Nigeria needs national leaders, not political leaders
Comparing what is happening in Nigeria with what is obtainable in other countries, one would want to confirm that there are two types of leaders: political leaders and national leaders. A political leader focuses on what to get out of the public treasury to satisfy personal aspirations, whereas a national leader aims at providing solutions […]
Comparing what is happening in Nigeria with what is obtainable in other countries, one would want to confirm that there are two types of leaders: political leaders and national leaders. A political leader focuses on what to get out of the public treasury to satisfy personal aspirations, whereas a national leader aims at providing solutions to the problems of the nation.
Let us single out some of our national problems such as corruption and power failure which were supposed to have been solved but we are still living with them. Why? To confirm that it is a matter of using photocopy of past administrators, what can one say is the difference between Chief Olusegun’s administration, Alhaji Yar’adua’s administration and the present Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in terms of war against corruption; Similarly, what can one say is the difference between the promises of Chief Obasanjo to restore power supply, the promises of Alhaji Umar Yar’adua on power restoration and the present promises of President Jonathan?
The Promises of our Leaders: The greatest problem facing Nigeria is corruption. Chief Obasanjo spent eight years of uninterrupted administration to announce his good intention to fight corruption. At the end of his eight years of administration, no positive impact of his war against corruption was felt. Before Chief Obasanjo came to power in 1999, Nigeria was talking of corruption that amounted to millions of naira. By the end of his administration, Nigeria is no more talking of millions of naira of corrupt practices but of billions of naira. If four years is not enough for a leader to perform and fulfill his promises, then our constitution is faulty. It is the same four years they use in America and Britain and within that period, their promises are fulfilled. Why should a leader spend eight years of uninterrupted war against corruption and instead of cure, it is rather spreading? Is corruption in Nigeria a leprosy?
It is on record that Chief Obasanjo spent the greatest amount yet on power restoration. It is also on record that Chief Obasanjo’s administrations raised the highest hopes and expectation for Nigeria to have steady light. At the end, what we saw was that it was administrative warfare simply designed to justify the unprecedented billions of naira he allocated to the power sector.
After Chief Obasanjo, Alhaji Umaru Yar‘adua took over and we all were living witnesses, so that his matter is better allowed to die in silence.
What is the root of non-performance? They were dragged to the presidency. Dragged means giving someone a responsibility he didn’t prepare for. Chief Obasanjo was dragged from prison to the presidency. When Chief Obasanjo was about to leave, he made an arrangement that dragged Alhaji Yar’adua to the presidency. His arrangement also dragged in Dr Jonathan to match the situation.
When Yar’adua came to power, he announced his adhoc Seven Point Agenda. Do we classify seven point agenda as political manifesto or policy? He simply reflected his unpreparedness.
He really sweated trying to defend his unprepared chartered agenda.
Today, Dr Jonathan, a member of the family of the dragged presidents has taken over, so what does he have which would make him different from those members of his family? For the sake of those of us who can’t read in-between the lines, let us provide a telescope through which they can see him.
Let us now single out one of the areas Dr. Jonathan seemed to have showed interest using the huge amount of naira involved in the project as the pointer.
Dr Jonathan recently announced allocation of several billions of naira for early purchase of fertilizer for the planting season that is yet to come.
Fertilizer can be defined as chemical combinations prepared to enable crops to produce more. In Nigerian markets one can see surplus agricultural products such as tomatoes, pepper, okro, orange, garden egg, etc perishing during the harvest seasons. Immediately after the harvest season, scarcity of those perishable food items starts. The scarcity of those food items introduces inflation and hunger. A farmer who was encouraged by Dr Jonathan’s fertilizer to increase production from about 50 baskets to about 100 baskets will be assumed in paper to have received encouragement from Dr. Jonathan’s policy of fertilizer supply. But the true situation is that the farmer will sell about 30 baskets at a profitable price, 20 baskets at a reduced price to avoid perishing and the rest baskets completely perished. Will this particular farmer feel encouraged to increase production in the next planting season? The answer is a capital “NO”
When the several billions of naira were allocated to fertilizer for increase, how much was allocated to preservation of the increase? The youths who see the extent of food items that perish, will they be encouraged to take to farming or discouraged? In other words, an individual farmer in Nigeria is rather discouraged and it is the discouragement that our leaders want us to accept as encouragement. Was this policy digested or he used photocopy?
Dr. Jonathan cannot say that he doesn’t know that large quantities of food items are perishing across the nation during the harvest season. He cannot say that he doesn’t know that preserved food items will enable food to last into the next harvest season thereby increasing availability of food in the market and reducing inflation and hunger.
He cannot say he doesn’t know that thousands of Nigerian youths are roaming about without jobs.
He cannot say he doesn’t know that food processing and preserving plants can engage those thousands of jobless youths. He cannot say that he doesn’t know that availability of the food preserving plants will encourage farmers to produce more and the youths attracted to farming. If he knows, why did he present a policy which is visibly characterized by elephant’s movement? Let us also see him from another sector to do justice to random sampling. The greatest problem facing Nigeria today is corruption.
Marce Ekeruo, Suite 24, Phase 1 Commercial Layout, Gwagwalada Abuja. Email: [email protected]