ARE YOU RE-BRANDED?

I don’t think anyone who has stayed in Nigeria or with Nigerians will disagree with this opinion: Nigerians are the easiest people to govern, any where in the world! They respond to leadership, they move in whatever direction their leaders bid. In clear and simple words: they take after whatever they see their leaders do, im most cases, they amplify it! While I am a Nigerian, I deliberately used the term ‘they’ instead of ‘we’. Why, you may ask? This is because I have time after time studied this country, the trend of things, the Nigerian people and how they all inter-relate. In all these, I deliberately looked away from my feelings and hid my personal frustrations. My conclusion? Our people are very easy to govern. I have been to a few countries outside Nigeria and have interacted with other nationals – Nigerians are outstanding!

We adapt to any condition. I mean any condition. We always find our way around the harshest of conditions. I have not heard of the effects of the current global recession in Nigeria like I have in other parts of the world I have been to. Just right now, the fuel condition is biting real hard. Whereas before now a litre of fuel sold for N65 per litre, right now it goes for as high as N250 per litre! Our people are still kicking strong; there’s been no riot, protest or anything unruly. When situation like this come up what do we do? We complain to those who are in position to do something, and when they don’t? We do nothing but stay alive! No doubt, we are configured to adapt!

While I believe the responsibility for the development of any nation must be a shared responsibility of the government and the citizenry, I also know that direction ideally comes from the top, and not the other way round. People only create directions for themselves when there is none provided by leadership or when the one provided by the ‘top’ is not ‘bottom-oriented’. The later is the situation our people are faced with.

That our people 'fear' leadership isn't something that should be celebrated or even exploited. Fact is, this so-called 'fear' for leadership has grown to become 'hatred'. I can’t but ask my brothers in leadership, why have alienated ourselves from the ideals of sincerity in leadership? Why do we distance ourselves from policies that we know will positively affect the average man on the street? Why do we exploit the vulnerabilities of people and yet seek to be seen as some national ‘heroes’? These questions I pose to our brothers and sisters who find themselves in various leadership positions. Irrespective of whether you are in the public or private sector, let's ponder on these!

By the way, the current buzz now is the ‘Project Rebrand Nigeria! I really don’t understand how on earth our leadership expects to successfully instill the concept of 'Rebranding' in the people it leads or how they expect to rebrand the image of this country with their current insensate approach to recent happenings in our nation.

It is no news that gas stations now witnesses the presence of long queues of cars daily, with helpless motorists fighting their way to get any quantity they can just to keep their cars moving; innocent citizens are being killed in Delta State (and the government is constantly in our face screaming: 'REBRAND, REBRAND, REBRAND….' without necessarily bothering how the current trend of things frustrates the idea of ‘rebranding’); our children have been sent home because secondary school teachers have gone on strike as a result of failure for government to heed to their plea for an upward review of their salaries; our university students have been sent home because the academic staff union of universities have gone home………. Our leadership seem to have so much on its hand at the moment like the killing of 'militants' in the oil rich Delta state. I don't think resorting to killing our brothers and sisters is the last option. It is not every youth in the Niger Delta that is a militant. They mustn’t all be treated as such. Government never seems to be as serious as it is when tackling issues concerning the development of the youths like it is when it comes to 'wiping' them out! Our military personals are supposed to be skilled in the art of fishing out criminals, but the current spate of killings in Warri leaves so much to worry about. The people are forced to see the present happenings in their area as a show of hatred for the entire people of the region! Meanwhile, this a community that has been badly raped, exploited and deprived.

Anyway, the easiest way the Nigerian people can buy into the 'Re-branding' project for the greater good of our nation is if and only if they see a re-branded leadership. We must stop deceiving ourselves. The people have noticed the double-facedness of their government, they know that trust seem not be a commodity their leadership cares about. For a most pleasant future for this country, it is important that we stop all the empty sloganeering and white-washing we have reduced the 'Rebranding Nigeria' campaign to! Our government must act RESPONSIBLE! No government exists for itself; it is always for the people!

