IN the name of Allah, the Beneficent the MercifulAllah sets forth a parable: a city enjoying security and quiet, abundantly supplied with sustenance from every place: Yet was it ungrateful for the favours of Allah: so Allah made it taste hunger and terror (in extremes) (closing in on it) like a garment (from every side), because of the (evil), which (its people) wrought (Quran 16:113)'To choose the right moment in which to act is the great art of men''Napoleon BonaparteIF the fetus were given insights into the wombs that would bear them, into the land on which they would be reared, into the country into which they would become citizens, it is likely none would choose Nigeria of today. Nohuman being would prefer to be born in a country where there is no constant electricity supply, where water is scarce, where security is a rarity. One does not need to travel out of this country before one knows that what other countries would imagine does not exist actually flourishes here.Nigeria is that country in which the moon rises at dawn and the sun emerges at dusk; this is a country where children grow grey hairs at birth. Nigeria is probably the only country in the world today where Supreme Court Justices are caught perverting course of justice.A compatriot of mine by name Remi Oyeyemi perceptively captures the burden of being a Nigerian citizen thus: 'We are all dissatisfied with Nigeria. Nigeria has betrayed us. Our hopes are dashed. Our dreams are unrealisable within the Nigerian structure. Those who work hard are in penury. Those whose lands are producing the resources are in poverty. Nigeria deprives those who value education. Nigeria constricts those who want to be international businessmen. Nigeria is holding us back from jumping into the age of technology. Nigeria is depriving us a secularity that has been part of our cultural heritage. Nigeria is impeding those who want merit. Nigeria is humiliating those who value integrity. Nigeria is disgracing those who want self-respect and dignity.'A visit to some countries in Asia with which Nigeria attained flagindependence in 1960 would remind you of how far behind your country is: the road network in Kuala Lumpur inferiorises the ones in New York; the infrastructure in Singapore challenges the ones in London. You would ask yourself while you are being driven out of the airport: what is wrong with our stars'Thus when my attention was called to the 51st anniversary of this nation, I asked myself: where is the nation' Nigeria of today is like an envelope without any address on it; it is a country, which is being superintended by men and women some of whom are not fit to take charge of a cottage; excepting a few, our country has had the ill-luck of producing government functionaries whose minds are like a soup dish, wide and shallow; a muskeg of mediocrity. They travel round the world, spend our national resources in profligate manner only to come back to this country totally incapable of replicating the good things they experience outside the shores of this land.Put differently, some of our leaders are like the proverbial Alice who goes to the wonderland. But it would take Alice to be intellectually enamored enough in order for her to be able to appreciate the wonder in wonderland and consciously make effort to replicate same in the strange land. But Nigeria did not suddenly become a hungry land: hungry forfood, water, shelter and security; hungry for electricity and good roads; hungry for dignity. Yes! Time it was when Ghanaians had to come here before they could survive. Time it was when students in tertiary institutions would have to be waited on by the laundry, when students' cafeterias were full of assorted meals. I equally remember with nostalgia that at a time during my teenage years, condensed milk, Uncle Ben's rice and other assorted food items some of which have now become monuments in our national museum were within reach of the rich and the poor. But those days are gone. But the question is: how did we get here'Aside from other myriad of challenges, which continue to face this country, it is axiomatic that in-effective leadership is perhaps the most fundamental cog in the wheel of progress of Nigeria as a nation. If you doubt this, compare Oshodi of today with the Oshodi of 10 years ago. The point being made is this: we need a Prince who will take this country on to the golden road of Samarkand; a leader who would not sacrifice progress and future development of this country on the altar of parochial political considerations and patronage.The archetypes of the leaders this country should have are embodied in Islamic history; Prophet Muhammad (alyhi salam); of humble leaders like Umar ibn al-Khatab. The ambassador of Rome once came to pay Umar a visit.He said, 'O attendants, where is the palace of the Caliph, that I may take my horse and baggage there'' The folk said to him, 'He has no palace;'Umar's only palace is an illumined spirit. Though he is famous as Commander of the Faithful, his only dwelling is a hut, like the poor'.The leaders of today live in pseudo-prisons they call government houses.The President lives inside the 'rock'; the masses live inside the 'dust';The President is 'protected' by soldiers who stand at the door, by machine guns mounted at the gate and followed by armoured carriers wherever he goes. Our President is a civilian living inside the barracks.Our governors are in the same circumstance. Once they get into the government houses, the one who was born in Oja Oba, in the backwaters of the city would quickly forget his origin; the protocol officers would decide who and what he should see, what he should eat and how he should talk. All these ensure that those in charge of our affairs are disconnected from us; they lose touch with reality.Umar ibn AbdulAziz once heard that one of his sons had purchased a valuable jewel for one thousand dirhams. So he wrote to him: 'I have heardthat you have bought a gem for one thousand dirhams. When this letter reaches you, sell the ring and fill one thousand stomachs. Then make a ring out of two dirhams, make its stone out of Chinese iron, and write upon it, 'God bestows His mercy upon the one who knows his true value'. A governor in one of the states in the South Western part of this country was once told of the extravagant behaviours of one his children. He then retorted: 'Please allow those children to enjoy themselves; they have all suffered with their father before; it is time for them to enjoy'!Thus it becomes clear that this country shall remain whatever we, particularly the dealers in government, make of it. Allah says: 'Truly, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.' The streets of Makkah and Madina continue to dazzle and titillate our cognition not because some angels are charge. Nay! It is humans like me and you who watch over their duties. I pray: 'Our AllahDeliver us from this town whose people are oppressors; send us a protector by Your grace and send us a helper from Your presence'(guardianfridayworship@gmail.com)
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