I see many of the things that went wrong with Nigeria. I was not alone in this discovery but just wondering, persistently, why not many persons are willing to speak to them. And for what cause is their silence or is it that they lack knowledge of implications of conspiracy of silence in a situation where majority of people see something and fail to say something?
Well, I am also aware that although the king, who asks for it, will himself punish the sayer in the end, for saying something that should make him to know direction of problem he is on the throne of power to fix. I thank God that since 2007 we have had successive kings in Nigeria, who make collaboration in information sharing easier for the ordinary man’s participation in governance. Hence my submission on what I believe went wrong with Nigeria as follows:
1. Mothers or fathers or both deceiving themselves to be friends of children instead of being the parents that they should be. They offer no good to the society except destruction from morality losses from the homestead. Everybody will eventually have to carry his cross by himself or herself, to use the word of the servants of the Lord’s vineyard.
For a good and patriotic parent, he or she disciplines the children regardless of who among them goes into isolation protesting his being disciplined or disliking to be disciplined. But would you look at the protesting face of the children today to stop the discipline and then earn your societal and heaven calamitous shame in the future of this place and hereafter?
Go and look at it very well, even in the Western world, according to many videos we have watched on social media, the law of not disciplining a child does not catch a parent if what he or she scolds the child for is to build his moral character.
The police personnel in the video I saw rather explained to the child that was beaten for stealing in school and steal called 911 this way – He was taken away to a short distance from the flat entrance and asked: “What was the reason for your mother beating you?” He was truthful to say, “I took what does not belong to me in school”. He was further asked, “How many times before today has she been beating you in the house and for what reason?” He again replied, “This is the first and only time so far”.
He was then brought back to be told in the presence of his mother, “Baby, your mother did what is right. You were wrong. Next time, she has the right to flog you more for taking what does not belong to you anywhere you go.” The police then turned to the mother and pleaded, “Madam, please do not because of what the kid has done by calling the police to stop the good parent that you are. Do it more. You are covered.” I have not quoted the statements precisely but those were what they said and then the police left.
I noted, however, the mother and child were both white like the police in an American environment, leading to some cynics in Nigeria saying, “I will agree with the American police if they can be as equally lenient as they were with their fellow white family.” My name is Prince Bashir Adefaka. I am not an American to answer the cynics. Mine is, I love what I saw of the American police personnel display in encouraging moral character building for a great family and national values.
Agba ti o kehun soro, a ketan sare, so says a Yoruba adage. If you don’t choose to be parents of your children today, they will emerge your tormentors and drag you good name in the mud tomorrow. God save all of us from this scourge that is lying in wait, a time bomb upon which we are sitting and which can explode at any time.
2. Another thing that went wrong with Nigeria is the political leaders’ unapologetic attitude to state leadership contract. They come to you and can even make it crawling, kneeling and prostrating in election time. If he wins, he takes the Qur’an or the Bible and swear by it to abide by the law by upholding the Constitution of the country. Alas! After inauguration, the imaginary demons in the corridors of power overtake them and they become satanic in their behaviours with their eyes, ears and brains blocked to being able to see, hear and think about the purpose of their ascension to power.
So, they show less concern about the plights of the same people they crawled yesterday for, to get their votes whereas, democratic politics is seeking the people the consent of the people to be allowed climb to seat of power and be able to use the resources of the people to better the lives of the people. That contract sheet to throw into the Lagoon immediately after inauguration.
For their ineptitude, containers fall free of charge pressing many costly and irreplaceable lives of man to death because they fail to fix the roads for smooth passage of vehicles. Sentence for One-Way traffic offence by Nigerian law is or should be equivalent to that of murder. But due to the politicians’ laxity and insincerity towards their state management contract with the people, One-Way has become an offence that is now freely committed in many Nigerian cities, particularly Lagos. It is still the same Nigeria a country of my world.
You want to be told how many innocent souls have been killed by nuisance in unsensored transport system at between Ahmadiyyah Bus Stop and Adura Bus Stop on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway due to One-Way that is now a free-fall thing for public transporters mainly the LT buses, Faragon and Okada? They blame their killer actions on bad state of the other side of the dualised road from Abule Egba to Toll-Gate. On whose hand is the blood of those dead? Our political leaders must rise above their current state of inadequate alertness to duty. Allah does not wait for next world to give report cards. It begins here and with you and me.
Have you heard? Of a senator of the Federal Republic, who got the Executive arm of government to approve a state of the art global standard hospital with capacity to diagnose for cancer and treat major internal illnesses like kidney transplant and others. The project was approved with fund released, it was gathered, due to his position in the parliament but he spent the money or diverted it to his own pocket plunging the poor in need of the health facility to untimely deaths. But God gave him the report card of his work while he is still alive. His own child came to be in need of the health facility he disallowed from happening on the territory of his own region by his own corruption, and he has become a laughing stock globally today. I cannot say more than this.
