February 28, 2010
After the dead bodies are buried, the wreaths laid and the trumpet sound of the victors peters off, the urgency to put Nigeria back to work will be more demanding than ever. Nigeria will still be where it was before the Yar'adua health war began.
After the dead bodies are buried, the wreaths laid and the trumpet sound of the victors peters off, the urgency to put Nigeria back to work will be more demanding than ever. Nigeria will still be where it was before the Yar'adua health war began.
articleadslinks I am talking about the critical state of the Nigerian nation. Our troubles would still be with us. Our lives empty like they were in May 2007 when the Yar’adua/Jonathan team took over the reins of power. We would soon wake up to the reality that beyond the victory and celebrative mood of today is the more demanding urgency of now to which Jonathan Goodluck and our political leaders must address themselves fully. Our present state is deplorable and our future as a people is at best precarious.
articleadslinks
But first, it gladdens the heart to see how Nigeria pulled through in the last three weeks. From what seemed like the brink of a stupendous political crisis brought upon us by Yar’adua’s health problem and the desperate moves of his loyalists to hold power in proxy, the nation was pulled back to safety by a few who had good heads on their shoulders. I talk not just about the leaders of the civil society groups, the media, the voices from the opposition and other highly placed Nigerians who stood up to be counted by asking Yar’adua to step aside and let Jonathan Goodluck take charge, but also of the very few who though in government thought it wise to be on the side of the people. I speak about one of them. Nigeria’s Information Minister, Dora Akunyili who in a daring show of courage and love for country broke the logjam through her memo which asked President Umar Musa Yar’adua to hand over to Jonathan Goodluck and save Nigeria from collapse. Her action unleashed a chain of positive events that culminated in the National Assembly doing the politically right and logical thing by making the Vice-President become Acting President and Commander In chief.
From experience we know that the sweet allure of power, the enticing privileges and the influence that comes with it often numbs many in power to the pains and expectations of the people they serve. Deafened by these privileges, many of our political leaders fail to hear the voice of the people or refuse to risk their political career in any way. That Prof. Dora Akunyili chose the path of a patriot over that of the deceitful demonstrates her understanding of the concept of the fierce urgency of now. With an absentee President, alongside a gutless council and a lethargic National Assembly, Nigeria tottered at the brink for over 70days. However, to our eternal relief Nigeria was rescued by a woman who sailed with the tide at the right moment and calmed our gasping moments as a nation. Through a singular move, Akunyili did more to rebrand Nigeria locally and internationally than any other person as done in recent times. We need more of such rebranding moves. Mr. Jonathan needs Ministers with her kind of mindset to move Nigeria forward.
Now back to the sneaky business of the early hours of Wednesday morning when the President returned to the country was a last ditch effort by a power cabal in the throes of extinction. If the Gestapo like operation that took place was a slap in the face of Nigerians, the fact that almost a week after that operation, no one has seen or heard President Yar’adua speak to his fellow countrymen is an assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians. The handwriting is clearly on the wall. The game is over. Like my people, I mean the Yoruba people love to say, though lies may run for one hundred days or more, it takes only a day for the truth to catch up. On Wednesday last week hours after a purported return, the truth caught up with the lies of the power clique around Yar’adua as they were unable to present him to Nigerians. As the hours rolled into days, the joke was on them and no longer on the Nigerian people. Now with Goodluck Jonathan assuming full powers as acting President and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces, the coast is clear for the sail. And this is where the rubber meets the road. Nigerians are fed up with unfulfilled promises. They are tired of living in a country enveloped constantly by darkness and ruled by rouges. Nigerians are long suffering but can no longer accept the excuses for non-performance dished out by her leaders. They want a change. A real change from a country that resembles a wasteland to one that holds great hope for the future. Mr. Acting President, Nigerians want their country back. Nigerians want you to put their country back to work. Period. There is no better opportunity, there is no better time to seize the moment and take the initiative to turn things around. Nigeria needs a leader who can perform. A leader who can deliver. Mr. Goodluck, there should be no more excuses now that you have the rudder in your hands to steer the ship of state to a safe land. Just as the anchor must hold in the turbulence of the winds, your political will and sagacity must hold for you to succeed.
For Mr. Jonathan, Acting President, history certainly beckons and that is the core of this narrative. Martin Luther King, the respected Civil Rights leader in the thick of the struggle reminded America and her leaders forcefully of the fierce urgency of now. The time, he asserted was now for equal rights for the black and white skin Americans. Due to his leadership and the power of his conviction, we not only saw the black American liberated, but continue to experience through time monumental changes in the American polity. It was this wave of urgency that swept Barrack Obama into power as America’s first non-white President. Martin Luther King’s message was not lost on Obama in his campaign for the American Presidency as he called upon Americans to join with him in meeting the fierce urgency of now towards bringing about change.
Nigeria’s season of urgency is upon us. From the challenge of electoral reforms before the general elections which will be Nigeria’s next war, to the damning and scandalous inadequate power supply, the parlous state of our roads, the obliteration of the middle class and the crippling effects of corruption, Mr. Jonathan’s work is cut out. When the die is cast and all is said and done, Nigerians will not judge Mr. Jonathan based on winning the battle against Turai or Yar’adua’s cabal, but will judge based strictly on how you have impacted their lives.
