If well-educated, competent, and patriotic political leaders take over the reins of power at all tiers of government in Nigeria, Nigeria will return to its pristine state and halcyon days. At that time, which was in the First Republic just before the civil war erupted, Nigeria was on the trajectory of economic prosperity and technological advancement. We had the groundnut pyramid in the Northern region; the cocoa plantation in the Western region; and palm oil produced in the Eastern region.
At that time, the quality of education obtainable in our schools was high; and our premier university, the University of Ibadan, was a Mecca for foreign students who sought quality education. And the exemplary and commendable political leadership, which was offered to the people of the Western region in the First Republic by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo has remained unmatchable in our political annals.
Sadly, there is a systemic rot in our political culture. Vote-buying, voter suppression, and the misuse and abuse of state powers to gain political power have been woven into our political culture. Since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999, electoral litigation has become a feature of our democracy. The judiciary has been deciding the winners of some of our elections.
The bad effects of decades of inept, profligate, corrupt, and rudderless political leadership are evident. For example, Nigeria has a perennial energy crisis, which stifles the growth of our indigenous industries. There’s infrastructural rot as many roads are in deplorable condition. Most public schools in the country are a shambles; not only are their roofs blown off but also their walls are tumbledown.
“Many Nigerians are still hopeful that Nigeria is not past redemption. We can still have a new Nigeria that is economically prosperous, technologically developed, and truly united if we repent from our evil ways and start to do the right things”
Our schools cannot equip students with the knowledge and skills with which they can navigate their ways in the world. The infestation of our universities with the problems of cultism, and sex-for-grade, has diminished their status as the bastion of scholarship.
Consequently, millions of Nigerian university graduates lack numeracy and literacy skills. They pound the pavement daily in search of jobs. The sad fact is that successive political governments failed to revive and diversify our economy to create job opportunities for millions of job seekers. Nigeria alternates between economic recession and economic recovery, which has reduced millions of Nigerians to sub-humans.
Consequently, those unemployed, disgruntled, disillusioned, and hopeless Nigerians constitute the pool from which the Boko Haram insurgents and terrorists recruit their foot soldiers. They would invade government-owned schools and abduct hundreds of schoolchildren for ransom. Since the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls happened in 2014, the abduction of schoolchildren for ransom has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria.
However, many Nigerians are still hopeful that Nigeria is not past redemption. We can still have a new Nigeria that is economically prosperous, technologically developed, and truly united if we repent from our evil ways and start to do the right things.
First, our 1999 Constitution should be discarded, and a new one written to reflect our new political realities. Nigeria cannot make headway in any area of national development with the current constitution.
Chiedu Okoye wrote via writerlyadichie@gmail.com
