation. How can the scheme work without a national identifier? The national identity scheme could have filled the void, but Obasanjo instead of promoting the many vital uses of a national identifier in economic planning presented it as a voter registration tool. A section of the country has rejected the idea, and the real value of a national identifier lost because of ignorance on the part of government. What has the President learnt about national identifiers in his many travels? The national id scheme will for some time be resented even though the amount of money invested is colossal and perhaps absurd.

But there are Nigerians all over benefiting from the status quo. They postulate and pontificate over the internet and pages of newspapers offering meaningless excuses for Government’s ineffectiveness and wickedness. This group of Nigerians is often motivated by greed and selfishness borne out of either monetary gratification or tribal and ethnic sentiments.

Lack of Pipe borne water

The taps are dry and water is now profitable business as water is sold in tankers just like gasoline. When the British left Nigeria to self-governance, they left the water pipes flowing with water. In some cases, there were pipe bursts due to water pressure. Today, the pipes, and taps are dry and people draw water from bacteria infested sources. If CNN talks about it, Government will issue denials and attack the CNN by name calling. Surprisingly, the Nigerian press gang up against the truth while the masses suffer. But behind the yards of our wealthy leaders are boreholes for clean water supply. WHAT A WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS!

Unmotorable roads, No Electricity and Poor Communication

There is absolutely nothing new to write about Nigerian roads, electricity or communication. Those who care should travel to Nigeria and see how long a 30 minute drive takes on Nigerian roads.  Our leaders surprisingly drive their Lexus and Mercedes on these roads, but the President was a Commander of Army Engineers. Where has his only pertinent experience been put to use since becoming President?  What has happened to road construction and maintenance?

Unemployment

Perhaps, the easiest job that our youths can get is to be hired in death squads or as political thugs. Only if the President could sit down and plan instead of combining his job with the tourism portfolio can we have hope for a future.

Ethnicity and Tribalism

Nigeria is a diverse society just like the United States; different ethnicities, different races, different religions etc. Race relations have improved in the United States when compared to the past, and Nigeria most certainly is not doing badly. BUT this generation of leaders always plays down this progress and whip up ethnic sentiments whenever their political fortune is at stake. Nigerians elected Abiola and Kingigbe and both are Moslems –what does that tell us?  Gani is Yoruba and Moslem, but why won’t this generation of leaders give him a chance? They are scared!

What matters should be who can provide the basic needs of human beings regardless of whether he is Hausa, igbo, Yoruba, edo, efik, ijaw, kanuri etc. Obasanjo is Yoruba but what has he done for the Yorubas that has any resemblance to what Awolowo did for them?  At first Obasanjo started off fine by being elected without the support of his home base. If he had a great first term, he can repeat the feat and Nigeria does not need to go back to the era of tribal politics. If he failed the electorate, then for God’s sake, let the will of the people prevail.

IMPEACHMENT THREAT

What’s the big deal? Bill Clinton lied in the face of Americans, was impeached by the House of Reps but was not convicted by a Republican senate. Let Obasanjo’s record come to his rescue. Let democracy play out. Some commentators and Politicians are now whipping up tribal sentiments without even taking a look at the merits of the allegations. If he committed impeachable offences, should he be given a blank check because he is a southerner? Balarabe Musa was impeached in a politically volatile state and heavens did not fall. If we succumb to the blackmail of security threat, then Nigeria may as well remove the impeachment clause.

The impeachment process ought to continue even it has a likelihood of failure, but in the end a message would have been sent.

What Obasanjo should be doing is to line up his lawyers; with Timi the Law leading just like Clinton used Kendall . Nigerians would want to know the details of the allegations against the anti-corruption crusader. Or did he say he knows those behind this plan? Perhaps, it is time again to dig up the Oputa report who knows.

A shameless writer that goes by the name Reuben Abati in his recent write up showed his lack of tact and of strength of his conviction. He had earlier on masked himself under the guise of an Obasanjo basher to attract attention and gain more readership. His recent articles in support of Obasanjo clearly exposed his real intentions of seeking an office should there be a second term. Abati lambasted Okadigbo an Igbo with Presidential ambition who has nothing to do with the impeachment plan. Abati has always shown himself to be a cold blooded tribalist and Igbo hater.- and these are the kind of journalists that use newspaper space to support THIS WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS!

These leaders are leaders with no conscience; no wonder why Gani named his party, NATIONAL CONSCIENCE PARTY.

All the ingredients necessary to trigger off a revolution are present in Nigeria . If a democratic process fails, then a revolution is inevitable. THIS WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS includes most members of the senate, the House of Representatives and most of the State Governors and Executives and legislators.  During the Abacha era, open trailers were rented and loaded with human beings who traveled 6-8 hours to support Abacha at the Abuja rally- they were paid 2000 naira each. The same could be done for Obasanjo.

Rather than answer to the serious allegations against him, the President is busy creating imaginary enemies, bribing Governors and legislators to stall the impeachment move. If he has all that money, why is he not paying pensioners and using the money to better the welfare of the armed services the Police? WHAT A WICKED PRESIDENT!

Since when did impeachment become treason? Nigerian Politicians are either jokers or insane. The way the President is behaving shows he has something substantial to hide. Everything is blamed on retired Generals and Obasanjo is simply one of them. Obasanjo represents the status quo and will leave Nigeria worse than when he took over.

It was Obasanjo who once wondered what Gowon forgot at the state house should he decide to run. What Obasanjo forgot he is now getting back in less than four years. Obasanjo cannot be any better than Buhari or Babangida and belongs to the same generation of wicked leaders.

Only God knows what the future holds for Nigeria- a nation held hostage by a WICKED GENERATION OF LEADERS.