THIS IS TRULY NIGERIAN..GOOD PEOPLE, GREAT NATION
Fellow
compatriots, lovers of Nigeria and friends of Nigeria, the precarious
security situation in Nigeria since after the declaration of Dr. Ebele
Goodluck Jonathan as the president of Nigeria in 2011 has worsened. As a
result of that so many Nigerians do not go out for their legitimate
daily activities anymore without the fear of assassins,
kidnappers, armed robbers or hoodlums as the situation continues to look
hopeless on daily basis. Consequently, international communities have
made statements at different occasions warning their citizens not to
visit some parts of Nigeria or Nigeria as an entity till further notice.
President Goodluck Jonathan has as a consequence been branded different
names like ‘Dull President’, ‘Incapable President’ and ‘Weak President’
etc.
Dear
concerned people, let us put a square peg in a square hole because
people are judged based on performance and not merely on self-praise or
sycophantic ethnic jingoism that is synonymous with Nigerians. To be
candid, since our independence in 1960 in my
humble opinion, Nigerian past head of states or presidents have all
raped Nigerians to impunity and abandoned them like a child without
guardian and as such have been failures. Let us relegate them to bench
warmers as it is in football clubs and bring in our second elevens, our
women. You saw how Emmanuel Amunike came in from the bench and destroyed
the Zambian national team in 1994 Nations Cup final tagged “Tunisia
94”. Because he was on the bench did not make him inferior to those that
started the match.
As
a patriotic citizen that flew from Austria to Nigeria just to vote
Goodluck Jonathan without expecting any return except good governance,
it is with heavy pain in my heart to say that I
am highly disillusioned at the turn of events in his administration.
Even though that he may not have performed as badly as he has been
painted but I had hopes that he would make a very drastic change, I
believed that he would approach issues holistically because of his
background and boosted about it because I believed in him so much.
Looking at the security situation in the country today and his approach
to it; how wrong was I? Nevertheless, I refused to be cajoled into the
activities of some unpatriotic groups of people and their agents who
believe that the presidency is their birth right or that if their son is
not
the president of Nigeria that Nigeria must be ungovernable just to
portray the president before Nigerians and international communities as
incapable or as they have tagged him.
Frankly,
these unpatriotic groups have succeeded greatly in painting the image
of Nigeria black. Where were Boko Haram members during the time of
Shagari’s, Babangida’s, Abacha’s, Abdulsalami’s and Yaradua’s regime? Or
did they suddenly realize that they needed an Islamic country under a
president from South South? There is a big problem in this country.
I
am simply disappointed in President Jonathan because of his
non-declaration of his assets and his statements about it. Responding to
press men on his assets declaration, the president had this to say “Assets
declaration is a matter of principle. I have nothing to hide; I
declared my assets as Vice-President because the President then did it.
It is not proper to ask public office holders to declare their assets
but if I must declare publicly, it means that every other public office
holder in the country must do so and it is not right. It is not the
President declaring his assets that will stop Boko Haram. And what is
the difference between when I was the vice president and president; what
have I acquired since then?” This is one of
the most
un-presidential statements I have ever heard in the history of the
world that is only second to a statement made by yet another president
of Nigeria Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007 when he said that the 2007
general election would be a do or die affair.
President
Jonathan has cast too many doubts on his administration and his
campaign against corruption with this statement and I would not be
surprised if he loses some of his supporters with conscience. He may be
far from where his detractors must have placed him but
definitely his idea of raping the constitution and telling anybody that
cares to go to hell is not only shameful but a slap on Nigerians and
anybody who knows this and keeps quiet or defends it is evil. In a
civilized world with this kind of statement he may never win any free
and fair election again.
The
problems of Nigeria started immediately that name Nigeria was imposed
on us and pronounced without our consent by the British colony for their
convenient administration in the name of amalgamation in 1914. But
unfortunately our men have not been able to deal with these complex,
multiple and diverse issues that emanated from this forceful marriage
that need not only prayers to solve but sincerity
and political
willed leaders. History will never forgive Lord Lugard and his British
colony for this heinous crime that wasted millions of innocent souls and
is still painfully going on in this part of Africa.
But
how long shall we continue to lament and blame all our problems on our
colonial masters that left us about 52 years ago? Is a 52 year old
person not old enough to know wrong from right? The conclusion is that
our male politicians have failed us woefully and as a result of that,
let us give our female partners a chance. As mothers, I strongly believe
that they will not promote corruption, political murder and ethnic war
like their male counterparts have done till now. Even though they are
not saints
considering what
few of them have done in their various official capacities recently in
Nigeria, but events have equally proved that they could do better owing
to their motherly natures if given the opportunity.
Our
female counterparts are like spare tyres, you put the spare one when
the main one punctures, and currently our men are the punctured tyres,
let us change them and stop the risks of running with ordinary wheels.
It has never paid and it will never. Events support my hypothesis
thinking that it will work because our men have destroyed every
department of Nigeria by all ramifications since 1960 and as such have
lost the moral ground to build again. They corrupted the executive arm
of the government, made
the legislature
arm an epitome of corruption, turned the judiciary a place for cash and
carry judgment, they corrupted the police, the army, the custom and they
have even threatened and have in fact subdued our pressmen/women to
submissions that we now get adulterated news against their conscience.
When the British people left us in 1960, even though they were evil,
they left a good transport system including working railways but our
male politicians corruptly destroyed them, they left us with standard
drinkable water and steady power supply but our male politicians
corruptly destroyed them, they left a standard education system behind
with respected certificates but our male politicians corruptly destroyed
them, they left standard hospitals but our male politicians corruptly
destroyed them, they left good standard roads but our male politicians
corruptly could not maintain them, they left a good working system with
discipline and order but our male politicians
corruptly made sure that nothing worked. Please they should pack and go
because they have failed us and our women have warmed up enough.
Scientifically
speaking, we have not been told by experts that women are
intellectually more dwarf than men, and since the political game is not a
thing of physical strength, thus, it would be primitive and outdated
for anybody to think that if our men could not do it that our women
cannot even try it. We cannot keep on trying a faulting engine when we
have brand new ones in our women. Please this is not a men’s world alone
anymore because our women have arrived.
But
before we give the mantle of leadership to women we must first cleanse
ourselves from the polluted air of bribery and corruption by our male
politicians before they also get swallowed up. Furthermore, we must
restructure our political system, change our kickback mentality and
ethnic mindsets and then try a female president, and who says that she
cannot do better, after all what a man can do, a woman can do better.
What is impossible is that which has not been tried. It is not
impracticable to have a female president in Nigeria. Male politicians
have tried since 1960 till today without any tangible results if not
chronic ethnic discrimination and epidemic corruption. Please, swallow
your egos for our women seem to be our redeemers and they are ready and
capable. We have
refused to be forced
again to accept what they want us to believe that they are and not what
we are seeing that they are. They are abstract thinkers and that is why
they are only theoretically powerful and pragmatically failures. They
have vision to hoist Nigeria’s flag in the moon before 2020 but they
have not been able to provide electricity and food on our tables. Please
pack and go, our women are ready for the rescue mission.
Uzoma Ahamefule
A patriotic citizen writes from Vienna ,
Austria
Mail; uzomaah@yahoo.com
Phone: +4366o4659620
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