“Bombs and pistols do not make a revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stone of ideas.”-Bhagat Singh.
You don’t necessarily need atomic bombs to destroy a nation. Greed, selfishness, unpatriotic elements both in the private and public sectors who value their pockets than the life of the citizens always do that everyday. Sadly, patriots are very few in our clime and this has given room for mediocres to be at the helm of affairs with their praise singers using the media to deceive the people. They tell us what they have done without physical signs of their exploits.
Although, the African continent is blessed with gold, diamonds, oil, Cotton, bauxite, uranium, iron ore and other valuable resources, its inhabitants have long been numbered among the world’s poorest. While a few sub-saharan African nations are doing well, most are mired in poverty. This is a paradox and a stain on the ego of the black race who is always looking for the crumbs from the Europeans, our colonial masters as if our apprenticeship is forever. The Asian tigers have soared like the eagle that they are and are gradually dictating the pace while we wallow in abject poverty.
How do you explain the contractions of a continent’s abundant natural resources that have so little positive effect on its people’s quality of life over so many years. This is certainly a mystery that is unexplainable.
Everyone seems to have a common explanation for this tragic phenomenon; citing pervasive corruption, dysfunctional Democratic and Justice systems, greedy multinational corporations, shady local and international elites, incompetent or ineffective leadership and systematic looting of resources. Unfortunately, sub-saharan African citizens are either complicit, lazy or docile.
A strong nation consists of many different factors. It’s more than having a powerful military at your hand or even having a strong leader. Education makes a difference and also makes a nation strong because it doesn’t only raise leaders, but it’s also for the betterment of the populace. Education breeds advancement, progress and good governance anchored on truth, justice and progress. Unfortunately, our education has bred poverty, sickness, hunger and hatred. Our welfare is in the hands of a few people whose stock in trade is false propaganda initiated by paid praise singers who have no conscience.
Nigeria in particular is a very bad example of such a nation that is the sixth largest oil producing nation and yet seriously indebted to the tune of trillion dollars. Recently, when it could not meet up with its statutorily obligations and responsibilities, it resorted to printing money to the tune of billions like the former Ugandan strong man Idi Amin. This was revealed by no less a personality than the Governor of Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki. Not surprisingly, the Minister of information is telling us a didifferent thing. Whom do we believe? Your guess is as good as mine.
Nigeria is broke and have borrowed the last four years to fund the budget, mostly recurrent expenditures and now realizing that they can no longer borrow and no global bank will lend them since the country is heavily collateralized, have resorted to illegal printing of money to survive.
An economy can’t be run by propaganda nor lies neither can it be run by name calling and insults. The Nigeria economy have been slaughtered by I incompetent and clueless leaders. The unprecedented greed of politicians and impotence of a compromised legislative and judiciary have brought us to this state of woe. This wasn’t the change they promised Nigerians and this falls far below the expectations of the civil populace.
The worse of it all is the conducts and actions of tgovernment officials.. from ministers to the military and police chiefs. I watched the video clip of the COAS Lt-Gen Attahiru Ibrahim intimidating the parliament with sheer acts of bravado. Shocking as it was, it was just a replay and not different from the days of ‘Idi Amin’ of Uganda, and then the confused statements from the information minister on the issue of Twitter’s office in Ghana.
AFRICA NEEDS A NEW ORIENTATION..
Richard Odusanya is the convener of the AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI.
