It is yet another Independence anniversary, and as usual, there are divided opinions as to whether there is actually anything to celebrate. For some, in spite of our failed opportunities to build the nation of our desires, we should still roll out the drums and celebrate the mere fact we are still together and remain positive even if the journey has been tortuous and bumpy, we should keep hope alive for a better tomorrow.
As a people, we still have to thank God and be hopeful for a better tomorrow.
However, that prosperous future we seek cannot come about until we fix the problem of failed leadership at all levels.
As things are now, it is difficult to brush aside the disappointments of those who still look back with nostalgia, how, at Independence in 1960, the projections and expectations of the people have not been met and fallen flat. Our contemporaries at Independence have gone on to build nations that Nigerians now flock to for better opportunities. Some nations who came here for agricultural produce, educational pursuit, or health care are now treating Nigerians with disdain and contempt.
While some insist that our bane lies in the structural defects bequeathed us by colonial rule, one is of the opinion that whatever hiccups we had at Independence could have been overcome and built upon by a more visionary and purposeful leadership. Our leaders have not shown the direction and the right desire and selflessness required to inspire the people on the path of building this country.
The mad rush and primitive scramble for our common patrimony by the ruling class has left the nation tethering since Independence.
Again, the usual traditional Independence Day broadcast by the president has done little to inspire the much talked about renewed hope.
There is no denying the fact that some of the policies of President Bola Tinubu administration have left the people downcast and in dire strait. The president acknowledged that much in his broadcast. He has also expressed readiness to ensure that the much talked about improvement at the macroeconomic level must translate to the micro to meaningfully impact the lives of the ordinary people. There is no denying these positive developments but these pale into insignificance if the prices of food keeps soaring, if ordinary Nigerians cannot access medicare, if our roads remain deathtraps, if kidnappings and ransom-seeking demons continue to dot our bushes and forests.
However, while we await our promised el dorado economic prosperity, some things must happen in the immediate term. There are some low hanging fruits for us to attend to for these desired growth and development to be attained.
The biggest challenges are the lack of power, insecurity, and the poor roads across the nation.
Now that the states are allowed to generate their electricity, there has to be rapid rejuvenation in that sector, and the states can no longer hide under the alibi of power being in the exclusive list. So, the states and federal government (through TCN), regulatory framework, must ramp up the energy and power needs of the nation. This will in no time spur rapid development in the formal and informal sectors.
The deplorable and inaccessible condition of our roads have been such that transporting farm produce, goods, and services across the nation has become expensive and too risky.
Third, and most importantly, is the seeming intractable problem of insecurity. Truth is, if the problem of insecurity is not addressed to the barest minimum, every other effort would not amount to anything significant. If our farmers still cannot access their farms, the problem of food insecurity will continue to rise, and hunger will continue to ravage the land.
The problem of insecurity from the North West to North East, North Central, and to the entire south is not knowing what to do to bring it under control, but why we have refused to do it. Why have we refused to dispassionately take on the problem of insecurity head-on? Why are we prevaricating when it comes to dealing with banditry, insurgency, kidnappings, and the activities of killer herders? Why will a state government accuse a former governor of aiding banditry, and the man would still be enjoying government patronage and appointment? For how long shall we be chasing footsoldiers and neutralising miscreants while their sponsors and sympathisers are comfortably sitting in government houses and their private estates?
Truth is politics and lack of willingness and willpower to confront this is at the heart of it all.
How can bandits and insurgents continue to enjoy government sympathy in the name of a non-kinetic approach to addressing insecurity while these criminals maim, dismember, and slaughter innocent citizens? Why are we insistent on rehabilitating, reintegrating, and pacifying bloodthirsty murderers at the expense of their victims who are living under harrowing inhuman conditions in our so-called IDPs’ camps?
The primary responsibility of any government is the security of lives and property of its citizens. Anything short of this will amount to begging the question.
