Nigeria's Democracy And It's Crisis. Photo: Facebook.
They say in the age of information, Ignorance is a choice. Decline is also a choice. Change must come from within if we are willing to move forward. How do we benefit from the new world if we are not willing to change. In the words of Professor Wole Soyinka, 'Aggression,and the will to dominate' is one of the major factors for conflict in our society. He warned that history is repeating itself.
The only way to achieve peace and development in the society is inclusiveness- 'balance of power'. Let no one fool us. In Nigeria, the people want the restructuring of the current political structure to guarantee inclusiveness. In an ethnically diverse society, no one ethnic group should try to dominate others. No leadership should try the idea of elavating any ethnic group above others.
The only thing that is conatant is change. The time has come for our political leaders to put the country above personal interests to give its young people a better future by embracing change not the status-quo.
I have read a lot of reactions from social media about racist comments credited to President Trump. Though there is no evidence to prove such allegations, having been denied by the president, it should serve as urgent reminder that change is imminent. Our 'shortcomings' are so obvious that we need to look inwards and work very hard to change our approach to life.
A new report by Development Finance International and Oxfam UK put Nigeria last of 152 countries ranked on their commitment to reducing inequality.(Zurumnewsdigest, 19 July 2017). Similarly, Nigeria is ranked second worst electric supply nation in 2017 by SpectatorIndex. (Nigeria Ranks Second Worst Electricity Supply Nation in 2017; Vanguard Newspaper, January 16, 2018). The Human rights abuse and Security challenges stare us in the face, Mass unemployment, Poor healthcare, etc. The legislators have asked the federal government to declare state of emergency in security.
I also read a new report about Ethnicization of Nigerian Universities. According to the report, "Nigerian Universities have gradually become ethnic colonies , a sad reflection of the general drift of the Nigerian State". (Ethnicization of Nigerian Universities-Hope Eghagha; 15 January 2018). I have heard about a recent growth forcast by world bank due to global oil price gains, but the reality is different.
Look at the burning issue of the Fulani Herdsmen declared the world's fourth deadliest terror group, but our government wants us to accommodate them not minding the implications on lives and properties. The government is not interested in modernity. It's not interested in harnessing 'markets and innovations' for the good of the country, the government's only interest is to impose them on the country not minding the devastations.
We need to look inwards to see how we can remove the obstacles that challenge our collective development and make decline inevitable. I love reading 'The Bottom Billion'. According to Professor Sir, Paul Collier; "the bottom billion face a tragedy that is growing inexorably worse".
The time has come to lend our voices to the important debate about our collective future. Let us not be fooled by gutter politicians who thrive on divisions , untruth and endless manipulations. It's worst when we isolate ourselves from global partnerships that that can help ''pull people out of the pit of poverty''-The Economist., created by the politicians. Perhaps this sounds better than 'Shithole'.. ., Time will tell.
Uche Okeke is a Social Entrepreneur
No comments:
Post a Comment