More than ever, there’s a yearning for a government with feelings; a government with a human face. Our people want to see a government that values human lives, not a government that turns his face away whenever a Nigerian is killed in any part of the world.

If you must know, any act of hostility from leadership always snowballs. The irresponsibility we see today from the larger populace is a product of government’s various degree of insensitivity to their plights.

I believe if we really desire a better nation, we must stand face to face with the pressing need for an internally rebranded leadership. Let’s not just throw the whole 're-branding' concept in the face of the citizens, alone.

The whole world knows we are a great, a good nation…………but we’ve got irresponsible leadership! It is time we let our leaders know that they still have in them the capacity for positive change, they must pay heed to the all-important need to embrace this path of change for the greater good of the Nigerian nation!

ONCE AGAIN, OUR POLITICIANS GO BRAINLESS!

You never get bored in Nigeria, there is always something new to ‘bother’ or laugh about. Indeed, this is a ‘happening’ country. But, it becomes really worrisome and nauseating, to both Nigerians and the rest of the world, when the loss of a life is involved in our ‘happenings’. In most cases, the loss is treated with levity and triviality. This further makes the rest of the wonder if we have 'VALUE FOR HUMAN LIFE' in our national dictionary.

The Nigerian people woke up last week to hear of a new political violence and bloodshed in Jos, Plateau State. This is not the first time this is happening in that part of Nigeria. Something similar occurred during the Obasanjo/Dariye days.
However, this present incidence started a day after the local government elections. I don't think anyone needs to be convinced if it was politically motivated or not, we know our people and what they can do if they are denied of anything - irrespective of whether they are right or wrong.
It beats my imagination that in Nigeria, we are still in short supply of gallant losers and genuine winners.
The media was awash with news of massive rigging of the elections. Reports from those on the field say the elections were indisputably won by the opposition party: ANPP. Whereas, the state is governed by a PDP governor. Perhaps, the governor has an 'instruction' to deliver, by all means, to his superiors in Abuja!

Why are our politicians brainless and numb? All of a sudden, the violence is now wrapped with the face of religion; they are trying to divert attention from the main issue by saying it is a case of 'religious intolerance'. Politicians! They say it is a brawl between Moslems and Christians. We are not all fools, our people know when their intelligence is being insulted and their docility treated as stupidity. Most of us have friends and loved ones resident in the city of Jos. They have told us what’s been happening, how it started and who's responsible for it. We hear this has got nothing to do with religion.

As at Sunday 30th November 2008, over 200 Nigerians have lost their lives owing to the mayhem and lots of houses and properties razed. It seems to to me that our ‘rulers’ believe that the loss of 200 of her citizens is really nothing to worry much about. If some governor or high-ranking traditional ruler had been killed in the process, the hypocritical elements in our 'rulers' would have prompted them to call for national mourning.

Right now, the Jos people cannot buy or sell. People are starving and they have no idea when this would end. The markets are not opened. People of the state are hiding in bushes. Many peasants have lost the properties they spent years to gather. Many children cannot find their parents and parents cannot locate their children. The banks are out of operation, people are cash trapped. 3 youth corpers were butchered; one was killed inside the church while he was on phone giving his brother minute by minute report. These are young people who left their parents and family members to a 'strange' land to serve their motherland, only to end up being killed. It is indeed a sorry situation.

For those who don’t know, Jos is one of Nigeria’s most beautiful cities, but it is economically and industrially backward, compared to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and the likes. There are very few industries operating there and entrepreneurship seems not to be encouraged as the state is largely regarded as a civil service state. Imagine the devastating effect this violence and meaningless destruction of properties will further cause the economy of the state!

What is our problem? Why are our people this heartless? Why has the craze for power and relevance made us lose the most important gift God gave man – CONSCIENCE?
Our youths are being used to perpetuate these evil, just because somebody somewhere must get into political office and continually enjoy undeserved prominence.
Shame! Shame!! Shame!!!

May God help Nigeria.