Let's start anew
WELCOME to another turn in the history of Nigeria. We have the opportunity to start a-new, putting behind us the rancour and
divisions of the previous year. Let us make 2003 the year of hope, triumph and renewal for the people, and by the people. We can all do better for our country -
lets begin today! My point of departure, from "my country - right or wrong" Nigerian patriots, whose constant refrain to any criticism of the "system" is "we are
trying" has always been to say, "yes, but we are not trying hard enough - we can do better". The nation, at any given time since 1960 has always operated far
below its installed human resource, and economic capacities (some say 25 per cent at best), and would normally have been shut down, or declared bankrupt long ago,
if it had been, say, a manufacturing enterprise, or even a normal commercial business. By not using the best of our human resources, in government, particularly
in the management of the nation’s economy, we have done the equivalent of short-changing ourselves on our capital investment, thereby securing dividends that are
below what we have every right to expect. It is clear, therefore, that the pauperization of the nation, is not due to any insurmountable external factor, but is
self-inflicted. And since it is self-inflicted, it should be amenable to the corrective stimulus of good governance. The road, along which we have travelled thus far, has not yielded dividends commensurate with our innate capacities; so there
must be another way - one we have so far chosen not to travel by. To travel down this road together, we need to free ourselves from the bondage of greed and the
centrifugal syndrome of "them" and "us". Let’s not privatize either our democracy or governance, but instead liberalize it - or in the word of the new
international lingo, "globalize" it, through the policy of "inclusiveness" and leave the impetus for growth to the forces of political free market, where new and
old ideas can contend freely for "market share" of public opinion. And may we learn to let the better side win, and not impose inferior ideas and concepts on the
people because we have the political mandate to rule. But more importantly, let the winner learn to share the dividends of free enterprise, and spread it far and
wide for the common good. The way we must now travel by, will not accommodate a "winner take all" approach, nor gloating over a defeated opposition or adversary
for their stance is no less important for the nation’s progress, than those of the victors. Democracy does not travel on a monorail, but always advances on twin
tracks, for the purpose of balance and stability. In my view, part of the reason for the pervasive sense of national drift, is that the government is wobbly and wooly in defining
its development priorities, and there is also a palpable absence of any kind of objective criteria for assessing progress. So far, all one hears are promises upon
promises, and without any substantiated or evidential proof, we are talked into believing, or accepting that that which was promised has been achieved. A single
example will suffice. The government’s "war on poverty" through economic empowerment of the rural populace was launched with fanfare amidst dizzying expectations. Since verifiable accounts for this of sort political gimmick is never in the public domain, no one can say with any degree of
certitude, how much billions of Naira has been expended on the project. But the project itself was a cruel hoax ab initio, and was never designed to assist
the growth of the national economy in any meaningful way. I know of no working poor who has been "liberated" or "alleviated" from poverty as the result of the
help extended to him via the poverty alleviation programme. Its secret objective was to buy political goodwill, by enriching the pockets of private individuals in
the society. How much more beneficial would it have been, had the money been used instead to provide rural farmers, under their various associations within their
respective LGAs, access to new farmlands, where the forests have been bulldozed, cleared, furrowed, fertilized and irrigated (where necessary) at government
expense, before being split into sizable plots for allocation to the farmers to farm? That would be genuine economic empowerment indeed, and not the
indiscriminate sharing of the "national cake", for unproductive ends. To get a proper perspective on things, we must come to terms with the fact of our diversity, and the legitimacy of our divergent
interests up to a certain level, and just as importantly, the congruence of our collective interest particularly on issues of first principles at, the national
level. The paucity of genuine and civilized leadership, imposes an extra burden on the populace to fend for themselves, if they are to enjoy the dividends of
democracy so fulsomely promised. But things have not always worked for the benefit of the common man, who apart from being illiterate, are forever waiting for
"leaders" who will champion their cause, and "liberators" who will die for them. No meaningful advances can be made in this sort of selfish and oppressive society
until each individual feels aggrieved enough to protest against injustices, and feel impelled to challenge the system, without waiting to be organized by
"leaders", to demand good governance. Righteous indignation The day we Nigerians are individually moved by a sense of righteous indignation, to protest against injustice and the violation
of basic democratic rights, that is our common heritage, that will be the day, that ethnicity or tribalism will cease to have the capacity to distort and subvert
our values as a people. The next forward step, will then be to build a national consensus on core values, which together should constitute a paradigm of the
Nigerian national interest, that would remain incorruptible and permanent. Every national leader will be subject to being measured against these core values, and
his or her ability to uphold and protect them will determine the worth of their mettle. By this approach, we will begin the process of moving away from the
present blind allegiance to personalities, instead of fidelity to ideas and principles. Our concepts and humanistic ideals must stem from our common humanity - rather than from our common ethnicity and people should
earn respect and be honoured for what they stand for, rather than who they are. If these ideals are allowed to inform our conduct of politics and elections, they
will radically influence our attitude towards those who wish to ride on our backs to political office. In practical terms, it means that "party loyalty" has
limits in its claims to our loyalty and that we could not in good conscience vote for a thief or a scoundrel out of loyalty to the party. Such moral
transgressions can only diminish our own humanity, and the exercise of free will with which we are all freely endowed. This has to be the new way forward, and
demands that we subsume our individual egocentric impulses, to the imperative demands of the national interest, which is designed to cater for the common good.
And what is the common good? In sociological terms, it is what is of benefit to all, regardless of individual abilities or means. A case in point is the laudable
success NEPA recorded by meeting its deadline for regular and uninterrupted power supply. Now, you don’t have to be a "Big man", with your own NEPA transformer
and personal generator to have electricity. It is now freely available to all, at an affordable cost. Although this may not be uniformly so everywhere, still the
Obasanjo regime has met this critical litmus test of the integrity of their promise, and deserve a pat on the back, although its sustainability remains to be
proven. But if nothing else, NEPA’s achievement demonstrates that when we put our mind to it, we can solve most of the basic problems that make the life of
the ordinary citizen so burdensome and frustrating. Let us now begin to eliminate the causes of frustration and disquiet in our society one by one, with justice
and fairness as our guide. We do not expect a perfect society but we have every right to demand for a society that would be as respectful of individual
differences, as it would be solicitous of our collective welfare - such a vision must be the source of our inspiration as we aspire to build a more humane and
kindlier nation, with the common good as our goal: Either we learn a new language of empathy and compassion, or the fire this time will consume us all — C.
West. May 2003
By
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference —Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken, 1916