When Sir Abubakar Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, delivered his first speech to the nation on October 1, 1960, he had no fore-knowledge of the situation in today’s Nigeria. However, the last statement quoted from the speech, 49 years old today, captured our situation today as if the former Prime Minister was referring to today’s Nigeria. Sir Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikwe and their ilk, were men of honour and integrity who sacrificed their entire life to make Nigeria a great country. A country that can stand in the comity of nations, where the right of its citizens is well respected, their lives valued and where access to education, health and basic necessities of life is ensured. But alas, contemporary political leaders deviated from the Nigerian dream; they changed and alter the foundation which these men of integrity laid for the country and its citizens. What we see today is a political leadership guided by greed, selfishness and highest sense of irresponsibility.
Balewa’s speech was a kind that one would love to listen and listen again because it was a speech coming from a leader with a vision and responsibility. A leader who knew the problem of his nation and who with honesty and sincerity was ready to confront it. Unlike today’s leaders, whose take in leadership is to amass wealth through fraudulent means, the founding fathers of modern Nigeria were people who died leaving behind them virtually nothing in terms of material things. They were political leaders with humility, dedication and service, unlike the boastful & arrogant political leaders of today, they were leaders with vision, unlike the corrupt and greed infested looters, short-sighted political nonentities we see today parading themselves as leaders.
As we are now, even if we pretend to join the band wagon by saying things are walking well, one knows that he was lying to himself. Nigeria is not working and by extension the country has collapsed. As am talking to you all state owned universities, with the exception of Ahmadu Bello University, which was suspended by ASUU leadership, are closed down due to strike by SSANU, ASUU and NASU, no town in the whole of Nigeria can burst of steady one hour power supply. Our hospitals are not only mere consulting centres, but according to a national daily in its editorial recently, are mortuaries. Public schools, whether primary schools or secondary schools are overcrowded with students, with dilapidated structures, in some instances the structures are not even there. Our roads remained death traps, where thousands lose their lives daily. The only institution that remains functional in the country, as of now, is the inner core of the People’s Democratic Party machinery, an institution that has direct access to the nation’s resources.
With over 90% of the nation political leadership under their control, PDP is to blame for our present woes. They sold our nation and our freedom; they turned us into slaves and paupers in our own country. In the last ten years the nation under the PDP, has witnessed an unprecedented income from the oil windfall that would have moved the country to the fore-front of leading economic viable nations of the world. However, gross indiscipline, inefficiency, ineffectiveness and wide scale corruption which was characterized by massive looting in virtually all sectors of our lives has totally destroyed everything, including the little hope that came with our return to democracy 10 years ago.
Today as Nigeria celebrates its 49th birthday, the inborn patriotic zeal we have seen when in primary school from our teachers, the selfless service we heard and see from them, the concern for unity and equitable development foresight of our leaders has been eroded. No thanks to the destructive leadership spearheaded by the PDP in the last decade. Our political leaders, majority of them from the ruling PDP, are people that pay little or no attention at all to our plights. Dilapidated infrastructure, collapsed educational system has been the characteristics of the nation. They deliberately allowed things to crumble, for instance lack of power supply has killed our industries thereby creating a huge number of unemployed persons. As we celebrate our independence, we are left to fight many wars; poverty, homelessness and above all insecurity.
Nigeria should not be allowed to continue like this; our leaders need to make a u-turn; they should realize that they have a responsibility. We need to realize that the existence of this country as a nation can only be possible when our leaders change from the non-challant attitude they show to the plight of the Nigerian people to real commitment. We have all what it takes to develop this country, but the country is held ransom by greedy and selfish leaders.
Nigerians have no problem; they have been obedient citizens for the past 49 years, withstanding the civil war, military dictatorship and abuse of power by political leaders. Our problem lies, as Achebe clearly put it, in the unwillingness of our leaders to rise to their responsibilities. We have lamented for so long; we have cried in frustration; we have complained virtually of everything but it seems our political leaders are not listening. The hope that tomorrow will be better than today is dashed by insensitive and greedy elites. May God rescue us and the country from these crop of leaders.
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Well written.
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