Fr Victor Makinwa Ogunyemi
A thought struck me this morning with a quote of Dr Tai Solarin the founder and the owner of the famous Mayflower School Ikene, Ogun state,who said, “I fight with an indomitable spirit, my back to the wall,defeat is for those who accept it.The greatest strand of affection are woven in adversity. Leadership means suffering.
The leader who has no marks,an indelible marks to show either on his physical body or in his mind has never led.How many Socrates did Greece breed?How many Nehru did India breed?They have one each but they all had one thing in common, sense of mission. An unquenchable thirst to get things done.We need to take a stand.But no Nigerian wants to offer his head to break a coconut”
No doubt Tai Solarin went to prison many times for believing in a better Nigeria.He believed that with our lazze-affaire spirit we can’t build a strong nation. He took a swipe on the political class who parade in big flowing agbada rather than get more serious with their work to the nation.
But all this aside,a pertinent question keep coming up in my mind,IS NIGERIA WORTH DYING FOR? That question is for another day, but before then let us get set set and ready to reposition Nigeria. We must get it right with 2023. Again, looking at the way many Nigerians use tribal and ethnic sentiments to vote, how can we get it right?
Obviously, the political class in Nigeria is unrepentantly selfish, doing everything to maintain the status quo ante, all they are interested in is power and money, how they will sustain them, not minding the platforms, reason you see a politician who has been a national chairman of PDP at a time and defected, became a national chairman of APC later, so also in Nigeria, you see politicians who have been members of APC, PDP, Labour party and NNPP at different times and you ask what are they looking for? The answer is not far fetched, they are looking for where they will sustain their daily bread, because being in corridor of power in Nigeria is a means of social security, politicians with no sense of shame.
One of the hardest tasks in Nigeria today is how the masses can wrestle Nigeria from the political class, it is a herculean task. Yeah the masses don’t have the wherewithal to do that, as any effort seen by the political class will be frustrated by throwing money at the masses the way people throw bones to dogs to make them get busy or distract them.
In the course of my reflection, I strongly believe that the following will salvage Nigeria:
1 Nigeria needs referendum in its constitution. If we have it, there won’t be so much agitation with so much blood letting. There will be constitutional provisions that will tell us what to do and how to go about it.
2 Nigeria needs sincere constitutional reforms or ammendments or better still a complete new constitution. If Nigeria has it, a politician will not stand up with audacity and say “restructuring my foot”.
3 Nigeria does not need to have a bicameral legislative arm of government, it is highly wasteful, cumbersome and time consuming.
4 Being a legislator should be made a volunteering business whereby those who have no love or ready to make sacrifice for Nigeria have no business in being in the National assembly or state assemblies. Pay those who volunteer sitting allowance and nothing else.
5 Scandalous money politics should be criminalised in Nigeria. Observers are watching for how long will the Labour Party enthusiasts can sustain the “We no dey give shishi” mantra.
No doubt I repeat the political class has failed Nigeria, they have bastardized our system, no sector seems working well in Nigeria again. The shift is towards the electorates for the redemption of Nigeria. If it worked in Ukraine 🇺🇦 Grenada 🇬🇩, and Kenya 🇰🇪, why should it not work in Nigeria? Nigerians must make it work. The sweat of our fathers must not be in vain.
Over to you Nigerians!