Collins Uma: The Nigerian critic (Y! FrontPage)

by Collins Uma

Collins

This is the anatomy of the Nigerian critic. He is headed for doom who waits for the approval of these critics before embarking on a project.

On Monday, September 30 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan handed over licences to the new generating and distributing companies (GENCOs and DISCOs), an action which was not only an end of the PHCN privatisation process but also the beginning of a Season of Hope for Nigerians who have imagined the possibilities of uninterrupted power supply and if this will happen in their lifetime.

Power supply has been seen as the panacea to a lot of problems bedeviling the nation. Regular and adequate power supply will boost the establishment of industries across the country. This will mean, among other things, cheaper commodities as these commodities do not have to be transported over long distances to get to the consumers, more employment for the horde of unemployed youths in the country, a greater level of self reliance which gives the country greater bargaining power in international trade, and assumption of better roles in the international division of labor. We will no longer be seen as a people only good enough for provision of raw materials. Calls, SMS, and data rates will also have to be slashed as the telecommunication companies will no longer have to run on diesel all day everyday.

Each of these benefits of regular power supply has its own sub-benefits. Creation of employment, for example, would mean less idle youth available for recruitment by kidnappers and terrorists.

The privatization, with its assurances of better power supply through more competent management of the processes of generation, distribution, and transmission of power, is something one would think every Nigerian would celebrate, irrespective of political affiliation. But not so. An intelligent young Nigerian who is followed by thousands of other young Nigerians on Twitter was bold enough, through a series of tweets, to say that Nigerians should not praise the Jonathan administration for this privatization. His reason? Lagos-Ibadan express road has still not been fixed by this government. The ridiculousness of such an opinion is only balanced by the extent to which some followers can be gullible as they do not realize that many of these ‘overlords’ are paid to express these opinions and they do so even when they believe something else in their hearts. Expressing such opinions only helps them meet some personal financial targets.

There are also those who are in permanent critic mode. These do not see any good in anything and they criticize without first seeking to study or understand the details of a situation before criticizing. They remind one of the story of the man and his son who were traveling on a donkey. Some people saw them and castigated the man for punishing the poor animal so. Listening to their criticism, he alighted and allowed his son to ride alone on the donkey. Others saw this and rained insults and curses on the boy for allowing his old father walk while he sat so comfy on the donkey. This made the man trade places with his son. But that did not stop the critics. They called him a wicked father. Why would he make a little boy go through such torture? Listening to them, the man apologised and got down and both he and his son proceeded to walk beside the donkey. But the critics were not done. They called him a fool. Why get a donkey if you’re not going to ride it, they questioned.

This is the anatomy of the Nigerian critic. He is headed for doom who waits for the approval of these critics before embarking on a project.

Surely there are those who do fact-based criticisms and who go beyond the person to look at the policies. They offer praise when due and offer better ideas to the government when the need arises. This is what it means to speak truth to power. Truth is not only spoken when it is condemnation. These are however in the minority. In spite of this minority they have maintained tenacity and developed thick skins when they are called sell-outs for giving the government kudos for a few actions. Nigeria needs more critics like these. Critics who listen to the voice of reason. Critics whose conscience is their compass. Critics who criticise to build up the nation even if this does not build up their bank balances.

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Posted in wpzoom Y! Daily on September 30, 2013 10:56 am / 0 Comments / EDIT

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by Collins Uma

Collins Uma

The solution to Nigeria’s problems do not lie in the hands of the class that created them. Voted for, they will only create more problems. This is why it hurts when young people shy away from politics. 

As Nigeria celebrates another Independence Day it is imperative we look at the leadership question once again.

For 53 years we have told ourselves that we are independent even though this is not really true. For 53 years we have struggled with political leadership. For 53 years we have lived in the Cave of Corruption while the rest of the world moved ahead of us.

