NIGERIANS THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW

By Atambi Ade
Nigeria was created on the 1st of January 1914 by Sir Frederich Lord Luggard, based on the need for administrative convience; to govern Nigeria more easily, furthermore Nigeria attained flag independence on the 1st of October 1960 based on the struggle of Nigerians for independence. Finally, in 1963 Nigeria became a republic hence the circle became complete and Nigeria became an independent entity with the power to determine its destinies; Nigerians were free to determine the fate of their country hence decide the quality of their lives.
The clamour for an independent Nigeria was predicated on the desire of Nigerians to govern themselves and make Nigeria a prosperous and great nation; atleast this was the desire of most Nigerians with the exception of the ruling class. The welfare, growth, progress and development of the Citizens should always be paramount if the country is expected to become a great nation. The sad reality is that Nigeria has failed to attain its true potential since independence till date as things have continued to deteriorate. It is quite unfortunate that with its vast human and natural resources Nigeria and its people continue to wallow in poverty, underdevelopment and backwardness. The sad reality is that if nothing concrete is done to reverse the trend Nigeria can self-destruct. The good news is that all hope is not lost if the true Nigerians stand up for what is right.
In the light of this sad reality, and after 100 years of our corporate existence as a nation, can it truly be said that the reason d’etre for the creation of the Nigerian state has been realized, atleast on the part of discerning minds? Have the dreams and vision of our freedom fighters and true Nigerians been fulfilled? To pose it simply: can we say that Nigerian has justified its corporate existence as nation where the dreams, aspirations and hopes of the Nigerians people can be fulfilled?
In order to answer these and other nagging questions we must be clear on the parameters and factors that determine social progress and development. And here the corollary questions must arise to wit: what did we set out to achieve when we decided to go on our own and ideally what should a nation achieve especially in line with the numerous opportunities, resources and potentials that Nigeria is endowed with? In its 100 years of existence, and particularly within the last 54 years of  flag independence, what do we have to show for in Nigeria? The blunt but accurate response to these posers is that Nigeria has not done well! And the culpability for its underperformance despite its massive potential must be placed firmly at the feet of failed governance and absence of leadership.
Nigeria lacks and desperately needs visionary leadership that is clear about where we are and where we need to be; leadership that will conceive the idea, develop the blueprint, and set a reasonable time frame to birth genuine developmental revolution, touching all facets of Human endeavour in Nigeria and its constituent parts. This definitely is no short term project, but the seeds of both immediate and future developments must be planted today!
A solid structure and system must be evolved to ensure delivery on this promise. The people must become agents of change themselves, and everyone must be involved directly or otherwise in the noble quest to reposition our dear nation. While everyone cannot directly be at the helm of affairs, it is evident that it is from the rank of , both Nigerians young and old, that the purposeful leadership we seek will emerge now and in the future. Indeed the very future of Nigeria rests on the emergence of this leadership not in the distant future but beginning 2015. And we hold the power of choice; we can choose to mortgage our future by continuing with the old trend or decide to go for change now; it will equate madness for us to toe the same old path again and expect to get different results.
All Nigerians must become bearers of the idea and vision of the new Nigeria so that we will no longer be misled by any individual or group; we must also be the watch dogs for the Nigeria of our dreams. Sustainable development is our desire nothing more nothing less, infrastructures, programmes, policies and laws must be put in place to guarantee the future we seek. We must be practical, pragmatic and scientific in our approach and assessment, we must no longer be cajoled by lies and unrealistic promises. The promises of the politicians must add up; they must be feasible and attainable and most importantly must be in tandem with the Nigeria of our dream. Their promises must guarantee quality education, water, electricity, jobs, productivity, security, social welfare, housing, prosperity and healthcare just to mention a few. Development and growth must be evenly spread and must touch the lives of all class and category of people. The people must be effectively carried along and the change must be evident, it must be skin deep and not cosmetic. A new way of doing things must be inculcated in our people, values like innovation and creativity, integrity and trust, cooperation and collaboration, vision, willingness to change, communal spirit and harmony, equity, fairness and justice are just some of the virtues that must become a part of our way of life if we are going to make any meaningful progress. The core institutions must be put restored in other to establish a solid foundation upon which the new Nigeria will emerge.
Mahatma Gandhi once said and rightly so that God provided enough to go round for everyone, but God did not provide enough to sustain our greed. The implication of this position is that when we have a situation where a few people take it upon themselves to amass the wealth that should go round, the majority become impoverished, hence the alarming level of underdevelopment, poverty, crime, violence and crisis just to mention a few. The problem with Nigeria is the problem of leadership as the great literary icon Chinua Achebe once posited in his Book “The Trouble with Nigeria”, Nigeria in general and its constituent parts are in need of leadership. Nigeria lacks leaders, what we have are rulers. The question now arises who is a leader and who is a ruler.
