Nigeria, our great country turned another milestone today as a nation - Journey that began some fifty four years ago. A great enthusiasm heralded this status of substantive nation, especially by the great independence fighters who selflessly fought for that self-determination. But fifty four years down for line, where exactly are we today? As a nation, it has had its own challenges some of which are consistent with normal challenges of nationhood. Such challenges as corruption, disregard for rule of law, extreme poverty, decayed infrastructure, massive unemployment, sluggish economy, insurgence, etc, are basically man - made and so endemic. The utmost challenge of leadership continues to bedevil the nation and shake it to its foundation. This, in a very large measure, accounts for why we have not got it right but lag behind in the comity of developed nations across the globe. That Nigeria has huge deposits of natural resources is no longer news. A country may be so endowed, but where it lacks good leadership, such endowments turn to woes and disasters just as it is in Nigeria today. Where a political space does not have the right kind of leaders, it is concomitant that economic growth and development will be stunted and/or nonexistent. We have had a warped journey through nationhood and a chequered history. The challenge of terrorism also became increasingly intense and alarming, especially that the incumbent government showed less commitment to combating it early enough. As the pangs of suicide bombing continued and our people continued to lose their lives, citizens felt much more defendless by their government and gradually lost confidence in that institution. This too was a product of bad leadership which has appeared to be Nigerias second nature. Unemployment and poverty have taken over the future of most young people in the country. The weak political and economic institutions can not cater to the needs of the vast majority of the Nigerian masses. Thus, the elitist system of governance that we run has continued to produce class characteristics that perpetually pauperise the young population who have got no jobs to do. This is made worse by the advent of some Bretton Woods trained technocrats who have conservatively refused to finance the economy for growth and development. The perpetual lack of power and other infrastructure has crippled the private sector that is supposedly the major provider of employment opportunities. It is important not to lose focus though, that Nigeria has full potentials for sustainable politico-economic growth and development, but we need the right caliber of political leaders to change the scene of governance from what it is today. There is the ultimate need for a paradigm shift from the existing political and economic order. The salvation of Nigeria from the clutches of extreme poverty, massive unemployment, terrorism, decayed infrastructure, depressed economy, corruption, etc, rests in this paradigm shift and it begins with you....JFO
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 05:23:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015