WEDNESDAY COLUMN BY USSIJU MEDANER
info@medaner.com, justme4justice@yahoo.com
“Everything that has a beginning has an end; it is only God that has no beginning and an end. As I said earlier, we have had different crisis in the past, and were able to overcome; and whatever crisis we have in the country today, by the grace of God, we will one day overcome and Nigeria will come to be one great country, united, prosperous, economically strong, with a political clout, and Nigeria, by the grace of God, will one day take her proper place in the committee of nations; will lead the Africans, will inspire the blacks all over the world. This is my prayer.” The quote is both the wish and prayer of Late Yusuf Maitama Sule, of blessed memory, for the Nigeria of his dream.
This is very synonymous to the ultimate wish of Martin Luther King Junior for the America of his dream: “I have a dream, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:…….I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of the former slaves and the sons of the slave-owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood….I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character, I have a dream today.” Luther King Junior prayer was a call for racial equality and the dealt of decimation that relegated the blacks in the American society which he rightly observed; the black American were a second class citizens in their own country and long waited for a change that would bring respite, in an egalitarian society, where they would rub shoulders with the whites.
The Nigeria situation was not different, though the desires of the lovers of the nation has not solely been the desire for the emergence of an egalitarian society; but rather, more importantly, the emergence of an efficient and effectively administered nation, taking absolute advantages of its innate resources capacity, to develop itself to the full benefit of its populace and gaining of its worthy place in the continent as well as globally.
The America of today is the dream of the Americans of yesterdays; but the dreams were not delivered on their laps on a platter of gold, the Americans set the ground for the changes they want, worked for the changes they are now seeing and were consistent in maintaining a disciplined actions that culminated in the emerged American society of the dream of Luther. Here in Nigeria, we wanted forever to see changes that are desirable; we theoretically fantasise the nation we want to become; we rhetorically paint pictures of the progress we want to see; we debate eloquently and become perhaps the most blessed nation on paper but unfortunately, our nation remains ravished by gross underdevelopment built on self-destruction that happens within the systems of the country and continuously perpetrated by elements within the country.
It is not enough that the founding fathers of Nigeria and our leaders, politically, dreamt of a great future for the country, and it is not enough that they spend time after times gallivanting the length and breadth of the country and mesmerising the citizens with promises coated with lies, that they do not possess both the will and the capacity to fulfil.
Over the decades, we have had politicians deceiving us with what they would do for us if elected to lead us; and we have seen through all the deceits that left us repeatedly worse than we have been. We are at the corner now, where we would take the lead to decide our fate; not again would individuals without leadership know-how, and lacking political will to create a better life for Nigerians found their ways to the seat of control of our nation.
Last week, I commenced the series highlighting the antecedents of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that stands him out and far above all other contestants for the seat of the president of Nigeria.
As an individual, I would find it difficult to pitch my tent with a contestant who is proud of debasing the country as a tool for gaining popular support both at home and abroad. I would not support such a candidate who goes about talking of a failed nation in a way that grossly demeans us all over. Of course, we do have our challenges, but taking the nation to the bin to sell our ambition is never the way to go. Both Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of PDP have not spent a day out campaigning without referring to the country in the light of a failed state. Yet, they have been part of the system of state development since they joined politics decades ago, and have been part of the mess the nation is being salvaged from. I did listen however to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu discussing the notion of Nigeria being a failed state; and I was once again impressed by the position he took on the subject matter. In his words, he urged Nigerians to desist from buying into the ongoing narrative of the country being a failed state. He said “And we hold every effort to the country of patriotism, dedication, capacity and ability to the job. Not negative thinking, not the fact that Nigeria has failed, this country is the greatest. If it is to rebuild, we are builders; if it is construction, we are constructors; if it is assurance, we give Nigerians assurance that we will definitely make a great country out of it all.” “NOT NEGATIVE THINKING.” Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not using the challenges of the country to brew up sentimental support; he is giving hope, hope that regardless of our present challenges, we can do it and we will all work together to do it.
And that he can do it is never in contention. He had done it again and again; in power and out of power, the man Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu antecedents has said it all. What Asiwaju transformed Lagos state to is enough testament of what is to come if he ascends to the seat of the president of the country.
As the governor of Lagos state, to broaden the platform for the development of the state across the board, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu created 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), in addition to the existing local government areas in the state. That action spread the state over, increasing access to local administrations and brought development much closer and evenly to the grassroots communities of the state. In the midst of a very stiff, punitive Federal government opposition that led it to illegally withheld state funds due to the state from the center; and at a time when other states were only concerned with abusing local government administration by pocketing disbursed monthly allocations; obviously in the executive pockets and mostly for personal usages. This was at the same time that Peter Obi of Anambra was collecting local government allocation of 21 LGAs for good eight years and refused to allow the conduct of local government election for the entire period, but repeatedly appointed administrators who answered only directly to him. No wonder the state remains undeveloped in comparison to its innate capacity for development. The same man is today preaching democracy that his antecedent tells he never practiced.
In 1999 when Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over as the governor of Lagos state, the Internally Generated Revenue of the state was estimated at around N700 million, though there are other reports that it was N14.6 billion; whichever, as at 2007, when he was exiting as the governor of the state, the IGR has grown to N83.02 billion, a monthly average of N6.9 billion and an IGR growth rate of 486.63 percent between 1999 and 2007 showing a considerable increase that is not matched by any other state. I went ahead to research the IGR records of Anambra state, and what I found was alarming. Throughout the eight years of Peter Obi administration, as the governor of his state, the state IGR remained constant at N400 million per month; perhaps, because the governor was not reporting an increase or there was no increase despite the economic status of the state. Yet, the moment Peter Obi left, Obiano recorded a 225 percent increase in IGR to N1.3 billion per month. What could have suddenly changed? How can the same Peter Obi be compared to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu? No, not at all.
We are talking of a candidate who has proven to be ready for the task of governance of the country. The manifesto he rolled out is a clear indication of his preparedness and the depth of his knowledge of what has to be done to move the nation forward. This is in total contrast to the position of some others who believe that they can take decisions on their feet once elected to the position. It is unbelievable that a former governor of a state, for eight solid years, would not know the importance of a political party Manifesto for a position as critical as the president of a country and to not only prepare for an elective position which is constitutionally held by a candidate of a political party and on behalf of their political party but also serves as an instrument for the electorate and the public in a democracy to assess the performance of a government. Peter Obi said he doesn’t need a manifesto to govern Nigeria. Actually, I assumed he did not say that until I went online to confirm it. How on earth in the twenty-first century would a presidential aspirant make such a statement? You want to rule a country on impulses; who does that? Even as small as our nuclear families could be, we make administrative plans, even though mostly unwritten and informal. For a democracy, particularly in a diverse, multi-ethnic one like ours, conceiving not having or dismissing a manifesto is either dumb or mischievous or both. Perhaps, he is confused as you may recall, he waited schemingly to hijack an unprepared and battered political party, the Labour Party to become its presidential candidate. It won’t be wrong to say that both candidate Peter Obi and the Labour Party are unprepared to govern Nigeria from their manifesto-less preparation.
Beyond rhetoric, it is an error comparing the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the others. He stands clearly apart and far ahead; his antecedents speak volume and present him as the best man for the job. Sentiments and jingoisms apart, Nigerians would be doing the country the best of patriotic service by lining up behind a proven performer like him.
Like I ended last week, I once again present to all well-meaning Nigerians, the best man for the job, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
To be continued…
GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA!
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