Stating that Lord Lugard’s 1914 political contraption named Nigeria is swimming in high sea of snags is saying the least. Even Dr. Scott’s Character Disorders and Neurotics resisted the temptation of disagreeing that things are going bananas. For the first time, and quite astonishing, those infested by the destructive virus of sycophancy and praise-singing followed suit. We have been in the winter of pyramidal pretext until the situation graduated from a bearable to unbearable agony. The prevailing situation Nigeria is sorrows, tears and blood (apologies to Fela Kuti). This most populous black enclave that was destined for greatness and to home to all blacks irrespective of which side of the colonially drawn contours you fall, betrayed self and the entire black race.
There was rapturous scramble by social pathologists (analysts) to explaining how, when, where and why we overshot our political, socio-cultural and economic tracks. These social pathologists clustered our calamities into three zones viz political, socio-cultural, and economic. Each store habours neck- spinning rivals who never had common strategy of how to break our monstrous bottle necks.
Within the political barn, duo dagger drawn opinions co-habit. The first are those who opined that our quagmires originated from the political order that held us ransom for a third of our years as a nation state. In their humble submission, Nigerian problems originated from the military that crossed the not so visible border line into politics, a duty not sanctioned by the constitution. They accused the military diarchies of hoisting a political system that glorified corruption, hedonism, and mass consummation of foreign goods. Their solution to this hydra dreaded cancer is a return to democracy and western liberal political orders.
The second sub-group within this cluster is those who believe the problem is not lack of democracy as deliberately insinuated by western liberal apologies, but placed the predicament squarely on lack of purposeful leadership. They pointed other climes where benevolent dictators transformed their nations to modern societies where basic needs of mankind are made with ease. They gave example of countries like Saudi Arabia, China, Libya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Dubai et al. They sum-up, we are only unfortunate not to have patriotic dictators and committed, visionary, and clear headed leaders.
The next cluster is the economic pathologists, like their political counterparts, they are also partitioned into two. The first gang in this band are the modernizers, and the Bretton Woods sharpists. These western economic philosophy copycats fixed our problems on government’s meddlesomeness in economic matters. In other words, the gospel according to Adam Smiths and David Ricardo of creating a gulf between government and business was not strictly respected by our leaders and managers of our economy. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for the nation and her teeming poor victims, this cream of bandits got the opportunity to practicalised their Bretton Woods solutions. This wool-headed and intellectual-weaklings vacillated from one policy, strategy and tactics to the other. Today it is Structural Adjustment Programme, tomorrow it is Austerity Measures, the day after it is deregulation and privatization. The greatest ‘success’ recorded from this phantom measures was the final surrendering of our collective patrimonial heritages to their extra-continental economic parents in Western world and the Americas.
The opposing branch of economic pathologists totally disagreed and distanced themselves from any Western or Bretton Woods solutions. They started by saying, the diseases of government interferences and doing business is not the cause of our economic palaver. They catalogue disastrous instances where Adams Smith, David Ricardo and their evangelists Bretton Woods institutions prescriptions often times worsen cases in countries that made their advices an article of faith. Apart from social irresponsibility of their policies, they disconnect governments with the very people they ought to serve. This group nicknamed them economic witches and doctors that their patients do not leave their well advertised and equip economic clinics alive.
Our socio-cultural illnesses are not too visible and deadly worrisome like the first two. Globalisation was accused of polluting and substituting our credible and well advanced cultures with Euro-centric and American immoral cultures. This point is not too strong and pregnant with biases, because we are presently a major shareholder in pollution decency around the globe through our widely viewed nollywood films. Many dismissed this as balderdash and akin to a case of pot calling kettle black. Moreover, how many people have mediums where these rots are transmitted? The queen duty of over 90% of Nigerians is how to brace-up with the Hercule duty of getting three square meals.
The claims and counter claims of these political, socio-cultural, and economic pathologists are well predicated on references of policy failures and successes in other geopolitical laboratories. Who can successfully contradict the fact that democracy and development are soul mates? Who can audaciously deny that the same democracy failed to deliver development in Nigeria? Is it not realism that dictatorship catapulted development in numerous political climes around the universe? That same dictatorship sank us deeper the bottomless pit of backwardness. Is it not incontrovertible truth that Bretton Woods advices worked economic miracles elsewhere? Is it not also utmost truth that their policies tumbled in Nigeria and succeeded in manufacturing a caste of unpatriotic billionaire?
In this business of collusion of ideas and strategy, in this game of blame fixing, in this situation of hopelessness, and in an arrogance situation of am right you are wrong; what is to be done? Where do we go from here? The Alfa and Omega of our predicament is with our species of leaders cutting across the three layers of governments. Once a purposeful and visionary leader is incidentally or accidentally found or made, all the rots will filter away in a nick of time.
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