We did not arrive here today. Chinua Achebe published No Longer At Ease in 1960, the year of Nigeria’s ‘independence’ and A Man Of The People in 1966. As prescient as he was, these novels spoke about the high level bribery and corruption that was the order of the day at that time. They also spoke about the incompetence of government officials who enriched themselves while projecting the image of being on the side of the people. Achebe was not writing about something that would happen in 2013. His books painted an image of the Nigerian society at that time.

So, the governmental apathy and rascality we witness have always been here. We have only gone round the mountain again. Led by the same people who made us start the journey in that direction. As long as we are led by these we will always remain subject to the dictates of the mindset or paradigm that has ensured we be at this stage of development at this point in time.

Goodluck Jonathan, as a person, is not the problem with Nigeria. The blame belongs to the structure and processes that brought him to power. Campaigning against the man, Jonathan, is like seeking to cut off a branch of a tree while leaving the tree and its roots in place. Another branch with same or worse traits will just grow in its place. Olusegun Obasanjo, Theophilus Danjuma, Yakubu Gowon and others of that generation came into power at a time Nigeria was attempting to take baby steps towards national growth and development. Actions then were therefore going to become the templates for future generations of leaders. After them came the Umaru Dikko, Muhammadu Buhari, David Mark, and IBB generation. All these men contributed in different ways to keep us where we are. All these men are still ruling us directly or indirectly. They have constituted themselves into a factory with assembly lines that churn out rulers in the mold of Goodluck Jonathan. The only change we will see as long as this old generation or their appendages continue to call the shots is the change from Six to Half-a-dozen. Jonathan is a product of the socialisation he has received from the Obasanjorian School of Rulership and he is operating within the framework and template designed for him and others by this school.

National leadership isn’t soccer but they both benefit from injection of fresh players with new ideas into the system. Diego Maradona might be the greatest footballer ever born but it will be insane for any club to seek his services now in the field of play. Nigeria needs the old guard the way a football club needs Maradona now.

Newton’s First Law of Motion – simplified – states that a body at rest will continue to be at rest or, if in motion, will continue with uniform speed in the same direction (velocity) unless it is acted upon by an external force. Nigeria, the direction we have taken can only lead us to anarchy and state failure and the drivers do not seem to realise this because the present state of affairs is conducive to the fufilment of their pecuniary and Byzantine desires. That external force is what we need to stop this descent. Leaders who are not representatives of the old institution.

We can also learn something from Newton’s Second Law of Motion which states that the acceleration of a body is directly proportional to, and in the same direction as, the net force acting on the body, and inversely proportional to its mass. We want to be among the 20 most developed nations of the world by year 2020. This is in less than 7 years. What have we achieved in 14 years of ‘democracy’? Scratch that. What have we achieved in 53 years of ‘independence’? Our acceleration towards vision 20:2020 is, using Newton’s second law as a guide, dependent on the net force (the sum of all the forces) acting on the country’s leadership. Everything rises and falls on leadership. If we prosper the credit goes to the leadership. Ditto if we fail as a nation. If THIS is where 53 years of that force acting on our leadership has gotten us, you can guess how far it will take us in the next 7 years.

This is not about individuals. It is about paradigms.

The solution to Nigeria’s problems do not lie in the hands of the class that created them. Voted for, they will only create more problems. This is why it hurts when young people shy away from politics. If Nigeria must be saved it is up to young Nigerians immune from the indoctrination of the old generation to do this. It is time for young Nigerians to stretch forth their hands and show by conduct that they are ready to receive and run with the baton.

Our roles go beyond rants and protests. No matter what these achieve, we are at best reactionary if we do not go beyond waiting to engage the government after things go wrong. This is why I have always called on young people to flood the political parties, register and influence policies. Proactivism will always trump reactivism. This is calling all young Nigerians to step forward.

This is our duty.

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Collins Uma is a trained Sociologist with a bias for Developmental Sociology. He is a public affairs analyst and commentator. He is also a husband and father and an ordained Minister of the Gospel. Collins Uma tweets via @CollinsUma

 

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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