With all the optimism being expressed in political and religious circles that Nigeria is almost there, the future of Nigeria is very bright, Nigeria is making progress, etc, I personally feel that as a nation, Nigeria is not making any positive, concrete and sustainable progress on any front.
Virtually every important sector of the nation, except politics, is neglected and in decay. Education is the worst hit. A government that does not understand that the quality and quantity of its investment in education determine the growth and development of the nation is one without vision. University funding is still very inadequate. If Nigeria is to compete with the BRICS countries and other developing nations like Malaysia, not to mention the West, it must be prepared to spend the way they do, on tertiary education and research.
The health sector is in a pitiable and pathetic state. Millions of dollars are lost in capital flight as Nigerians - both leaders and the led - scamper all over the globe to manage their health. Facilities for the treatment of cancer are grossly inadequate and Nigerians groan under the affliction of this terrible disease that is on the rise in the nation. The nation still depends on handouts from donor countries to finance most of its health projects and programmes. It is a shame for the so called Giant of Africa.
The intractable problem of abysmally poor electricity generation and supply with the attendant negative multiplier effect on virtually every segment of national life is another shame of this nation. Despite the grandiose stance and pompous talk of the current administration at its inception, it has failed to deliver in this very critical area.
The recurrent issue of fuel scarcity is another area that successive governments have not got right. The current administration has inflicted unnecessary pain on the citizens through the sharp increase in fuel price without any palliative or corresponding increase in wages of workers. The increase had a reverberating effect on transport and cost of running services and businesses. The government remained insensitive and unconcerned. The government has become a specialist in sweet talks and consolatory speeches without assuaging the pain and suffering of the people.
Road infrastructure is in a terrible shape. In agriculture, the leaders celebrate feats that less endowed nations achieved decades back. There is no national carrier. The Police is corruption-ridden and an elder statesman just told the nation that the military is compromised. The nation is fragmented along several lines and the leader of the nation is not doing much to win the confidence of other regions except its own.
Gains are being frittered away through bad policy decisions. There is degradation and retrogression in areas where there had been recorded successes. Why is the nation marching backwards?
The problem of the nation is primarily that of leadership, not follower-ship. The country has been unfortunate to have been headed by series of incompetent and myopic leaders who continue to leave the nation successively worse than they met it.
Nigeria needs a miracle. The miracle of competent, visionary, unbiased leadership. The miracle of a leader who walks the talk. A leader who really fights corruption not just playing politics with it. A leader who is passionate about turning things around for the nation. A truly de-tribalized leader with national vision, a worker, not an excuse-giver, one who will empower his people and not emasculate them. One who truly fears God and have the milk of human kindness. One who has the intelligence, sagacity, knowledge, charisma and morality to lead.
If the leadership is fixed, Nigeria would be fixed. Nigeria will get it right when it is blessed with the right leader. 2019 beckons, may God save Nigeria!
© Powerlines 2018
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