Grab your share is not the future in the modern era, we must build a new society with an 'efficient and impartial government' , a society that works for everyone not just for the few- Uche Okeke ON 1st October 2018, Nigeria leaders will gather its trumatized citizens to celebrate pseudo independence from the colonial masters, but the unanswered question is when will the people celebrate real independence from post colonial indigeneous colonization; modern day slavery by their own people. Fifty -eight years after the supposed independence Nigerians are still suffering the sad devastation of 'hijacking by despotism; the licence to do as one pleases'. Post independent Nigeria is marked by clintelism, the favouring of political associates and friends, characterized by 'patronage', the favouring of family and proteges, permeated by cronyism, the favouring of friends, riddled with political and economic corruption, favouritism and political bias. Today, it's worst with the mistake of destiny which has practically demonstrated how to create a dark and dangerous future; tyranny. Look at what we have got : Abuse of power, absence of rule of law and human rights, bad governance, barbarism, killings, bigotry and brutality, corruption, incompetence, certificate forgeries, bribery, ethnic minority discrimination, inequity, unequal opportunities, exclusion, political bias and favouritism, recession, instability, insecurity, terrorism, herdsmen, land grabbing, deplorable infrastructure and public services including education and healthcare services, medical tourism, mass unemployment, fraudlent and violoent elections, persistence of poverty and stagnation, lack of transparency and accountability, abuse of subsidy, violent repression of civil liberties, full blown dictatorship. The legislature no longer exist due to intimidation and bullying of the legislators, invariable, there is no more democracy in Nigeria. Nigeria ranks very poor in global governance index trailing behind countries that are currently in conflict in Africa. Change in Nigeria is long overdue. The country will pay a heavy price if the current government remains in power, definitely things will get worst having rejected the restructuring of the current political structure which is the sole reason for persistence of poverty and stagnation. October 1 2018 sees a new date, the same type of music, no plans for a new future, we are not at a point yet where we can say that progress is being made. No doubt, its the future of our young people that is being destroyed, given the huge population explosion. This is a fact that now stare us in the face. We must do something quickly about this dysfunctional system that adopts 19th century dangerous ideologies to destroy lives; delivering poverty instead of prosperity, fighting yesterday's battle instead of driving human progress by embracing the challenges of the future. This year's independence anniversary presents another opportunity to look inwards, where we have gone wrong and how we can deal with challenging situations of bad governance. A repeat of past mistakes definitely prevents us from having a good future, its as simple as that. For the vast majority of Nigerians, this is not the future we want. The time has come to restructure the political system widely identified as the reason for persistence of poverty and stagnation so that people can take their destiny in their own hands. Read this blog regularly as we continue to look at the 'huge and important issues' faced by our country, analyse, search for solutions, advocate and communicate best practices. Find out more: Restructuring Nigeria is one sure way to address the 'interconnectedness of trust, governance and growth. Click on this link to read : http://www.theleadprojectfoundation.com/2018/09/restructuring-nigeria-is-one-sure-way.html Ordinary people must listen and learn not to be deceieved by the map narrative-'Map of Nigeria',the distorted narrative of the same people who exploit them and prevent them from enjoying peace and prosperity in their own country. The system is not working, and will not work unless we restructure this political system;'unitary-centralised system which empowers the centre to erect obstacles to development and growth-'expensive, wasteful, dictatorial', that's the whole point. The future demands immediate change. The president says foreigners are encouraging corruption in Nigeria, perhaps he doesn't seem to understand what corruption means: 'Hijacking by despotism; the licence to do as one pleases'. The president is also the petroleum minister, his chief of staff is the executive director of NNPC, his brother is the MD of NNPC. A look at the board of the nation's apex oil industry NNPC reveals that all the directors are from one section of the country, their children employed in choice lucrative jobs , yet the government can't create jobs, pay minimum wage, exclude people from seeking elective positions, etc. I don't know if it's foreigners that encouraged him to adopt this strategy. We must build a new society where people can call home, a new society that works for everyone, not just the few. Restructuring presents that magic bullet to achieve good governance. Good governance is about openness, and transparency, efficient provision of public goods, strong institutions that will remove the need for bribery and corruption, increased levels of trust, greater provision of public services including education and healthcare, reducing the incentive for grab your share of the national cake that has defined the country, economic growth and prosperity . It is possible to have fair and just society, where freedom, equity, and social justice reigns. supreme, then we can celebrate independence. Click on this link to read more about Good
governance: http://www.theleadprojectfoundation.com/2018/09/the-hard-truth-about-restructuring.html
Sixtus Uche Okeke is a Statistician, Social Entrepreneur, the Founder of The LEAD Project Foundation, and the Author of Nigeria's Democracy And Its Crisis, Deliberate, Avoidable-'Bribe & Bullet'. What Can Be Done About It. He lives in London, United Kingdom.
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