Now What – Which Way Nigeria!
I chose this title because that was the title, I used for my first article in the Sahara Reporters after President Buhari won his first election as Nigerian president http://saharareporters.com/2015/04/04/letter-muhammadu-buhari-and-now-what-charles-odimgbe. At the time, I thought that Nigeria was at a crossroads and by electing Buhari, we may have just turned the right corner to rebuilding Nigeria given the challenges facing the country at the time.
There is no doubt that every person, including our Northern brothers who supported Buhari’s presidency then, is now regretting their choices. Whereas, we could explain away Buhari’s first four years in office by blaming his sickness, however, it is now obvious that the General has either lost a step or two or, just has no plans for the country. We all will agree that the year 2020 should be wiped off any calendar for being an ugly and tumultuous year for everyone. Covid-19 notwithstanding, 2020 saw some of the largest protests in our era with the Black Lives Matter protest in America, the democracy protests in Japan and the #ENDSARS in Nigeria to name just a few. It was a year devoid of a lot of the normal goodness that humans enjoy each year and will remain a staple for tales that we will tell our children and grandchildren in the years to come. My question is this…as Nigerians, did we learn anything in 2020 that will help us begin to turn our dear country around?
The first four years of Buhari’s presidency we could chuck up to him being sick, however, the years after that and to date, has shown that he either has lost some mental capacity or never had any plans for Nigerians in the first place. Anyone hoping or thinking that this administration will ever wake up from their slumber and do something for Nigerians is deluding themselves. They are simply going to sit there while the country rots away or continue this spiral to total anarchy. This government has no intentions or plans of doing anything about the multiplicity of challenges facing the nation. They have all simply checked out and just waiting out their time. As far as our current leaders are concerned, Nigerians have always found a way to survive and they will find a way to do the same now.
There is one question that I would like to ask all Nigerians and that is, what has the Buhari tenure, if any, thought us to date about Nigerian politics? For me, the lesson is simple! It is that we, Nigeria and Nigerians are not capable of electing anyone capable of effectively managing the affairs of Nigeria. It cannot be that Nigeria does not have quality folks with good vision, look around the entire world and see how Nigerian citizens are positively impacting the quality of lives in other countries. However, and when it comes to ours, we all seem to develop what I will refer to as “acquired ignorance” syndrome. Could it be that we lack foresight? Or, maybe we are so blinded by our own biases and thereby depriving ourselves of the ability to make informed choices? Since Nigeria started this experiment with democracy, it has been nothing but one colossal failure after another. My friends, look back and tell me which period during our democracy could you point to and say, this was a good period? None! All we have done since independence was go from one crisis to another, and one failure to another. In fact, and I am biting my tongue for daring to say this; the military era was a much better time than we have ever had since. Think about it, it is 2021 and EFCC is still prosecuting cases of embezzlement that occurred since we transitioned power from military to civilian. Nevertheless, these same crops of corrupt officials, who are under investigations continue to run roughshod over Nigerians. They are the same people in power and control all our resources while they continue to siphon our monies overseas for their own benefit. From Obasanjo, to Shagari, to Jonathan and now to Buhari, we have made no real progress when compared to the resources we have expended during the same period. Based on my recollection, Nigeria had more miles of pliable roads in the 60s and 70s than we have today. Even at that, the new roads being constructed only last for months before turning into death traps that swallow thousands of lives annually!
So, now that yet another democratically elected government has failed us, are we ready for the next round in 2023? The next election for the presidency is just two years away, do we have a plan for how best to select who will guide this stranded ship called Nigeria out of troubled waters? Is Nigeria truly that country “where the worst never happens, but nothing ever gets better?” Do we have anything positive to leave for our children and grandchildren just as our fathers did for our generation? What will it take to get a Nigerian man or woman angry enough to say…enough is enough! I had really thought that the #ENDSARS protests was the start of something big but maybe I am being too optimistic for Nigeria. Could it be that we have lived all our lives in poverty, rot, death and disease, kidnapping, murders, and embezzlement that we do not know any better? Maybe it is true that being black or dark-skinned means backward and barbarism! Shoot, it could be that we just do not possess the capacity to manage our own affairs regardless. I am incline to believe that our tribal and sectional sentiments have robbed us of all common sense and decency, blinded us to the point of no vision, incapacitated us to the point that we are nothing by crippled invalids content with simply dragging each other down and rejoicing at the downfall of our peers while we remain in the same spot and cannot even see the folly of our actions. Regardless of which definition you choose to define us, we are screwed Jack!
