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Reflections on Canada's ex-prime minister's statement on OBJ

Started by Nuruddeen, May 12, 2004, 11:00:30 AM

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Nuruddeen

Thursday, April 22, 2004  
 :shock:  :shock: Reflections on Canada?s ex-prime minister?s statement on OBJ :oops:  :oops:

By Jibo Nura

Mr. Jean Chretien?s (former Canada?s prime minister?s) comment on President Olusegun Obasanjo?s government is not least expected. Every responsible mind that listens or comes across such a mind boggling advisory statements will definitely sympathize with Nigeria on two things. First, her position as a failed state under the current democratic regime; where all democratic etiquettes, principles and freedom are no longer harmonized and permutated but intertwined with disequilibria forces, which disproportionately act and transform the citizenry into everlasting corruptible generations. Second are the pathological symptoms and chronic signs of power-mongering that are explicitly manifest in our leadership style since independence.

Today in Nigeria, when a public officer, elected or appointed, assumes responsibility of the of affairs either at Federal, State, or Local government levels, the congratulatory message among his/her relatives, friends, siblings and even parents are centred on one common impression that God has answered their prayers, because they believe that they are secluded from poverty, hunger and starvation. Almost all pieces of advice that such an officer will come by from close associates is that he/she should by every means try and maintain that position for the second, third or even fourth time. He/she will be told to amass as much wealth as possible from the public treasury, just in case power may be relinquished! And once this is done, the thinking of the officer in question will be narrowed and confined to those close allies, relatives and parents. All the ?accumulated wealth? (loot) will be enjoyed by him/herself and also by their kith and kin. This is the definition of leadership in contemporary Nigeria! The egocentricity is so obvious that it has even reached its ?peak value?, where other significant moral indexes like good human conscience, patriotism, discipline, accountability, honesty, and nationalism have been swept under the carpet. Thus, creating a lot of tensions, violence and anarchy. The system is so rotten that majority of our leaders and innocent citizens have vanished without notice.

Therefore, Mr. Jean Chretien?s critical but objective and sincere counsels to Obasanjo came at the time when it is best needed. Perhaps, it could be that the former prime minister has studied the rowdy nature of the political atmosphere of the country and had felt obliged to tell Mr. President the truth about his ambitious intention to run Nigeria for the third time. Hear him: "Obasanjo?s third term bid would plunge the Nigerian economy into a disastrous situation."

To my analytical mind, this statement is a perfect match of the alleged constitutional amendment, which the Presidency and Senate are passionately in romance with. It portrays an agenda of swift political gambit that will give room for ?self perpetuation? of the present key political actors. But whatever be the case, this unwholesome idea should be treated with caution, because it will do more harm than good to our economic, political and social emancipation. Though it is not the continuity (tazarce) that matters. What really matters is the ?eventual calamity? that will befall the nation. Not quite long, we have seen what happened in Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola Rwanda, Cote d voire and Sierra Leone. The case of Samuel Doe, Dos Santos, Charles Taylor (now on refuge in Nigeria) and Laurent Kabila should have served as a very good lesson to us. But the fact that our leaders always live in the world of make belief, they don?t foresee the inherent dangers in turning leadership into a lifetime affair.

Nonetheless, in his comparative assessment of Nigeria and Canada, system wise, Mr. Chretien proudly said, " we have good institutions that the people respect. You know that we have a good system of election, good system of judiciary". He further averred, "If a Canadian is involved in corruption outside Canada, he will be further punished when he is repatriated into Canada..."

But under Obasanjo?s government when a public figure is involved in corruption or financial impropriety, he/she is punishable by promotion! The case of former minister of power and steel, Chief Bola Ige (late), is an attestation to this fact.

On the areas of Industrialization, Mr. Chretien cited "a well industrialized nation does not need a large workforce, i.e. Japan produces 400 Lexus cars a day with 70 people."

So the question is what is the rational behind our large workforce and prolonged Industrialization programmes and policies?

Also if we do not forget, during the Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the former prime minister mentioned one of the reasons why Canada would not cancel Nigeria?s debts. "Because Nigeria is a rich country but lacks good leadership and proper harnessing of its abundant resources..."

Therefore, to all intents and purposes, Obasanjo?s government has disappointed not only Nigerians but also even the external communities. For instance, when we talk of national security, it?s zero. The killing of the attorney general of the federation- Chief Bola Ige, Marshal Harry, and Mr. Dikibo etc, are confirmation to this fact. These people are said to be killed by ?unknown persons?. And up to this moment, no substantial proof is established against the suspects. Again, when we talk of transparency and accountability, it?s zero. A11 of us have seen and witnessed the 2003 election. It was conducted with a11 the attendant irate youths, and bandits. Even when it was reported and ascertained by both foreign and local election monitors, NLC and Trade Union congress that it was absolutely rigged elections, Mr. President and his Abuja crowd are still holding our mandate willy nilly. We also have seen it all during Obasanjo?s first term -the ever fuel queues - that ringed the nation even as Nigeria is counted among the first six countries in the world that largely produce petrol.

To me, the problem with Obasanjo?s government is multi dimensional. His government has wronged Nigerians both living within and in Diaspora. It is therefore high time Obasanjo and his men changed the volte-face of their leadership paradigm to a nationalistic agenda aimed at salvaging Nigeria from total collapse.

Personally, I regard Mr. Jean Chretien?s commentary as a form of ridiculous challenge to

Nigerians, especially the leadership. Because he knows that our entire system, both judiciary, legislative, and administrative including our institutions, have reached their nadir. And unless we look inward into ourselves and confront the entire system with all honesty, so as to come up with a genuine correctiveness, we will continue pushing ourselves into political, economic and social doldrums. The sooner we realize this the better for us.

Jibo Nura(a.k.a Nuruddeen)

E-mail: jibonura@yahoo.com
:shock:  :shock:  :shock:
o try and fail is atleast to learn. That will save one the inestimable loss of what might have been (positive or negative).