It is time to move past yesterday, because today is upon us and tomorrow is only a breath away. Mr. Jonathan, the time is NOW.
-Sunday Dare, journalist and publisher of News Digest International Magazine wrote in from London.
articleadsbanner
articleadslinks I am talking about the critical state of the Nigerian nation. Our troubles would still be with us. Our lives empty like they were in May 2007 when the Yar’adua/Jonathan team took over the reins of power. We would soon wake up to the reality that beyond the victory and celebrative mood of today is the more demanding urgency of now to which Jonathan Goodluck and our political leaders must address themselves fully. Our present state is deplorable and our future as a people is at best precarious.
articleadslinks
But first, it gladdens the heart to see how Nigeria pulled through in the last three weeks. From what seemed like the brink of a stupendous political crisis brought upon us by Yar’adua’s health problem and the desperate moves of his loyalists to hold power in proxy, the nation was pulled back to safety by a few who had good heads on their shoulders. I talk not just about the leaders of the civil society groups, the media, the voices from the opposition and other highly placed Nigerians who stood up to be counted by asking Yar’adua to step aside and let Jonathan Goodluck take charge, but also of the very few who though in government thought it wise to be on the side of the people. I speak about one of them. Nigeria’s Information Minister, Dora Akunyili who in a daring show of courage and love for country broke the logjam through her memo which asked President Umar Musa Yar’adua to hand over to Jonathan Goodluck and save Nigeria from collapse. Her action unleashed a chain of positive events that culminated in the National Assembly doing the politically right and logical thing by making the Vice-President become Acting President and Commander In chief.
From experience we know that the sweet allure of power, the enticing privileges and the influence that comes with it often numbs many in power to the pains and expectations of the people they serve. Deafened by these privileges, many of our political leaders fail to hear the voice of the people or refuse to risk their political career in any way. That Prof. Dora Akunyili chose the path of a patriot over that of the deceitful demonstrates her understanding of the concept of the fierce urgency of now. With an absentee President, alongside a gutless council and a lethargic National Assembly, Nigeria tottered at the brink for over 70days. However, to our eternal relief Nigeria was rescued by a woman who sailed with the tide at the right moment and calmed our gasping moments as a nation. Through a singular move, Akunyili did more to rebrand Nigeria locally and internationally than any other person as done in recent times. We need more of such rebranding moves. Mr. Jonathan needs Ministers with her kind of mindset to move Nigeria forward.
Now back to the sneaky business of the early hours of Wednesday morning when the President returned to the country was a last ditch effort by a power cabal in the throes of extinction. If the Gestapo like operation that took place was a slap in the face of Nigerians, the fact that almost a week after that operation, no one has seen or heard President Yar’adua speak to his fellow countrymen is an assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians. The handwriting is clearly on the wall. The game is over. Like my people, I mean the Yoruba people love to say, though lies may run for one hundred days or more, it takes only a day for the truth to catch up. On Wednesday last week hours after a purported return, the truth caught up with the lies of the power clique around Yar’adua as they were unable to present him to Nigerians. As the hours rolled into days, the joke was on them and no longer on the Nigerian people. Now with Goodluck Jonathan assuming full powers as acting President and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces, the coast is clear for the sail. And this is where the rubber meets the road. Nigerians are fed up with unfulfilled promises. They are tired of living in a country enveloped constantly by darkness and ruled by rouges. Nigerians are long suffering but can no longer accept the excuses for non-performance dished out by her leaders. They want a change. A real change from a country that resembles a wasteland to one that holds great hope for the future. Mr. Acting President, Nigerians want their country back. Nigerians want you to put their country back to work. Period. There is no better opportunity, there is no better time to seize the moment and take the initiative to turn things around. Nigeria needs a leader who can perform. A leader who can deliver. Mr. Goodluck, there should be no more excuses now that you have the rudder in your hands to steer the ship of state to a safe land. Just as the anchor must hold in the turbulence of the winds, your political will and sagacity must hold for you to succeed.
For Mr. Jonathan, Acting President, history certainly beckons and that is the core of this narrative. Martin Luther King, the respected Civil Rights leader in the thick of the struggle reminded America and her leaders forcefully of the fierce urgency of now. The time, he asserted was now for equal rights for the black and white skin Americans. Due to his leadership and the power of his conviction, we not only saw the black American liberated, but continue to experience through time monumental changes in the American polity. It was this wave of urgency that swept Barrack Obama into power as America’s first non-white President. Martin Luther King’s message was not lost on Obama in his campaign for the American Presidency as he called upon Americans to join with him in meeting the fierce urgency of now towards bringing about change.
Nigeria’s season of urgency is upon us. From the challenge of electoral reforms before the general elections which will be Nigeria’s next war, to the damning and scandalous inadequate power supply, the parlous state of our roads, the obliteration of the middle class and the crippling effects of corruption, Mr. Jonathan’s work is cut out. When the die is cast and all is said and done, Nigerians will not judge Mr. Jonathan based on winning the battle against Turai or Yar’adua’s cabal, but will judge based strictly on how you have impacted their lives.
It is time to move past yesterday, because today is upon us and tomorrow is only a breath away. Mr. Jonathan, the time is NOW.
-Sunday Dare, journalist and publisher of News Digest International Magazine wrote in from London.
articleadsbanner
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });