SIR: The woman or the man to lead Nigeria to true greatness needs only a single-point agenda; not five or 36 points, and not a 774-page manifesto. Even the acceptance speech on inauguration day doesn’t need to be more than one page. Actually, a wholehearted commitment to “defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” as usually pledged at inauguration ceremonies is all that is needed.
After 58 years of nationhood, we have, directly or indirectly, acquired and developed structures and institutions good enough to build a nation with the highest standard of living in Africa – taking into consideration the rich resources that God has blessed us with. What we need is diligent application of existing structures and the strengthening of institutions with guidance and good examples from political leadership. The country is just waiting for the lady or the gentleman, who will say and be truly committed to it: “I pledge to obey and show respect for all the laws of this land, and I expect everybody joining my government to do the same”. This single-point agenda will run like a thread through every facet of the national life to mobilize the Nigerian energy to deliver the yearnings of our people and place the country among the top five leading nations in the world.
The President would not need another agenda, and would not need to recruit aliens from space, to police this vast, rich and beautiful country. The same men and officers in the Nigeria Police Force today can serve this nation so well that they would be rated as the best behaved and most efficient Police Force in the world. The president will only need to look for one person within the Police Force, who shares the same commitment to obeying the existing laws of the land, to lead the Nigeria Police.
In the same manner, the President would look for men and women who believe in the greatness of this country, people who are qualified and experienced in their callings and who will show respect to existing laws of the land. Such citizens are many and are spread across the length and breadth of this country. They would be enlisted into the ministerial cabinet, while others like them would head government Parastatals and the boards of strategic institutions in the country.
Nigerians have long been yearning for things to run smoothly; for rightness to be enthroned, merit celebrated, with justice, peace, safety and to have security of life and property everywhere in the land. It is the responsibility of political leadership to mobilize the national resources and channel the collective energies of the people to meet their needs and to achieve true greatness as a nation.
The President who will satisfy the yearnings of the people of this country would not need to make many promises. He would not need a special agenda to stop herdsmen from slaughtering farmers in numbers too embarrassing to admit. We love cows and want the best for the animals because taking good care of our livestock is a right thing to do. However, food for cows is not another man’s farm crops. Fodder for cattle is to be provided at the point from where the animals begin their journey across Nigeria which unfortunately has led to unnecessary losses in human lives, farm crops, cows and other property.
The President would not need a special agenda to fight corruption. Come to think of it, fighting corruption is actually like sweeping and dusting an office. Every business organization does it and must keep cleaning all through the day to maintain a healthy work environment. However, dislodging cobwebs and dusting tables are not the primary reasons why different organizations open their premises for business every day. When ‘sweeping and dusting’ become the sole business of government then the country must live with the paradox where ‘nobody is stealing in government’ while living standards fall with insufficient work or hope for the people on the streets who had their trust in the government.
- Lawrence J. Attai,
princessunek@yahoo.com
Leave a Reply