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Head Or Tail The North Wins By Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa
No matter how some of us may think or feel about the Presidential race, the most viable candidates are from the North. This has placed enormous responsibility on our Northern brothers and sisters to support the best candidate 140 million people can reasonably produce. Nigerians must not repeat the same mistake we made in 1999, when the South-west blamed the rest of the Country for giving us another recycled ex-dictator.
We have to be very careful because the North alone can not dictate who the President of our Country will be. So every part of Nigeria must make a judicious choice for democrats who know the boundary and limit of law and order in a civilian dispensation. Who are we going to complain to that of all the presidential candidates, we can not find a suitable man that can lead us out of the mess we find ourselves?
If we are looking for educated or informed candidate, there is one amongst those that are in the contest now. If we are looking for level headed unassuming leadership, we can find one. If what we need is someone who has participated in think-tank setting or a product of; not just a pseudo armchair half illiterate shopping for a professor to back him up, we can also find one. At least we can vouch that we have tried. We may do a great deal to restore the respect of our children and their kids in the next election.
So much abuse has been penetrated on the North for bad leadership. Many of us have used unprintable labels on our brothers for supporting unproductive leaders not unaware that we are their accomplices in the South. Sometimes when I think of who was the Finance Minister during the time of Abacha, it becomes more sorrowful because of his reputation as a foremost Accountant in Nigeria. Not to mention lawyers and our Action Governor who claimed Moshood Abiola thought Abacha would only rule for six months. Beware of a lion in cat’s skin or civilian clothing. For these and other reasons, the South may be called upon once more to decide for a divided North who the President will be.
There is no doubt that Nigerians are not happy with the state of affairs in our Country. I t could be better. So much was expected of this Government compared to what has been delivered at this tail end of the Administration. Indeed, so many court cases has been lost by this Government that I hope we will not fall back and elect a new one where cases will never be lost. Though some of those judgments have not been implemented, I hope that we will not go into the situations we had, when none of them were implemented.
We surely can improve on this Administration no matter where our leader is from in Nigeria. That is why the whole Country must learn from the mistakes of some past leadership and support a brand new face capable of taking us into the new millennium. Shonekan could not have been worse than Babangida, who was no worse than Abacha. We need someone with the grace and demeanor of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Balewa was by no means perfect, but a dictator, he was not. Otherwise, I hate to see the day Obasanjo will be missed, lamenting that the Judiciary was bold and free in his time.
There are so many plans or blue prints for the Country missing in this campaign that is too heavy on personalities. It is easy to say that each Presidential candidate will turn the Country into paradise. We need to know how in a step by step objectives and goals that can be put under the microscope by professional bodies and our ivory towers. Who are the people behind these plans apart from Adedibu, Uba, godfathers and money-bags?
I have heard about agriculture but not enough to discern the process by which we will get there and the replacement of our aging farmers with small business youths instead of the big corporate bumps or money miss roads gaining access to big Government hand outs.
Some talk about employing our college graduates but not as specific as Falaye during the 1999 election who wanted a loan remission scheme for those with business plans. Even if half of them succeed, they would be able to employ the other half plus many more people looking for jobs. Employ them to rebuild Mbakwe roads in the East, and avert violence.
We have heard about building houses for low and middle income earners but what percentage of our people will benefit: when, where or how in the manner that would make Alhaji Jakande past administration jealous in Lagos State.
PHCN or NEPA is known to drive small business people under and drive big businesses out of the Country in spite of billions of naira and dollars poured into the sink hole. Which of our Presidential candidates, is going to give us a plan for accountability without turning it into another money making machine for their party.
We will like to know how solar power can become competitive. While market women were using GSM in Benin Republic, Nigerians were still struggling with land lines; ITT was creating potholes on the roads in order to lay down cables all over the cities. It’s a lucky thing we did not hold our breath waiting.
Since Fela Kuti ridicule Nigeria, located at the shore of Atlantic Ocean waiting for United Nation to supply us water, lack of clean drinking water still create water-borne diseases. If anything, we may be waiting until desert encroachment takes over the North before we start running to the United Nation for our local desertification reversal plan.
We started a brand new City from scratch with a marshal plan and dedication still unparalleled in Africa but we are at a loss on how to turn Niger Delta areas into habitable environment for the locals. We are full of promises and some hand-outs to interest groups, party cronies and militants for temporary sugar soothing solution that turns bitter.
These are plans we need from responsible Presidential candidates demonstrating their advisers and think-tanks on how each is going to be implemented, how long it is going to take and how much they are going to cost us or how much money or business it is going to generate for our economy.
Nigerians continue to wait for the savior amongst us who has decided to task himself.
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