Abraham Lincoln said "We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth"
Almost all Nigerian has an idea about how Nigeria can become a greater nation. That explains why there are divergent views on this issue. The needs to be done to ensure that things get better.’’
while proffering solutions to her myriads of challenges. The need to examined the nation’s competitive edge in the comity of nations, her resources and her people. The simple principle is to do the right thing and do it well. If you don’t do the right thing, you won’t get the right result.
One drawback to avoid is not leveraging on the strength. Nigeria’s strength is in her diversity and history. Nigeria is a potentially great country. We didn’t want a situation where only one percent are significantly wealthy. Our poverty rate is about 60 percent. It is how you spend what you earn that determines your welfare.
In many fora, it has been argued that Nigeria was wrongfully assembled at amalgamation; with many tribes still at war over the years. Absolutely we have looked at Nigeria’s strengths and weaknesses. Nigeria is rich; every ethnic group brings something to the table. When we had just four regions we were doing very well, even better than our peers. But we grew from that to 36 states.
Meanwhile 82 percent of our expenditure goes to government. What about the governed? It is no surprise that our infrastructure is in decay, hospitals, electricity schools and we require these for progress. The human development capital is essential for economic growth. Little wonder why the present administration of Governor Okowa embarks on it, because of the numerous gains accruable to it.
Nigeria students read the true meaning..
Nigeria is not going anywhere. It can wobble, fumble, stumble but it cannot break. It won’t break. We just need to make a success of it. We may have skirmishes. Bribery, corruption, and lawlessness, these are universal indicators of social malady. Where Nigeria ranks in the global scale of these indicators is not news anymore; however, let me take the liberty of refreshing your memory.
According to independent watchdog group Transparency International, last year’s corruption index for Nigeria is 2.2. The significance of this number is that Nigeria is the 10th most corrupt nation in the world, way below many other African nations.
The evidence that these vices stubbornly threaten the very fabric of our nation abound. Yet, Nigerians are not outraged. In a show of blind patriotism, many of us dismiss these numbers as a conjecture of Western opinion. In fact, many Nigerians have been conditioned to believe that these statistics point to Western conspiracy and bias. I am not going to explore this aspect of the argument; it is a worry for another day.
I write this article in light of the recent fight against corruption, which the government claims to have stepped up a notch. On the surface, it seems that corruption in Nigeria has received the overdue attention it deserves. According to the mission statement of EFCC, the commission will “curb the menace of corruption…and imbue the spirit of hard work in the citizenry.” This is a lofty and commendable mission.
The commission intends to achieve this goal by holding public officers accountable for misappropriation of funds and money laundering. Way to go, EFCC.
Another arm of the government that has done remarkably well with the fight against corruption is the judiciary. To their credit, it is promising that the judiciary is going back to its days of glory, when judges were perceived as incorruptible. Or, at least to when the rule of law prevailed. To these two agencies I say, more grease to their elbows. Finally, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.
I do not intend to diminish the efforts of these agencies. But as a concerned citizen, I am worried that all these efforts may not be addressing the root of corruption in Nigeria. If you take a minute to think about it, these efforts are all reactionary, and are supportive of the notion that punishment is a deterrent to crime.
If this notion holds true, then what about the enduring argument against the death penalty? What about the fact that homicide rates are lowest in countries without the death penalty? How is it that Switzerland, a country without a standing army or stiff penalties, is the least corrupt nation in the world? The point I am trying to make is that a society cannot punish its way to accountability and prosperity by imposing only legal verdicts. Punishments by courts of law and commissions like the EFCC will be very effective if they are accompanied by some sort of social reprisals.
We collectively sabotage the impact of these punishments if those punished come out to heroic welcomes and loud ovations—where is the outrage?
The fact that we make heroes of those who enriched themselves by misappropriating public funds points to a severe moral void. In case we have forgotten, Nigeria started this downward spiral, not because of lack of punishment by courts of law, but because of a complete breakdown in moral values. By moral values, I do not mean the subversion of what we were taught in our catechism classes. Rather, by moral values, I mean a sense of right and wrong that compels us to evaluate the impact of our actions on others.
I also mean a sense of duty and compassion on the less privileged in Nigeria. It has often been said that the true spirit of any nation reflects on how they treat the poor and the less privileged.
If this is true, then achieving a better Nigeria is a moral problem. It can only be solved when Nigerians as individuals become compassionate. For instance, of all the money that our politicians cart away to foreign banks, I have yet to hear of active foundations and organizations which they start to help the less privileged people among us.
The absence of such altruistic ventures is a testimony to the wickedness of our politicians and also a testimony to what they do in office.
If I may return to the issue of legal punishments, understandably, it is indispensable as a corrective and restorative measure; however, it can only bring us halfway through the struggle. I say this because of the way it has been applied so far.
The focus has been on politicians. However, the task of achieving a better Nigeria is not exclusive. It is inclusive of doctors who knowingly misdiagnose their patience just to make more money; teachers and professors who seek monetary or sexual favors to give better grades to their students; business people who sell defective products that sometimes cause death and injuries. As these practices can be part of the trades of these professionals, so is politics the trade of a politician.
It is morally imperative that these people be held as accountable as politicians and should also be punished accordingly.
The point I am trying to make is that a society cannot punish its way to prosperity unless it is across the board. Even so, history has revealed that the prosperity of any nation pars with its moral values. The reason is because sound moral values makes a society see beyond the splotch of self-interest, and it is preventive, not corrective.
There is no need chasing people all round. When the cost of being honest is more than being dishonest, then corruption will always be here. We need to apply modern tools. Create the competitiveness that will bring employment opportunities and economic freedom. Perhaps the concern of many Nigerian writers is that Nigerians don’t read. as observed. We don’t pass laws to solve problems.
I will give you an example. In the petroleum industry, Nigeria is losing billions annually because there are no laws. And the elites are our problem. They go overseas; they watch CNN and they still fail to do the right thing. Nigerians need to be enlightened about our challenges.
I don’t think the problem of Nigeria is reading. The problem of Nigeria is we don’t learn lessons. When you finish a project, you must evaluate what happened to the project so that you carry lessons learnt to the next project, so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes.
However, with all these happening around us, we must not be tired of doing the right thing. We must not be tired of voting for people that will lead us. We will continue to vote and vote until we get the right set of leaders. We will make our mistakes, learn our lessons and avoid making them in the next election.
We get back what we give out. We reap what we sow; it is what we plant today in our home, work place, school and environment that we will harvest in the future. I learned this, at least from experience, that there is no greater joy than to help others succeed.
Remember, the clever begins by changing the world, the wise change themselves. Be Wise. Be Better. Change your thought and change your world. What we think of ourselves matters a lot. So change the way you see Nigeria. See a new Nigeria, see greatness and so it shall be.
Meanwhile....NANS accuses.........
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