3. Even the poor masses do not help themselves. How do we celebrate mediocrity and want God to bless our country? How do we show concern about a ‘rosy end’ and forget it must have happened ‘through a means’ that is commiserate? Money is very, very important but, how do we achieve the money through a means that will not relegate us to the abysmal failure in terms of dignity of personality, values of the family and nation in the course of life? This self appraisal will keep us under check for good of individuals and great emergence of a new Nigeria.
4. Law enforcement agents. If you are one, simply go to one corner and ask yourself, “How many people have I sent to jail because of my deliberate and self-centred framing up of them as they refuse to be manipulated or fail to bribe me?” We once heard how many inmates are lying fallow in the Correctional Centres for offences or crimes they know nothing about but were only framed up into them by law enforcement agents.
All of these devilish hypocrisies have their consequences in the space of our public life as Nigerian State and it is a big problem for the country for all our political leaders that got to offices either by our votes or court decisions to address. If the king of this world cannot catch and bring you to justice on behalf of the masses, the uncompromising king of kings that is the owner of the world you live and architect of your entire body structures will catch and bring you to justice and will do same to the king that fails to do what is right in terms of administration of justice for the peace of the society. It will not wait till next world but right here it will happen. Let the all the kings in rocks of power take note and be careful.
5. Third Mainland Bridge. I recall this great national emolument was built, starting by military regime of His Excellency General Yakubu Gowon, RTD, GCFR, as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and completed up to Iyana Oworo by military regime of His Excellency President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, RTD General, GCFR. Those are many years ago.
Each time I pass on this bridge I see that it is due for reconstruction not just the patching that is occasionally done. I am afraid because we have seen strong bridges collapse in advanced countries that are more serious minded, more committed to service of the nation and are doing well better than we are in Nigeria. Reason for my fear. How many of our political leaders are thinking about this? I am not sure there is one. Now that I have raised it as a matter arising from non-existent state agenda, I advise – as one of the proud owners and stakeholders of Nigerian State – that reconstruction of Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos be started.
But before then, Federal and Lagos State governments must collaborate by putting in place an effective alternative way of passage being that the Lagoon on that side of the longest Nigeria’s bridge is a major link road and will, by the reconstruction, be the major break off between the old Lagos (Eko Akete) and the Western Region and the bridge either on Third Mainland or Eko/Carter Bridge side is major link between them. Something fast must be done.
The waterways system for people living in Ikorodu, Ikeja and Apapa sides to access Lagos Island must be effective. I have seen that only the Federal Government’s Ferry system has been greatly effective with zero accident to my knowledge in over 20 years. That should be used as model for people to access either sides of the Island and Mainland for the period the Third Mainland Bridge reconstruction will last. The road from Ijebu-Ode through Ibowon to Epe or from Ikorodu through Agbowa, Ejirin to Epe can also make a motorable ply from the Mainland to the Island for them that have no liver to withstand travel by waterways.
Another bridge, Fourth Mainland Bridge too, is long overdue and it should be longer than the Third Mainland Bridge. This is how to develop a country especially in states that host economies of the country.
6. We have heard of a university in Southern Nigeria. The system just has the attitude of never going to allow a Muslim to rise in the cadre so as never to have a Muslim Vice Chancellor any time in the future. One case is ongoing now that a Muslim brought in even with the help of a Christrian, who also brought in another Christian with him, has been refused confirmation of appointment. To make the religious bias or lopsidedness untraceable, the appointment of the Christian brought in with him is also being refused confirmation. This the same Nigeria a country of my world that is reason for my worries.
7. The courts. How many of Nigerian courts can be relied upon today as the last hope of the poor masses of the people of Nigeria? How many of them can the people run to and get justice against their respective oppressors? The nation keeps gloating over its huge investment in education developing legal studies for lawyers and upgrading existing ones to magistrates and from there to the high courts and from there to the appeal courts and from there to the Supreme Court. Have we – as a system or leadership – sat down and assess to know the performance of these people in the bar and bench?
Our huge investment in education of lawyers paves to nothing, if we cannot have justice from any of the courts. Or what can you call a situation where some people, in the quest to make living standard easier themselves, extend from Lagos to neighbouring communities in Ogun State, buy land there to build houses for themselves only in years after for some people to come and say they have gotten a court judgement to take over the land? And they require to force the innocent settlers to either wuit or pay at current price. Couet of state in Nigeria! The Governor of that state currently is Prince Dapo Abiodun. Just like that! And we claim to have a country that invested hugely in education of lawyers and training and retraining of judges?
To be continued….
Meanwhile, this is the country that we all have and call our own. People deceive us into having our state power relinquished to them only to use the same power to whip us dangerously along socio-economic, political and ethno-religious lines and, in the end, we have a country that continues to remain backward crawling even at age 63. Too bad! Something fast to be done is required. And it must start from now!
