“Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.” - Joseph Stalin
“Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.” - Joseph Stalin
The most interesting but loosed aspect of ascendency in Nigeria is the short sightedness of the leaders, the lack of rightful ideas of the lieutenants and the flawed followership of the populace. I think the best that can happen to our nation is applying usefulness as a criterion for deciding who our next set of leaders should be and it is of paramount importance. But in searching for such leaders will equally require looking at usefulness in a broad sense, we must define the kind of leadership qualities that can be useful for the common good of the society and apt it to who can deliver.
It is also very important we consider not only the usefulness of short term policies but a long term institutionalized strategies for our nation which will give the desired framework for development and growth for the sake of our children and the generations to come to have the desired fatherland they deserved. We as citizens desire our next set of leaders to be very inspiring, innovative and quest for development, if it means introducing intrinsic measures to kick start nation’s infrastructure rebuilding be it.
Before 2015 Nigerians should take a look at our daily life; far often we come across people who are angry not only with the system but also the leadership at both the Central and the States government, many are deceitful, with only intent to satisfying their own needs even if it conflicts with the oath of office they have taken. This culminated in creating so much anger, distrust, greed, and pettiness that has made us losing our capacity to work and salvaged the society well together.
A nation rewarding greed and recklessness shall never prosper. As these selfish sleaze actors often forget that no wild individual ambition of theirs can subdue overriding national interest, our country like any stable democracy need special interest that will make it prosper. We cannot afford letting ambitious noisy greed’s interest run wild our democracy while the country is sliding to a failed nation. It should down on us that the failure of leaders to exhibit servant-ship has undoubtedly promoted fraud, treasury looting, swindling paucity states and stamping the greed of selfishness of perpetual scoundrels. Therefore to the ordinary citizen their conquest ambitions are meaningless without meaningful contribution to the society. I hope we all stand on the path of creating an atmosphere for a truthful election of leaders and hope that 2015 will usher the desired people that can inspire and prosper our nation states to greatness and not just noisy lots.
The mere initiatives of ideals and feelings of the righteous in our mix will motivate for real development solutions and change the rules of the game. We should in real terms seek solutions that are powered by patriotism and commitment to national development, which is anchored through a system perspective that institutionalize national development and shift away from the usual individual, regional and tribal jingoist perceived perspective.
Indeed Nigeria as a nation has evolved, we have come of age from a low to high level of strength, the nation had witnessed war, civil disobedience and chaos at different times of our existence as a nation, yet we have not overcome the odds that can earn us absolute greatness. Despite our population, the human and natural resources, the talented men and women with sharp brains that have excel around the globe in all spheres of life from technology, science to sports and creativity, and to acquiring knowledge and know-how. The diversifications and sound economic indicators the nation foresees as viable are not harnessed to provide the needed multiplier benefits for the citizenry, hence we are still not any near to the destined land of prosperity as a result of our own doings.
While I may be right to think and believe that for our nation to stand on a tall tower of prosperity, our leadership must have a solid probity and integrity foundation personified as the nation’s torch bearers. These emphasized the need for a truly Nigerian dream and aspirations that will usher in a new beginning, inculcate in the citizenry a culture complementing empathy with perspective taking, all for the good of the nation. Sustaining such a culture will make good for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders the ability to direct the nation to the path of growth and sustainable advancement.
If the nation genuinely achieved setting glorious path, then my prediction would be that elected public servants cannot derelict their responsibilities and it would be hard to find cases in which leaders negate their oath of office, resort to lying and end up creating misdemeanour within the polity. Having said that, I strongly believe that leadership is all about been truthful. We need to seriously focus on values and prioritize them for the benefit of all. I will rather want to see a leader that will sometimes be honest even when it is not in his best interest but yet because he value honesty he is been truthful. One of the most important keys to success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you don’t feel like doing it and without fear or favour.
We can change the present practice of bogus service delivery or window dressing that are just made to meet political exigencies with workable institutional frameworks that are feasible and solid that can stamp out corruption and corrupt leadership which has been the foundation of our nation’s structural deficiencies.
Nigerians need desirable leadership at every level; it is quite natural for us all to know that real leadership deserved certain qualities. A man that calls himself a “leader” needs to equate himself to those qualities of taking up the challenge and cause to change some piece of our communities for the better. We need a leadership that is real and rooted, with extreme act of consolidation and sustainable growth with desire to create a better world. The journey is on and the need for real economic and infrastructural revolution is at a high level with our people in every nook and cranny of our land, focus and decisive leadership is all we cherish now, may God give us a superlative leader.
In our societies today we really don’t feel any change, rather many losses, yet it does not make us victims. Some opportunist can shake the ordinary, surprise us, disappoint us, but they can't prevent us from acting, from taking the situation we are presented with and moving on. It is often said in prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends, so we do know the giant stride leaders and those that have failed. The challenge is obvious we must act now and do the thing we cannot do as we always have a choice to change and the choice is to change those in power that cannot deliver.
Populace outcries of the ineffectiveness of leadership in Nigeria is proved as it is making some leaders lost in the dark to regress to tactical squelch to shadow dress their weaknesses with deceptive system that never works. The trend of citizen’s awareness need to be in the forefront if it is to be any meaningful, and the choice of the tyrant to sit back and do nothing in the present need to be checked in earnest. We have seen the emergence of nondurable quick-fix and briskly patched infrastructure surfacing at unprecedented hours in our localities, some done to tally with personal interest of such martinet despots, regrettably the most erroneous antic of mollifying the society and a clear distraction from the real challenges facing our dear nation.
If the leadership is helpless and ineffectual, it is most certain that it will create despotic governance and invariably breed a despot whom will conserve ineffectual system that is flawed both in strategy and remains unchanged. I have said it before that so many leaders fail because they don't get started, and have refused to overcome inertia of kleptomania in all spheres of public trust they found themselves they don't begin differently. The truth is that they have refused to learn to condition their minds, bodies, and emotions to link the pains or displeasure of many to whatever they choose, and instead of changing their perception of holding public trust they instantly change their behaviours.
The truth is that any leader who exercises power with honour will work differently with caution from the inside out, but a ruler who exaggerates knowledge will always fail to know the extent of his ignorance, and in lacking the ability of real knowledge he will shift to blame others.
More than any other time in the history of this country, Nigerians have never faced such daunting crossroads as we do now.
The very sad thing about it is that apart from the fear it creates on one path. It is becoming a painful sore as it is leading to despair and utter hopelessness among different divides in the country on the other. Leadership failure, corruption and many anti-social vices are the order of the day. These have called for prayers; we should not relent to pray so hard to avert any unprecedented calamity befalling us. Let us all put our differences aside and forge for a greater nation, a nation with stability, technologically advanced, industrious and unified to make a difference. Let’s dream Nigeria as a truly prosperous entity, as a nation unified by nationalistic patriotism and diversified by rightful ideology for development in all perspectives.
Our elected leaders should love our country and all its citizens with a passion, the state of miserableness of majority populace is a direct result of the travesty of our elected leadership, the same overzealous and ambitious opportunist repose with certain responsibilities derelict the positive functioning of the state. The inaction or failure of such leaders usually trans-shift the populace feelings to sadness, thus they don't do anything rather than just cry over their condition but for how long? The bravest amongst the populace are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding seek justice through revolution, go out to meet it with every anger to bring about a change and surely Nigeria will see a CHANGE!!!
Moh Musa
1 Bechar Street Zone 2 Wuse Abuja
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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
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