Nigerians: Architects of the Nations’ Misfortunes – By Dr. Kunle Ojeleye

Posted by admin Articles, Columnists, Kunle Ojeleye, NNP Columnists Monday, June 4th, 2012

By Dr. Kunle Ojeleye | Calgary, Canada | June 4, 2012 –

Nigeria?

The rail is non-existent.
The roads are dangerous.
The air is not safe.
Nowhere is secure, not even your house.
And the nation is vastly in darkness rather than light (electricity).

Before you can blink an eyelid, everyone is crying to God through their various religions for deliverance.
May I ask that you do not disturb God with your cries or blame him.
Remember, God has already given us the wherewithal to become the architects of our own destiny.

Do not even blame the leaders you have chosen (or allowed to choose themselves) who refuse to fix the roads, run a safe and efficient rail system, regulate appropriately the operators and equipment of air travel or guarantee stable electricity for your comfort and for economic prosperity through cost-efficient productivity.

Ask first what is your contribution to the mess?
The mess of leaders busy fixing their pockets rather than fixing and looking after the nation.
The mess of shepherds feasting on the sheep rather than feeding the flock.

Fellow Nigerians, highly or lowly placed, we are all guilty and deserve the Nigeria we now have (tragedies all around – 2 aircraft crashes, infernos on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Boko Haram, kidnapping as a vocation, etc). We have all contributed to this mess in one way or the other.

In 2006, I wrote following the ADC crash. Did I really write the following?

“In essence, making money in Nigeria by individuals and corporate organisations, means trading in human miseries. Every one is busy cutting one corner or the other to maximise profits and gains, or to become wealthy. The mad rush to make money, acquire power and project an image of arrival ends up being at the expense of human lives.

Until we go back to our roots, and we start individually to have respect for the dignity and sacredness of human lives, I am afraid to say that the seasons of grief may not yet be over.”

Given the report on the state of the aircraft before it was put into operation, it seems nothing has changed in regards to how the pursuit of money is making people to toy with the existence/lives of others.

What happened to the reports of all investigations carried out in the last eight years following aviation disasters? What lessons were learnt and what steps were taken to avoid this new disaster?

Imagine the scenario: an airline and its aircrafts are allowed to operate without appropriate checks because someone has taken “egunje” (bribe); the plane crashes; the fire services do not get on site immediately because of bad roads and commuters that refuse to yield way to the fire vehicle; on getting to disaster site, you are told the fire services have no water (and or appropriate chemicals) to douse the fire; there is no ambulance on ground with appropriate medical facilities and personnel to provide assistance as may be needed; and on and on.

Yet, we all refuse to challenge and demand accountability from those placed in positions to of authority that are meant to prevent such a disaster as we have witnessed over and over again – because he is my brother, your village man, the sister from another state whose turn it is to enjoy the benefit of that position, etc.

My legal minded friends depending on the particulars of a case would call it “aiding”, “abetting”, “conspiracy to commit”, etc.

This Sunday, I am pleading with you to take five minutes to examine yourself, and make a decision to mend your “aiding, abetting and conspiratorial” ways that have contributed negatively to the development, peace and security of the nation.

Silence is no longer golden. Nigerians must wake up from their slumbers, laziness, complicity and start demanding for things to be done the right way regardless of who may be in position of authority.

The President has now declared days of mourning. It is not mourning we need as we have done enough of that in the last eight years as a nation.
What we need is a decisive leadership that will do the right thing no matter whose ox is gored. A leadership that will think of and act for the welfare of the nation rather than playing politics with the lives of its citizens.

P.S.
My heartfelt condolence to all the families who have lost loved ones in the tragedies of today, yesterday, and the last one week.wp_posts