Daily Independent (Lagos)
Austin Oboh
2 July 2009
opinion
Lagos — At least two prominent Nigerians last week expressed worry over the drift in governance, and their views, coming at a time when the nation's education sector, appears to be at its very lowest, have stirred some anxiety in the country. Despite negative indices of growth, President Umaru Yar'Adua has carried on with governance as though everything was working just fine. This is what bothers most critics in the country who insist that the current leadership is hardly the right one for a time like this in the nation's history. The critics have expressed concern over the seeming lack of direction in governance as well as the subtle determination of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to wipe away the opposition through membership poaching. Are the concerns that have been raised genuine? Many Nigerians would scarcely think before they answer that question in the light of the socio-political and economic morass in the country at the moment.
Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, drew attention to the matter recently when he pleaded with the privileged class in the country to come together and save Nigeria from drifting into a state of hopelessness. Abubakar gave the advice in an address in Zaria at the launching of 'Who is Who' by the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello, University. He argued that the nation's elite should appreciate that only their contributions to the society would live after them. He was in support of robust political debates and contests, he said, stressing that the love of the nation should be placed above any other sentiment.
His words: "I am idealistic to the extent that I believe in the immense potential of our country to become a truly great nation able to take care of and defend its citizens. But I am also a very practical man. I believe that it is not enough for us to bemoan the poverty and underdevelopment of the country or any region thereof. We, especially the more privileged, should do something about the deepening poverty, underdevelopment and hopelessness that pervade our land. It will be the most important way that we will be judged. We can and should have robust political debates and even disagreements. We can and should have vigorous political contests. But in the end we shall be judged not by the volume of our disagreements or the insults that we throw at each other. We shall be judged not by the amount of education we have or the wealth that we have accumulated.
Rather we shall be judged by the concrete contributions that each of us has made in our official and private capacities to the upliftment of our communities and the wider society."
Atiku's message was followed by that of the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Sunday Ola Makinde, who warned that if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruled the country for the next 60 years, as it has reportedly planned to do, then the nation would be in a state of total darkness. Makinde spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, last weekend at this year's recognition of service and award of merit to deserving Methodists in the Archdiocese of Ilesa, held at the Methodist Cathedral of Blessing, Ilorin. He told journalists that the PDP-led government would put the nation in a state of corruption, armed robbery and unemployment, if allowed to rule the country for the next 60 years. Said he: "We cannot tolerate that. But the opposition must be strong; the country is drifting towards a one-party state. Any government that can address the problem of unemployment, fight corruption, provide electricity, has arrived. But we can not achieve that unless we put the right people in political offices." He also remarked that Nigerians were not enjoying the dividends of democracy because of their failure to vote the right people into office. "As you lay your bed so you lie on it," he quipped.
National Secretary of the Action Congress (AC), Usman Bugaje, led some members of the party on a sensitization tour of the country in view of the next round of elections coming up in 2011. Speaking to the press about the tour, Bugaje accused the PDP-led government of inability to address the yearnings of Nigerians. This is what he said: "It is very clear that the PDP government has failed this country. Our worry is that if we do not wake up and do something in 2011 it is not only the government of PDP that would fail, but we might end up also as a failed state. Until we can stop them we are not going to get out of the woods, this country would continue to go down the drain."
Worried by a fresh spate of cross-carpeting engineered by the PDP lately, the AC also slammed President Yar'Adua and his party, the PDP, for undermining the country's democracy and the rule of law by aligning with elected officials who were cross carpeting. In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday, the AC National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, criticised the President for personally witnessing the crossover of Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, from the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) to the PDP, pointing out that the people of the state who voted Yuguda into office on the platform of the ANPP did not approve of the crossover.
"Carpet-crossing is undermining democracy; therefore, openly aligning with those engaged in it undermines the nation's democracy. It is worse when the president, who is an apostle of the rule of law, is the one encouraging such illegality," AC claimed.
The fears that have been raised so far would get lost in the ocean of general discontent in the country, but they may never lead to any changes, and this is yet again another indictment of democracy a la Nigeria.
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President Yar'Adua seemingly has no idea as to how to correctly handle the fast deteriorating situation in Nigeria but as long as he gets his salary and holds the power, nothing else matters.
Atiku's rhetorics are typical of Politicians that have lost their deadly manipulative grip on the masses. His posturing as a concerned so-called elite should be measured against the contributions he made as the Vice President during his reign. Adamawa - his home State still largely remain underdeveloped despite his long tenure in government.
God willing, Nigeria will experience positive change after 2011, however we hope people like Atiku will not pollute the system with his apparent but self centered concern for the nation.