Opinion: The type of leader Nigeria really needs

by Bakare Adedayo

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, doing the 'Shoki' dance
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, doing the ‘Shoki’ dance

In this time, our executives are dancing ‘shoki’ across states as the Nigeria economy is being swindled, we have had a striking Judiciary, and our docile legislature in the usual manner of their four year stay have lost their voice since the fence climbing heroics that gave them a feeble acclaim. What a country!

The call and unending cry for change in the Nigerian socio-political and economic space for the past months has been rife and quite unprecedented in the history of Nigeria, thus assuring that we still have politically conscious men and women, whom have since awaken from their political slumber. Fellow Social Media enthusiasts can attest to the discourses the upcoming general elections has generated in the media space and how this has shaped public opinion, so also in bringing individual and group perceptions to the fore. As with all political jingoism, it’s never about the people, perhaps some claim otherwise.

In the most literal sense of the word ‘change’, what most have demonstrated is a far cry, a cosmetic sense of the word because it is apparent that only the frequency of its usage seems to have changed. In the cosmetic sense, things have undoubtedly changed.

Political parties have, in the usual manner, toured almost the nook and cranny of the federation adorning their regalia while bought political spectators roar deafening ‘yes’ or ‘no’ according to the disposition and direction of their tone when you would expect sane men to openly voice their discontent at their clueless  and often bewildering utterances. Media houses, print and electronic, are having a boom, returns are sky high and a year of unparalleled profit is in the offing because airing and publishing of political schemes and propaganda has held sway instead of objective reporting. A new set of party activists, both paid and unpaid, have surfaced bearing several pseudonyms, creating interesting social media handles and trending their favoured candidates with different hashtags to desired acclaim. So also entertainers whose pockets are being filled for cameo performances and at the lowest cadre, many are being paid to grace campaign rallies with meager sums of the troubled naira and other stomach infrastructure initiatives.

Amidst the delusion of change that most have endlessly and uncautiously basked in, the Buhari Vs Jonathan article of Prof. Charles Soludo provided an expose which caught the eye of many, awaken the senses of many, albeit momentarily, in a manner epitomizing the Nigerian Paradox. Soon after, many people started asking questions while majority continued in their slumber, further falling and faltering save for the brief inspirational interjection. This façade called change has led us into a new economy, a sublet of the national brand, boasting the rich and the mighty and spanning the private and public sector. In the latter case, the usual deviousness of our government, the agencies and parastatals of government reached its peak through various flagrant and insensitive use and misuse of funds has evidenced by the large sums donated in a spree that raised 21 Billion naira for a party even when most have failed to pay salaries, so also the unforgivable rent seeking acts of the private sector much symbolic for lamenting shortage of funds. No wonder the economy is in shambles, so much for regulation and control. In this time, our executives are dancing ‘shoki’ across states as the Nigeria economy is being swindled, we have had a striking Judiciary, and our docile Legislature in the usual manner of their four year stay have lost their voice since the fence climbing heroics that gave them a feeble acclaim. What a country!

As opposed to the dearth of funds in the Nigerian economy, billions of naira abounds in the new economy, shared in pieces of pie according to your reach and influence while the unfortunate masses settle for the crumbs trickling from the mouth of the voracious, impatient and quite greedy stakeholders in the new economy. It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out that resources have been redirected from productive use, private and public accounts to party accounts even when for some it represents a seemingly futile cause whose popularity has since plummeted.

Nothing has changed, just the perpetuation of the status quo which is flexible enough to be manipulated to project good and bad. An example is the continual and often dismal reference to echelons of good in other countries even when we seem to ignore the premise and assumptions yielding their glorious outcomes in coming to such conclusions. A further testament to this manipulation is the propagation of sentiments that a man without shoes, a Muslim/Christian, a Yoruba/Hausa/Ibo, an honest man or a pastor holds the midas touch when only what we need is a man of reason, vision, and immense leadership credentials cum accomplishments. These same leaders who want to lead Nigeria to the Promised Land through reference to leaders with global acclaim seem scared of the rudiments, a debate, necessary to align their manifesto, proposed policy directions and reforms to the hopes and fears of the common man, how sad! We must realize that the seven to ten minutes allotted to candidates on campaign podiums to keep saying the same nonsense promises we have been hearing since 2003 while the remaining hours are devoted to personal attacks and greedy entertainers to mime perform will not suffice. A debate between the two leading aspirants will definitely provide a better platform where genuine issues can be raised and discussed while questions lingering can be answered through careful articulation of thoughts, although we are open to the occasional bursts of laughter generated by IQ eroding comments of some candidates. It makes the filtration process faster.

Furthermore it is crystal clear that a policy document drafted by a few smart people given to clueless and inarticulate politicians to implement will not solve the issues at hand. The Transformation Agenda is an example of such failure in recent time.

In this light, I sincerely hope the two political parties will endeavour to provide this spectacle, and that their supporters as well as well-meaning Nigerians, will clamour for it rather than relish the battle of supremacy in the debate between Prof. Charles Soludo and Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Iweala.

 

– Bakare Adedayo  tweets from @adheydayor

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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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