The oxford advanced learners dictionary defines a ruler as a person who rules or governs, while a leader on the other hand is a person who leads a group of people, especially the head of the country; an organization etc: a political/spiritual leader…To better understand these definitions let us look for definition of some of the words mentioned in the above definitions; the words in question are rule, govern and lead. To Rule- government/control: the government of a country or control of a group of people by a particular person, group or system… Govern/control (over sb/sth) to control and have authourity over a country, a group, etc. Govern on the other hand means to legally control a country or its people and be responsible for introducing new laws, organizing public services etc. The country is governed by elected representatives of the people. On the other hand to lead means to SHOW THE WAY: to go with or in front of a person or an animal to show the way or to make them go in the right direction.
From the afore-mentioned definition it will be safe to say not all rulers are leaders, but one can say that all leaders are rulers. A leader has direction in which he or she intends to lead his or her people. This direction can be a blueprint, plan of action, vision, and destination: the promise land (from the land of despair to the land of opportunity); this should be the goal of every leader. And this is what Nigeria and its constituent parts need, leaders. Leaders are in short supply and this is why Nigeria is in crisis because we have people at the helm of affairs who are clueless about issues affecting the country, the state and the Local Government Area’s, solutions to these issues (and how can someone have answers, when he does not even know what the issues and the problems are) and what to do. These are the people that Nigeria and its constituent parts has been bedeviled and plagued with. It has been said that a people get the rulers they deserve and so the million dollar question NOW is do we deserve purposeless, directionless and visionless people at the helm of affairs. Countries like South-Africa and Singapore profited immensely from the leadership of great leaders like Late Dr. Nelson Mandela and Lee Kuan Yew; these men put personal interest aside and led their nations to greatness. It was because these men had a clear understanding of the issues on ground that was why they were able to rise to the occasion when the need arose. For instance South-Africa under the leadership of Dr. Nelson Mandela was just coming out of apartheid of our which Mandela himself was a victim, but he was able to work for reconciliation and accommodating all in the new South-Africa instead of taking revenge; he worked for the establishment of a rainbow nation and instead of South-Africa to be destroyed by hatred under his rein he was able to calm the storm. Lee Kuan Yew on the other hand was able to take Singapore from a back water state to a leading economy; in fact his leadership provides text book learning for leadership.
In electing our rulers what are the criteria’s that we use in determining the right candidates; is it the amount of money the person has to give and if we must ask, how much is our vote really worth; are our votes worthless or priceless; N100, N500, N1000, a cup of rice or sachets of salt, really how much are our votes worth. The fundamental question is that if the person is ready to pay for your vote that means he or she does not really have anything worthwhile to tell or offer; he or she has no genuine programmes of action, manifestoes and solutions to our problems. And if he or she eventually gets into office, then he or she will collect every investment he or she made during the elections with manifold interest. It is therefore not a thing of surprise that our political office holders loot the treasuries of the state and nation with little or nothing to show for in terms of sustainable development, infrastructure, programmes and projects that move their states and nation forward.
Are we also moved by parochial sentiments, like ethnic stock, gender or religious affiliation? If on the other hand we say, that the politician and their parties will rig the elections any way, then the response to that statement is that they rig and get away with it, because we let them; silence is consent and when we do nothing we tacitly approve and endorse their actions. Democracy is a complex process, because it entails a process where people with different views and opinions have to be carried along, as they say the majority will have their way but the minority must have their say; you have to actively participate in the process to ensure that truth, justice and fairness prevail. What might be the opinion or position of the majority may not always be the true and correct position and so it is always the duty of the conscientised minority to conscientise and educate the unconscietised majority. It has been said that the only thing necessary for evil to thrive is for good men and women to sit down and do nothing. Where are the good men and women of Nigeria? Stand up to be counted. Register to vote, educate and enlighten yourself, get all the required information on all the candidates by asking the right questions and make your decisions on whom to vote based on the true state of things, cast your vote for the candidate that best represents the change you seek and make sure you come out enmasse to defend your votes; those that be for Nigeria are more than those that be against Nigeria- united we stand and divided we fall. Our unity must be premised on the right issues and not on emotions and sentiments which in most cases turn out to be misplaced.
In other to take Nigeria to the desired promise land; Nigerians need good men and women, because the times demand strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and willing hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who posses opinions and a will;
Men who have honour; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue and darm his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-browned, who live above the fog in public duty and in private
Thinking.
Nigeria is richly endowed with enormous and vast human and natural resources to be a thriving and flourishing country where the people are prosperous and a land of opportunities. The migration can be reversed if the right conditions are put in place, by the right people being in office. All Nigerians have a duty to heed the clarion call to save Nigeria for posterity, for Nigerians living and yet unborn the time to Act is NOW!

Atambi Ade Is a Lagos based human rights lawyer.