“Merely speaking about problems is not leadership. It is the part of the problem….” so concludes Olumhense in his admonishment of Jonathan, but in so doing, only indicts himself in a write-up that is essentially a rehash of old problems, filled with stark erroneous assumptions, to boot.
“Merely speaking about problems is not leadership. It is the part of the problem….” so concludes Olumhense in his admonishment of Jonathan, but in so doing, only indicts himself in a write-up that is essentially a rehash of old problems, filled with stark erroneous assumptions, to boot.
“The problem is that good citizenship is no solution to the problem of irresponsible leadership…” No, the real problem is that Good Citizenship is under-estimated and underrated in Nigeria; it is in fact the solution to the problem that is Nigeria, and the solution to the problem of irresponsible leadership. The question to be asked today is why the peoples living in Nigeria are not being “good citizens” of Nigeria. There is an obvious answer, and I’ll get to that.
“Good leadership—through commitment, example and good governance—will yield good citizenship; …” This is where the same preachment Olumhense accuses Jonathan of points back the accusing finger at himself. While it may sound sweet and maybe even logical, that statement has no single shred of evidence to support it. “Good leadership does not yield good citizenship”: the other way around--maybe.
It simply tasks the memory, indeed, and defies current historical facts to claim any kind of principled support by Nigerians for Jonathan enabling “…his ascendancy to the presidency.” How many of you tried to stop Turai and his cabal, or sued for their trial for Treason after the absurdity they pulled in Nigeria, an absurdity that even a world by now used to Nigeria’s irrationality still found incredible? Perhaps, it was Nigeria’s National Assembly that demonstrated, by their actions and inactions, such principles? How can you claim that “…Nigeria fought long and hard for him [Jonathan] because it was the right thing to do…”? How, when and where, Sir, especially after stating / admitting / reminding him and us of the obvious, that the elections that carried him to Aso Rock, like ALL Nigerian elections, was totally rigged?
After castigating Jonathan for the same sin, Olumhense goes back to harping on self-same issue of Corruption. Perhaps, it sounds better coming from him than from Jonathan, an observation that is not negated by the solutions he proposes: Jonathan’s Personal Total War on Corruption in Nigeria, because, according to him, Jonathan owes it to Nigeria!
For re-orientation, let’s make it clear that the problem of Nigeria is not about leadership and not about corruption: the latter two are just mere symptoms, as are poverty, electioneering fraud, gratuitous extrajudicial killings, “Jos,” ethnic cleansing, religion-based mass murders, heinous criminality, Niger Delta despoliation, and others. Mere symptoms, all! Another major symptom: NOT BEING “Good Citizens” of Nigeria.
The problem of Nigeria is that of a poor, unsustainable structure which forces on a pathological relationship that only brings out the very worst in the unwilling participants. That is why the peoples living in Nigeria can never be “good citizens.” “Good citizens”: of what—a failed and toxic State—why? First, resolve the structural problem, then the remaining symptoms can be systematically and effectively dealt with.
If you have a chance to give practical and valuable advice to Jonathan, then, ask him to, and support him in holding a Referendum for the peoples living in Nigeria to decide if they want to continue the free-fall into the abyss in this plunging vehicle of a failed State, or if they want to return to their original natural sovereign ethnicities from where to re-build mutually beneficial relationships. There is the mechanism of a Conference of Sovereign Ethnic Nationalities; and, speaking of principles, the Universal Principle of Self Determination as the basis.
But, who is waiting for Jonathan alone, Good Luck that he is, as “powerful” as he is, and as catalytic as he could be, to do something first? Many of us are already doing something: raising the consciousness of our peoples with regards to their Self Determination Rights, empowering our peoples to understand that they have to be the masters of their own Fate, rather than hand their lives and fortunes (of which there is so little) to pernicious Nigeria; urging them to rekindle their natural sovereignties and then come together in mutual respect and recognition of one another to work out a side-by-side independent existence. If we do this, the reward is that we get to LIVE! which is clearly different from our status now and for the foreseeable future, should the structure called Nigeria continue to exist as it is now. Even if we lose life and limb and leisure in such activism and process.
This is not about Jonathan alone. It is about you. It is about me. It is about us—all. It is about whether we die with / in Nigeria, or live without Nigeria. In the final analysis, “Man was not made for the State; Man makes the State.” Man should change State when it becomes necessary for Man’s very survival.
Oguchi Nkwocha, MD
Nwa Biafra
A Biafran Citizen.
[email protected]
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });