WHERE IS THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT?

I have never seen anywhere in this world where a child cries without a sane mother immediately attending to her needs. Even that mad woman you see on the street will throw tantrum at anybody who dares to tamper with her beloved child.

When Nigeria was conceived in 1960, many rejoiced and celebrated. Perhaps, they thought there was a reason to so rejoice. Hmmmm! They cannot be blamed afterall.

First, the military made the attempt to nurse and protect its child, but unfortunately it failed because as many thought, it was repressive, corrupt and undemocratic.  The euphoria in the nation now is crucial to the understanding that the present democratic undertaking will succeed. We embraced democracy because we believed it will bring about increase in the role of the ordinary people to humanize the society. I, like many others have been deceiving myself thinking democracy is for the people. But on the contrary, the term democracy has become a government of the leaders, by the leaders and for the leaders. In my own view, a leader should be someone who exerts unusual influence and considerable power. A leader is one who makes things happen that which would not happen otherwise. If the leader causes changes that he intended, he has exercised power, however, if he causes changes that he did not intend or want, he has exercised influence. (McFarland, 1969).

If u ask me, I’ll say my mother is a good leader and I’m double sure that your response will be the same as mine. But the questions that keeps creeping into my mind is whose mother is Nigeria as a whole? Definitely not mine because I, for one, am not so confident to willfully and joyfully refer to this nation as ‘my motherland’. For unlike my mother, who would give the world to ensure and safeguard my security, my ‘arbitrary’ mother turns deaf ears to her child’s loud cry. Or what name do we give to all the disastrous events that have been eating so deep into our dear country. 

The Boko Haram insurgencies is more than a handful already. Our so called motherland has become a synonym for fear and bloodshed. We can no longer boast of safety even in our own mother’s ‘womb’. The militant group has bombed schools, churches and even mosques. Kidnapped many and assassinated innocent men and women alike.

It made headlines again this week with the abduction of more than 100 poor school girls in the town of chibok, borno state, in the north-east Nigeria. After a fierce gun battle with soldiers, the militants herded the girls out of their warm beds and unto some buses and sped off. As we speak, there is no positive result as to their whereabouts.  All we hear is a 50 million naira reward for any information leading to their whereabouts. Now, that’s the only situations where ‘our mother’ donates money to charity. Instead of expending the  money on vital things that would provide us with the best ‘breast milk’ that we obviously lack.

Or did you not hear about the killing of those innocent 49 future leaders that were wasted in yobe state recently? How about the nyanya park bomb explosion leaving over 200 lives roasted like Mama Bisi’s roasted yam. Hmmmm! Meanwhile, nothing justiciable has been done as regards the case of Aluu 4 of over one year. Perhaps, they have forgotten about it. But d bell still rings loudly in our hearts. The only just thing known to our leaders is to allot and share the national cake everyday while an average citizen dwells in hunger and abject poverty with over 63% living below $1 daily implying a decline in equity. Another form of ‘justice’ known to them is to fly overseas whenever they develop the slightest headache, all in the name of medical check-up, when a common #20 Emzor paracetamol would have done the magic. Their chidren sit in the same classrooms with president obama or queen of England’s children. Forgetting that Mr. Obi, a common gatekeeper cannot even sponsor his only child Chike through a community public school.

What I see in the hearts of our beloved leaders is greed, covetousness, avidity, self-centeredness and huge appetite for theft.

I really hope for God’s quick intervention for when I look at these whole, the only question that comes to my mind is WHERE IS THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT?

follow me on twitter @ormorelarah
bbm 25d31343