Given the terrible scenario playing out in the country, manifested in the atmosphere of siege, mass poverty, high government corruption, gross official recklessness and near zero governance, it is no surprise that Nigerians abroad found it necessary to join forces to decry the parlous condition of the country. In a rather bizarre display of self-aggrandizing impertinence, hundreds of Nigerians picketed Number 10 Downing Street in London, the official residence of the British Prime Minister, and delivered a petition urging him to intervene and save Nigeria from imminent implosion from the snowballing Jonathan dictatorship. This is utterly ridiculous. Did the demonstrators expect the British government to send troops to Nigeria to remove President Jonathan from office? Honestly, this “mentor attitude” approach to the problems of Nigeria is misguided, politically naive and unpatriotic. Nigeria is not a banana republic. If Nigerians want to be respected among the comity of nations; they must take their destiny into their own hands and stop crying like babies to outsiders to come put their house in order.
There is nothing wrong if Nigerians abroad decide to have a stake in their country. That much less, is expected of all patriotic citizens. Unfortunately, over the years, beyond the occasional remittances, their involvement has been limited to confrontational political snipping and working against the national interest. This has created a rift between the government and the Diaspora, making it impossible for Nigerians to use the wealth of knowledge, experience and resources acquired abroad to contribute to the growth and development of their country. The demonstrators in London carried placards bearing messages such as: “No to Jonathan’s monopolization of presidential ambition; Democracy now under Goodluck Jonathan’s dictatorship;” amongst others. While these gimmicks may score cheap political points in the media, it needs to be emphasized that such a confrontational disposition seem unhelpful, as it further deepens the rumpus between Nigerians in the Diaspora and the government that views its citizens abroad with anything but hostility and suspicion.
It is common knowledge that the Nigerian ship of state is casting about in heavy seas. There is hardly any aspect of governance that cannot be faulted for malfeasance, corruption and incompetence. The overall situation was already quite appalling before terrorism and widespread insecurity of lives and property were added to the arsenal of the country’s woes. Because of poor governance and disdain for the wishes of the people, many angry groups – all spoiling for a fight – have sprung up all over the country. This is a country where a few citizens live in untold opulence while the vast majority wallow in poverty. In Nigeria, all those nebulous structures that have been created to alleviate poverty do not alleviate anything, such that from Bayelsa to Sokoto, the poor are becoming poorer. Hungry and unemployed, many Nigerian youths lend themselves to criminality and violence. Those who should restrain them are not doing so for they too have not seen the dividends of democracy.
As stakeholders in the Nigerian project, and having regards to their status as Nigerians, the fact that the demonstrators chose to wash their proverbial dirty linen in public, somehow reduces the propriety of their method and their message. The problems of the Jonathan administration are issues for Nigerians to sort out by themselves. The breakdown of governance in the country has been exacerbated by presidential impunity, to the point of threatening the century-old aspirations of the founding fathers and subsequent generations in building a strong, united, peaceful nation that can accommodate and cater for the needs and aspirations of its diverse communities. Some Nigerians are already getting frustrated with the system and are losing faith in the continued unity of the country. There is pervasive cynicism even among patriotic Nigerians about the destiny of this country. Presently, the nation is gripped by fear and uncertainty that citizens virtually have difficulties going about their normal day-to- day lives without great anxiety and trepidation. This cannot be allowed to continue.
Some observers might simply shrug off the London demonstration as being only the latest chapter in a long history of partisan attacks by political snipers and their paymasters who will miss no opportunity to impugn and smear the President’s character. But to the extent that these sensational distractions have a devastating effect on a country’s international image, the impact of a heated political environment can be extremely damaging to national unity and skew policy in dangerous directions, while compromising our unbridled quest for foreign investments.
The current deterioration did not begin and will not end with President Goodluck Jonathan. They are the result of a succession of errors of commission and omission by past leaders of this country. For instance, in 1993, General Ibrahim Babangida annulled a presidential election, adjudged by local and international observers as the freest and fairest Nigeria had ever known. That annulment became an invitation to antidemocratic forces, including political parties, to come to the table determined to thwart free and fair elections by any means possible. Again, under IBB, no attempt was made to fight corruption, which is now a monster to such an extent that it has become an embarrassing issue on governance. President Olusegun Obasanjo must accept responsibility for setting the present compass; first with the presidency of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and then, the Jonathan presidency. Baba’s eight years of democratic rule featured too many malfeasances ranging from anti-people policies to adopting “do-or-die” approaches to winning elections, all of which rendered majority of Nigerians helpless and hopeless.
The lesson to be learned from all this is that the solutions to all the problems facing Nigeria are inside Nigeria; not in London, Paris, New York or Washington. All that is required is purposeful leadership. The unfolding politics of 2015 show that, Nigerian politicians are just preparing for another power grab. The Presidency seems too preoccupied with the politics of 2015 to exercise the leadership required to address the myriad of socio-economic and political challenges facing the country. On this, history will not judge kindly anyone who failed to do his duty to ensure the inviolability of the Nigeria project.
However, Nigerians who have taken the easy way out to dump their country for where the grass is supposedly greener should stop wasting precious time in egregious acts of sabotage against own country. The trouble with Nigeria calls for rigorous policy plans from contenders for political offices in 2015. Nigerians should not accept any lamentations or excuses about how bad things are, and how they will take forever to resolve. Nigerians deserve and should demand much better.
