-By Zik Gbemre
MY FEAR FOR NIGERIA
Chinua Achebe has long said "there was a country". As it is now Nigeria is no longer a country. Nigeria is no longer real. Nigeria is a mere name calling.
Will convening another national confab and drafting of new constitution as being suggested by Emeka Anyaoku's Patriots make Nigeria a country of our dreams?
Have we learnt from past mistakes? Will the draft of a new constitution end abnormalities in the country? What Nigeria lacks is absent of patriotic leaders and objective followers.
Even if new constitution is drafted will the same set of politicians not dominate the political arena? Nigeria's leadership is dominated by crooks and they will still remain as power brokers. Name one sector that is functioning.
No sector is functioning in my opinion. Every person wants to be in government to loot.The more they remain in power the more money they get by any means possible, with this the politicians glue to power and being replaced by their children as they are ageing.
In Nigeria the more violent and crooked you are, the more recognition you get. Violent people are rewarded while the reasonable people remain unrecognised. We know the violent people.
The violent people are the money bags. They are VIPs. They dictate who to run for supposed elections.
Will the draft of a new constitution brings sanity into the system? Will the draft of a new constitution end nepotism and corruption?
Who will be the implementers of the new constitution if drafted? Look at President Bola Tinubu's appointments. Nigeria problem is not new constitution or national confab with the way things are being run in this country.
Tinubu is there for his Yoruba people. We have good laws if only they are implemented. Two things pay in Nigeria. Politics and Thuggery. Once you master any of these, one is made in life.
Sound education with integrity can't guarantee your child a good job in Nigeria. Degrees with high grades are purchased. Sound Education with integrity is lacking in Nigeria. Sound education and integrity ought to go together. Degrees and diplomas are worthless in absence of integrity no matter how many they are.
The politicians are not ready for a new Nigeria. The end bad governance protests were peaceful in Delta. Hired thugs by politicians disrupted peaceful protests in Effrurun in Delta state. We are told these thugs were rewarded with SSAs jobs by Gov Sheriff Oborevwori.
These politicians travel to US, UK, Canada and they see how the systems work there but they don't copy them and use them in Nigeria. Do we really need to waste public funds to organize another confab that will not be implemented?
Dust past confab recommendations and implement them rather than wasting time for another confab that will never be implemented.
Few days ago, Mr Goodluck Edafe wrote, "Yes, members of the public can give information to the police, but that notwithstanding, it's the specific duty of the police to fish out and prosecute all sorts of criminals, including financial criminals.
"Before democracy came in 1999, we know ourselves and the financial status of one another. So, if known material paupers of yesterday suddenly become millionaires and billionaires simply because they are politicians in government houses, no patriotic Police, EFCC, ICPC officer would need any special information from the people before going after them. Although we still have few upright and dedicated police officers in Nigeria.
"Thus, when the Nigerian Police, EFCC and ICPC blamed their inability to arrest and prosecute emergency billionaires in the country on the lack of tip-off or information from the people, they exposed their intellectual weakness and operational inefficiency.
"While it is agreed that endorsing or celebrating ill-gotten wealth fuels crime, the Military, DSS, Police, EFCC and ICPC cannot exonerate themselves from the practice, as they are the ones in the forefront in the worship of owners of wealth whether legally acquired or stolen.
"In this country, it is no longer news that the police collects money from rich men to oppress poor people. The Abuja police case between Pastor Suleiman and his church member who debunked his miracle money claim is a case in hand."
Do we really need a new confab for the elites to gather for merriment in Abuja drafting new constitution? Even our electoral laws are not implemented during elections. Once a candidate can afford to hire violent hoodlums and bribe INEC he/she will be declared winner.
You don't need to campaign to win supposed elections in Nigeria. In the entire country local government chairmen and councilors are not elected.
The sitting governors appoint them.
The laws are there but do politicians implement them?
Zik Gbemre
September 23, 2024
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