On another note, I saw in news reports a few weeks ago, that Nigeria has ordered approximately 10 million Covid-19 vaccines. This is truly laughable while inconceivable! What is the value of 10 million Covid-19 vaccines to a population of approximately 200 million? Am I crazy or are our leaders truly the dumbest humans ever? What was amazing that despite the stupidity of this order, there was absolutely no backlash from the citizens who pay taxes in that country. Let us be clear, these 10 million doses of vaccine are not for the masses – they are for our elected officials, their friends and families. By the time the families and friends of these elected officials consume these 10 million doses, you tell me how much will be left for the rest of the population? This notwithstanding, most of our elected officials and their families are citizens of other countries and are assured of getting vaccinated just like to wife of the Anambra Governor, but you will still vote them into power cause we do not know any better. I am sorry for Nigeria.
Lest I digress. Again, what is our plan for 2023? Shall we sheepishly vote APC again since PDP is still lost in the wilderness and trying to find their way home? Shall the Igbos continue to agitate for our turn at the seat of power in Aso Rock? Do we really think that because there was this gentleman’s agreement of rotational presidency among politicians, that the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba will allow an Igbo man to rule Nigeria? As far as I am concerned, the Hausa/Fulani will have the hardest time letting go leadership of Nigeria since, in their minds, they believe they alone have the right to sit in Aso Rock. So, for the Igbo presidency to happen, we need planning and that planning begins today!!
But wait one minute! If it is the turn of the Igbo people to produce the Nigerian president, are we ready with a candidate? Please take a critical and honest look at the current crop of leaders among the Igbo people and tell me which one of them is qualified based on their past legacies? Huh, huh, why are you scratching your head? What legacy or legacies did any these leaders leave in their previous and/or current positions that will warrant giving them the opportunity to represent the Igbo people at the national level. My point is that while the Yoruba are quietly planning on who would represent them as the next president of Nigeria, and the Hausa/Fulani are insisting they will continue to retain leadership, the Igbos are preoccupied with quest to actualize the state of Biafra. While the North are perfecting their plans to pitch the Igbos against the Yoruba which will allow them to continue to dominate the central government, our Igbo leaders a busy taking each other down, jumping from one party to the other or forming new political parties all to soothe their fragile egos. My people all these point to the fact that the Igbos are not ready yet to take over leadership of a complex country such as Nigeria.
Now that you have nursed and dropped the prospect of punching me in the face, please consider this. If we are truly serious about 2023, we the Igbos, as a collective group should have started that serious dialogue of whom to support to become the next Nigerian president come 2023. We are not even remotely united enough to begin to articulate a single agenda such as picking an Igbo president. Of all the groups that claim to purportedly represent Igbo interest, which of them have come out to say they would like individual A or B to be the one to run for president on our behalf? None, we just sit as we always do, brag about being Gods gift to Nigeria and do nothing. Guess what? Come 2023, we will lose! But rather than seek why we lost; we will continue in our own Igbo way to blame others for our own misfortune. For our inability to come together as a group and plan out future as part of Nigeria regardless of how we feel about the other tribes. We need to understand that Nigeria is all we have right now, and we need to work hard to stake our claim in Nigeria or lose out.
So, what is our game plan for 2023? Or, are we just going to wait for some of these persons vying to be the Igbo flag bearers to the office of the president to perfect their plans? For gods’ sakes, that will be a losing proposition. We cannot afford to wait for some of these deadweights to put us in a position where we will go ahead and support other people simply because we failed to do our homework and present individuals that will not only make us proud, but attempt, at a minimum, to move this country forward. Like the Igbo proverb says, “first you need to secure the space, then you start looking for a mat to lay down in that space.” As Igbos, we need to first identify the person or persons we want to represent us in Aso Rock, then and only then should we start working on other equity challenges facing the Igbo nation.
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