Two years democracy and garri
By
GARRI revolt on the eve of the second anniversary of our new democracy is one most unexpected disturbance. It is hard to know exactly its grudge against President Obasanjo whose performance is now seriously dented at the time people have become blasé about electricity and fuel supply failures. This episode confirms with uncertainties in life generally and particularly politics. There are however good but hard lessons. Home is where our problem’s solutions are, not abroad. Nigerian investors not foreign are producing here not importing. That means the president and the rich in the society have to curtail their tastes for foreign travels and goods.
The president’s didn’t "do’s" and failures are the rave in the print and electronic news media in appraising our two years in democracy. He of course will be in the least worried as all that will be said about him is not going to be different from that of all our past leaders since independence. If that does not leave us all with irony and dilemma about the quality of human species we are ,then nothing else would. Obasanjo no doubt has had his bravados and hubris, but the amount of honest and dedicated hard work put in these two years should qualify him for a quality leader we have long yearned for. That the result on the ground indicates otherwise means we all have to pause for a deep reflection of whom we really are. In this regard one postulation that must be taken seriously is that no singular leader and group of politicians have the final solutions except we the people. It is probably in the realisation of this fact that Europe, America and Japan place more trust in themselves than on their politicians. Japan has had thirty plus prime ministers in 40 years yet the motor and electric industries they are noted for grow in leaps and bounds, beating the best competition in the world. Italy has had the most inept and corrupt political leadership producing thirty plus prime ministers in 46 years yet they remain the best designers in the world and their economy grows in stiff pursuit of good politically led Britain, Germany and France. President Bill Clinton philandering with Monica Lewinsky and the hullabaloo that went with it did nothing to stop the American economy smooth machine. Neither too did the Al Gore and President Bush electoral fiasco have negative impact on the American economy.
Further example of the apathy for politicians by people in the developed world we run to for solution abound in the Scandinavian countries. In those countries the men busy themselves with running the commerce and industries as the women play the leading political role of government. This phenomenon is a great departure from Kwame Nkrumah’s "seek ye first the political kingdom and all other thing will be added unto you" which all African countries have followed blindly to the detriment of our socio-economic development. The political office holders all indeed had added to them in terms of corruption driven wealth and fame but the society at large slipped down in poverty. In a situation where every two in five of the black race is a Nigerian no nation is better equipped in rethinking Nkrumah’s dictum than Nigeria. This in my candid view means going back to school to understand the Euro-American values which emphasise wealth creation and adventure and places politics and public office holding in the lower realms of endeavour. Modern nations ready to face challenges of the future rate being noted for the ideas and creativity of its people higher than what political leaders they have. The Germans would rather have the Mercedes Benz and chemical industries, the Japanese their Toyota cars and Sony electronics; the Americans their Microsoft, Coca Cola and McDonalds to showcase to the world rather than the best man who governs them. It is this race to be the nation showcasing the best in ideas, creative scenes and technology they started long ago and are ever struggling to out perform one another which we are not, that is our problem. Not the poor political leadership we blame since independence.
The clarion call for the desired change now will have to begin with a transition, a political governance driven society to a wealth creating people driven one. A look into our past shows the horrendous transfer of scarce financial resources needed to create a wealth creating society to the administration of our political life.
The thirty six state governors and their over four hundred ministerial positions, 780 local government chairmen and the 7000 plus councilors maintained in the stupendous sums recommended by the revenue mobilisation commission constitute a drain in the productive development of Nigeria. Establishing wealth creating outfits for even a greater number of these people with higher than present remuneration is that done in Europe and America we are not doing that must now be done. The president must see his brief beyond the present fix NEPA and build roads challenge. Railways should infact take the place of roads India and China whose development will take us half a country to catch up with if we start in the right path now do not have the Euro-America type expressways we build around us. They prioritise on railway development which is cheaper and more cost effective to operate and maintain. Building railways to link up every local government and state capitals with the oil money should be the president’s priority now.
The intellectuals must rise up to the new challenge of building a wealth creating society by aligning their knowledge with practicable things in the society. Crusading against politicians which have been the source of fame all these years have to be done away with. Professor Wole Soyinka’s honour as a Noble Laureate came from a wealth creating endeavour and not government. University dons should go into research and create ideas and processes which will pay off for them financially and de-emphasis the present struggles to be vice chancellors and heads of departments controlling budgets.
The rich in the society should stop bogus investment in assets abroad, and divert funds into industries and agriculture. The environments that have been acquired to build houses, churches, banks and insurance firms and consultancies in law, accounting and medicine is that now needed for industries and agriculture. Rice importers devotion of just a third of the amount spent importing to encourage local farmers will build a rice growing industry that will phase out importation in just five years. That done, their new imports will be state of the art machineries that will enhance local development and growth will afford greater benefit than what obtains today.
The masses of the people have to raise themselves as proud citizens of Nigeria. Despising ourselves and giving better credit to other nationals whose claim to being better lies only on our good feeling about them is what needs immediate change. We are the largest people in the black race and only Nigerians can lead that race better and not the African-Americans. Our present poverty is a thing of the mind rather than that of innate ability. We are able to do anything any human being in the world can do. All we need is the self awareness and rightness to strive to achieve the best. Organising and administering the will to achieve and better the height reached by our world partners is a possibility within our reach to achieve. This is the new spirit we have long ignored that must be developed. From then on whoever wants to be the political leader will be less important as it is in Europe and America.