Bankole’s leadership betrayal
The youth can hardly wait to take over from the old brigade – all over the world they are vanguards of revolutions both political and social. They accuse the old of recycling themselves and of trying to take Nigeria to the new millennium with the archaic logic of the 50s. They blame them for all […]
The youth can hardly wait to take over from the old brigade – all over the world they are vanguards of revolutions both political and social. They accuse the old of recycling themselves and of trying to take Nigeria to the new millennium with the archaic logic of the 50s. They blame them for all the troubles of our nation. They sometimes think that they were naive to have shown the British the door before they had learnt the rudiments of nation building.
Yes, the old are guilty of the ineptitude that unleashed the darkness of NEPA; for not extending the rails beyond colonial lines; of watching aimlessly as roads once paved are now riddled with potholes; of looking tired but failing to retire and swelling the numbers of youth unemployment while complaining that their educated children are jobless. The old recycle themselves largely into the political fora and are responsible for denying the youth the experience they need to get hired.
Yes, but wait a minute, have our generation fared better? In twelve years of civil rule what is the average age of state governors? Juxtapose that with their record of performance and what you get is shocking generational decay. Our generation has disappointed nobody else but ourselves. We have largely failed to jump in on the leadership fray. For instance, the House of Representatives is closest to the average age of the youth who constitute an estimated 60% of our population. For every senator, there are three reps and so it would seem that for every scandal in the senate, there are three in the house.
It began with Salisu Buhari. He was youthful and blessed with the administrative skill, poise and carriage that makes you feel that he was born to be Speaker – but Salisu invented a Toronto degree to spice up his public image and that was his nemesis. Ghali Umar colluded with his colleagues and Anyim Pius, another young man to alter a bill already passed by both houses at Obasanjo’s request. Patricia Etteh agreed to spruce up the sum of a renovation contract and was sacked for it. In her place Oladimeji Bankole emerged. Young and debonair with a western education and experience to boot, one would have expected him to lead the way with exceptional leadership qualities.
Unfortunately, Bankole is as rotten as they come. If he learnt anything from his overseas exposure, evidently it is to be most suave with corruption, and be manipulative in his mad quest to cling on to power. From the onset, Bankole presented the image of a modern Ali Baba embroiled in scams of scientific proportions from the multi-billion Naira car scandal that led to a vindictive committee shuffle. Then he presided over the worst free for all that followed the attempt by his peers to make him accountable for another financial scandal. His farewell gift to the nation and to the institution that made him head is to plunge it into a N10 billion debt for no justifiable or justiciable reason. Bankole is a perfect example why hope is not just a slim diet but an unending fast.
Without prejudice, Bankole is ridiculous specie of the contradiction that characterises the leadership quest by youths today. In his four years of leadership of the House, Bankole has hardly anything to show for leadership and is truly no example to youth. It is no wonder then, that his constituents flatly rejected his return bid. He is retiring to the life of an illicitly rich layabout begging for the generosity of his party. In a cabinet of conscientious men and women, Bankole’s name should not feature but then, one should not be surprised that he finds another place to continue his looting since that is all that is required to feature in this system.
Gladly, there are a few sparkling stars in the youthful firmament and even in the rotten House of Reps. Abike Dabiri-Erewa shone like a star on NTA a medium with certified professionals whose professionalism is often undermined by government manipulators. Her human angle stories stood out from the grit served on the megaphone and she has discharged herself ever since engraving her name in gold. Whenever Nigeria gets a Freedom of Information Bill Abike would be its greatest sponsor in spite of efforts made at rubbishing her hard work. Her contribution to poverty eradication in her constituency is legendary. This young woman discharged herself so well, she is the human face of hope in time of despair, a pride to womanhood and definitely an example to the youth. One can only hope that someday soon, Ms Dabiri-Erewa breaks national record by becoming the first female governor of a democracy. If our country is to pull out of the rut that it is in, we would need more shinning stars in the cloudy firmament of integrity. This is the great challenge facing the younger generation today and pleasantly, many are now in political or decision-making positions. They should realise that the trust reposed in them and that the future of this country depends on how they conduct themselves in public service.