WHAT are we celebrating' Is it the unbridled and mindless killings in some parts of the country' Could it be the indisputable fact that those elected into public offices are shirking in their statutory responsibilities' Peradventure, we are celebrating the embarrassing disclosures on the monumental scale of sleaze going on in the Nigerian system! Maybe, the jollification is because we have bred more unemployed youths ever than before! We used to be a people of very high values. We cherished family names and placed utmost premium on integrity and honour. Those, who by an act of omission or commission, brought opprobrium to their families were treated as deviants and outcasts. That was in the era of leaders with conscience and principles that exalt a nation; when leaders would think about the people, country and not about what they could get for selfish reasons from the system.Things have since changed from bad to worse; new attitudes developed because of our idiotic propensity to imbibe or copy all alien cultures without consideration for the peculiarities of our root, background and the environment. We have taken everything hook, line and sinker without domesticating those foreign ideas to suit our situation of distilling them based on the suitability or otherwise to the Nigerian environment so as to make them compatible with our needs. Take for example, the word democracy. It has a number of variants across the world. But we opted to copy the American version, but unlike the way it is being practised in the United States, its practice in Nigeria is almost antithetical to the general norm and principle of a government intrinsically and practically hinged on the welfare, wishes and aspiration of the vast majority. That notwithstanding, we also copied the concept of commemorating 100 days in office by public officers. The exercise is characterized by rhetoric as nothing concrete is actually on ground each time our public officers and their hirelings engage in carnivals on such occasions. Yet, a huge chunk of scarce public resource would have been expended on the jamboree.The Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola [SAN, tried to create a niche for himself by slightly adjusting the commemoration syndrome. He deviated from the pattern of high profile embraced by elected public officers like president and governors while celebrating one year in office, even after virtually all of them would have wasted public funds marking 100 days in office. The system is yet to gain popularity among other political leaders. But what are these so-called leaders actually celebrating' Is it part of the reasons that Nigerian voters gave them their mandate' Contrary to the claims by many before elections, the political leaders, on their own volition, opted for 'public service.' The Nigerian Constitution is not only unambiguous on the issue of eligibility, but also explicit on the duties and responsibilities of any elected public officer. It therefore means that all the positions go with responsibility, which ordinary should be clear and comprehended by those aspiring to serve Nigerians. But what do we have today' It is nothing short of a vainglory among leaders, who had promised to turn stone into bread after a short spell during their pre-election campaigns. May 1, marked annually as a workers' day, was like a day of mourning in the country. Galloping inflation has impoverished the Nigerian worker. The promise of a new national minimum wage is fast becoming a mirage. Some governors claimed they could only pay the N18, 000 minimum salary if their individual state economies improve. The glamour that usually characterizes the day was also blurred and blighted by the general insecurity in the country. Boko Haram made life miserable for many mostly in the North, while bandits, kidnappers and abductors have continued to create fears and apprehensions in other parts of the country. At the federal level, the authorities have equally kick-started a chain of events to commemorate the controversial May 29 Democracy Day. A couple of ministers have reeled out the 'evident' achievements of their individual ministries under the Jonathan administration in its first year in office. Going by the stewardship rendered by the ministers, Nigerians have gained more and ought to be effusive with smiles by now, especially concerning the state of the health and energy sectors. The veracity of those claims by the authorities rests with the vast majority of the citizens, many of who believe that the only thing that they do not have to provide for their comfort is the natural air. The handiwork of those in government ought to speak for them and their commitment to service conscientiously and faithfully. If there has to be any cause to celebrate, the idea should emanate from the people, as a way of appreciating the impact of public policies and programmes on their lives and their environment. It will be a reflection of a genuine paradigm shift of planning from bottom up, instead of the current system of top down that serves the interest and boosts the ego of the ruling class.It is also important that we acknowledge the significance of peace and stability in a any nation desirous of economic growth and development. The core challenge confronting the country now is insecurity. It is hampering the progress of the country. Its unity is on trial, the economy under threat, while planning is increasingly becoming difficult. Then, what is left for us to celebrate' We need to heed the warning of the leader of the defunct Biafran Republic, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, of blessed memory. The graphic picture he painted about the Nigerian state in 1989 is coming to pass. Unlike Gereal Muhammadu Buhari, who recently used a milder expression in drawing public attention to the precarious state of the ship of the nation, Ojukwu was blunt in warning about the possibility of a bloody confrontation if we continued to play the ostrich. He declared, 'Each year, the future looks even bleaker; the rich get fewer and fewer. The poor get more and more destitute. Sooner and later the disposed of this land will have to unite against this progressive demolisation of the common man. Sooner or later, the common man will balk at a life that has become an intolerable burden. I am not a pessimist, yet I feel obliged to caution that if we fail to heed the warning implicit in today's tension, then we owe it to ourselves to prepare and gird our loin for the inevitable bloody confrontation.'Oderemi, 08023501874 (SMS only)
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