66th Independence — A country fixed together with falsehood can never progress — WITNESS 2026
From our archive: THE WAY FORWARD — Sahara Reporters — August 20, 2020 — https://saharareporters.com/2020/08/20/way-forward-richard-odusanya
GENESIS — 1999
Upon the invitation to serve in the new government in 1999, I came in with huge expectations and experience from the preceding administration. It was with great expectations on my side and perhaps in millions of our compatriots — expectations of a brand new Nigeria — equity, justice, peace — where public resources would not be used to enrich individuals, families or friends.
The call came on 5th June 1999 from Otunba Johnson Oyewole Fasawe, a long time intimate friend of President Olusegun Obasanjo, to work in the ‘outerbox’ — the engine room of the new democracy.
Nigeria at that time — one third of Africa’s population, enormous minerals, human capital, most educated workforce in Africa — had all it takes to become Africa’s first superpower and stabilizing democratic influence.
But those expectations began to diminish and evaporated.
On 29th May 2001, at the Villa Chapel during Democracy Day, Pastor E.A. Adeboye preached a sermon I considered a wake up call. I was totally disappointed with styles of government — political intolerance, self aggrandizement, ineffective anti-corruption, visible corruption at the echelon, politically motivated impunity.
It was then I wrote what remains true today: _”A country fixed together with falsehood can never progress.”_ I also wrote: _”Africa’s biggest problem is leadership shortfalls and we the people accept status quo.”_
66TH INDEPENDENCE — HAVE WE MOVED FORWARD?
Six years after my 2020 piece, and twenty-seven years after 1999, we are at precipice.
We still fix together with falsehood — palliatives instead of production, propaganda instead of productivity.
Leadership shortfall remains — title without impact — occupation without purpose — power without empathy.
We still accept status quo — hunger is now a native, unemployment is second flag, naira is in ICU, and our youths still see short end of stick.
From 1999 to 2026, the question is same: What is The Way Forward?
THE WAY FORWARD IN 2026 — 3Cs DOCTRINE
Same answer as 2020, but now with Critical Appraisal Bridge and 3Cs:
1. Reform of Mind — Conscience: True leadership is not ladder for personal ascent, it is platform for lifting others. Conscience is moral compass to know what is right. Without it, power becomes predation.
2. Reform of Method — Competence: We cannot expect different result doing same thing same way. New Nigeria requires revolution of values — not just change of party. Competence is capacity to know HOW to do what is right. Without it, good intentions become danger.
3. Reform of Character — Character: The courage to keep doing what is right when it costs you. Power fades, tenure ends, convoys disappear — but impact endures. A sincere leader does not run from scrutiny — he invites it.
THE TEST — 2027: FLAWLESS & TRANSPARENT ELECTION
66th Independence must deliver 2027 — not just another election, but a flawless, transparent transition.
The Way Forward in 2026 is not speech — it is election integrity:
– Flawless Process: BVAS, IReV, real-time results — no falsehood in figures. No election rigged with falsehood can produce truth.
– Transparent Conduct: INEC, parties, security — open scrutiny is proof of leadership, not attack.
New Era: 2027 must usher in civility, productivity, integrity — leaders of CONSCIENCE, COMPETENCE, CHARACTER.
If 2027 is flawed, 2026’s 66th is just another flag. If 2027 is transparent, 66th becomes foundation for New Nigeria we dreamt of in 1999 outerbox.
ROOSEVELT LESSON FOR WITNESS 2026
At America’s crossroads in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared:
“True freedom is not merely absence of restraint. Necessitous men are not free men. When private sector cannot provide for common good, government must act as instrument of people’s will — curbing economic royalists who put profit above national interest.”
For Nigeria at 66: Necessitous Nigerians are not free Nigerians. Hunger, joblessness, naira in ICU — these are not freedom. 2027 must guarantee economic security as right — dignified work, living wage, protection against vagaries of age and unemployment — through bold public investment, not timid incrementalism.
That is the Roosevelt spirit — that is the New Deal our 2027 must deliver.
MY RESOLVE — FROM OUTERBOX TO ARCHIVES
In 2004, almost immediately after the second term inauguration, I stepped down from engine room to follow a course for better society. In 2026, I am still on that course — CIVICS ARCHIVES — leaving fragments, as profoundly posited by Prof Pius Adesanmi, because of archaeology:
“A thousand years from now, archaeologists would be interested in how some people called Nigerians lived. If they dig and excavate, I am hoping that fragments of my writing survive to point them to the fact that not all of them accepted to live as slaves of the most irresponsible rulers.”
A thousand years from now, let archaeologists find our fragments and know — not all of us accepted falsehood.
PRAYER FOR OCTOBER 1ST
Nigeria will rise again. But not by falsehood. By truth. Not by certificates, but by critical education. Not by criticism that buries, but by critical appraisal that builds. And not by flawed elections, but by flawless elections.
2027 must be transparent — to usher in civility, productivity and integrity.
Arise O Compatriots — For 2027.
Richard Odusanya is a public affairs analyst and convener of CIVICS ARCHIVES — WITNESS 2026. He served in the engine room of the 1999 TRANSITION.
