During the 70th birthday ceremony of a well known Nigerian clergy, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo delivered a talk bordering on the issue of governance. While at it, he chose that moment to remind everyone who cared to listen about how and why we must all get ourselves involved in governance not only from the prism of incessant criticism but also, from the lenses of choosing to deal rightfully. It is easy to chorus ” c’mon Joe! We’ve elected or selected for ourselves a collection of looting leaders” says the Prof
It was the late outstanding peacher, Dr Myles Monroe who gave an illustration in one of his hundreds of sermon. He’d summarily referred to humans as unique species saddled with a call to management rather than the usual chorus of blame- an undying feature on the lips of most citizens of underdeveloped nations, dysfunctional individual, workers…blaming everyone for their own misfortune except themselves. Remember the children of Isreal in the wilderness, despite the never-seen-kind-of- miracles God gave to them, they chose the path of bitter complaint?
No wonder the governor of Abia state, Alex Otti stated that ” if a citizens pot of soup pours away, they will blame him”. Laughable as it seems, the reality of that statement is no lie. Not only is the statement true, it also speaks to the conducts of what I have for a long time termed “Nigerianness”.
For a start, the men of my country want for Nigeria to become a place of economical prosperity just like those of Europe and America except that they’d rather take the back seat whilst expecting that some magician somewhere take on duty to do so. Perhaps, they must have thought that Europe was built on the back of wishes and tons of magic wands. A people, always ready to wish and say amen but never putting in the work.
The effect of Nigerianness is that, the blame game is the best solution. There are those Nigerians who strongly believe that the prosperity of the nation can only be birthed on the platform of resentment, protest, sabotage, violence, pogrom… Many social media warriors are of the opinion that the recent Nepal or Burkina Faso style of approach to governance would in fact create the desired change. It is like a little child who decided to pull the trigger against an abusive father. He may have put an end to his father’s brutality but the far reaching knock-off effect is that he may as well, and in the future, pull the trigger in the event of a perceived symptom of brutalization. Of course, this is what violent approach does. It may take away a corrupt administration temporarily but it does not renew the mind. It does not automatically teach people to be lawful.
The effect of blaming, protesting, blackmailing, sabotaging and so on is only a but a symptom. The home front is the problem. The government is noting but a representation of what the family or societal system created. The quality of a nation is as good as those in it. For our leaders are not foreigners, they were fed and reared by us- Nigerians. From Isale Eko, the Niger creeks, Daura, Owu and so on, it is clear to all that our leaders got the recipe for leadership from us. Yes, from us! It is time to stop the blame and take on responsibility.
– Olayinka Kayode writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State.
