What has changed in Nigeria

What has changed in Nigeria, Akunyili?

Adama Musa

NingBo P. R. China

The appointment of Prof. Dora Akunyili as a Minister of the Federal republic drew huge reactions from the public who saw the Information and Communication portfolio given to her as misplaced and a waste of talent. There was (and still is) a consensus in the public that she should have been given the Ministry of Health to man, following her excellent role as the former director general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

While at NAFDAC, Prof. Dora Akunyili took on powerful and dangerous local and international drug mafias: some Chinese and Indian counterfeit drug-makers who, with the active connivance of their Nigerian counterparts, have taken Nigeria for granted and made her a dumping ground for their substandard products were exposed to the world for what they are, criminals. She fought for the well-being of Nigerians and, as expected with anything involving mafias, Akunyili narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on her. As a result of her firmness despite all these troubles she got support and earned respect from Nigerians and the international communities who showered her with awards for a job well-done. This explains why the Nigerian public rightly thought the Ministry of Health portfolio as most appropriate for her as the health sector would naturally and instantly benefit from her over nine years experience at NAFDAC. After all, the major problem with our health system, infrastructure aside, is that of fake and substandard drugs.

While the public condemned the government decision to send her to Information and Communication Ministry, she, like most politicians, thought otherwise. She struggled and continues to struggle telling anyone that cares that she is capable of heading the Information Ministry – as if anyone doubt her ability in the first place. In her latest desperate move to be seen to perform, she has embarked on what this writer considers a futile venture and waste of public resources.

She was reported as having “identified the gulf between the global perception of Nigeria and the reality at home as one of the main problems of the country”, and has embarked on efforts to re-brand/repackage Nigeria and present it to the world in a more acceptable manner (The Punch: February 8, 2009).

The Prof was said to have lamented on why, "In the eyes of the world, every Nigerian is perceived as a potential fraudster. Nigerians are regarded as unruly and most difficult people to lead or govern. Nigeria is also perceived as a country where nothing works and where chaos is a daily staple." She urged the media to start showcasing the positive sides of the country.

Akunyili is apparently prepared to deceive herself because of her current position. That Nigerians are perceived as the “most difficult people to lead or govern,” is Akunyili’s figment of imagination. If it was the case, how come the government she now serves in (and those before it) exists, despite being installed by what local and international community described as the most fraudulent election in human history? And, does anything work in Nigeria? Power supply, Transport, Security, Health, Education, you name it, which one of these is working in Nigeria? Air-ambulance service is now a lucrative business as elites are flown around the world for medical attention and their corpses returned for burial. The Minister goofed when she inadvertently told the world that huge fraud is still very much a live in the nation, with the citizens being ripped-off by the country’s GSM operators, despite poor voice signal quality, dropped calls, high tariffs, and low levels of interconnectivity that they provide (emphasis added). One may ask where the government is while all these crimes are going on. And why would a tourist go to a country where they would be ripped-off or excommunicated from their loved ones through dropped calls and other unsatisfactory but expensive services?

One is surprised by the sudden U-turn of Akunyili who, not too long ago, burst into tears on camera out of frustration at NAFDAC – as one of her laboratories was deliberately burnt by criminals in addition to several threats to her life! Since then, what has changed in Nigeria, Akunyili? The fact of the matter is no amount of re-branding can sell a bad product. The international community, the supposed target or audience of the proposed deceit called re-branding, has superior and more credible channels of information about the country than most locals. This planned action to re-brand Nigeria is needless, except if this is, as usual another contract-driven initiative where some people are looking for an opportunity to further impoverish the nation.

Finally and importantly, the problem of Nigeria lies squarely with the so-called leaders and elites, particularly the government. It is government ineptitude, corruption and lack of direction that has ridiculed the nation. Crimes by ordinary Nigerians and the so-called yahoo!-boys are all manifestation of a failed system. Suffice it to say that such crimes were significantly checked by the EFCC under its former leader, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. So, Madam Minister, leave ordinary citizens alone to continue to look up to the Almighty God who will one day answer their collective prayers for salvation from their current captivity called Nigeria.