Posted by Politics X on September 14, 2009 at 12:54am
ByChukwuma IwuanyanwuPolitics, they say is a dirty game but most games are dirty. Soccer, basket ball, field and track events, just name it, they are all dirty. The pushing, the hackles, the muscular squabbles, the hard tackles, the willful fouls, the fighting and even head boots are some of the things that make games repulsive sometimes; but these notwithstanding, each opposing partner always presents the best, experienced and tested team so as not to suffer humiliation in the field or court of play. In politics, any serious nation presents her best and even when the field is open for all, the peoples’ will and the unfailing mechanism put in place serve as a natural selection to weed out those unproductive elements so that the nation is not fouled by pinheads, whose stock in trade is nothing but selfish predilection for grandstanding, corruption and subversion of the will of the people.Have you been privileged to be one on one with some of those people leading Nigeria? Some of us in Diaspora see them all the time and you will be surprised of how hollow they are in thoughts, actions and thinking. Dr. Chris Ngige was the one who first gave some us a peep into these people, the so called Nigerian leadership. In one of the places he was received in Los Angeles years ago after he was removed from office, he stunned the gathering that those people we thought that had something upstairs were just flowing chaffs. He also used the opportunity to ask most of us to come home and compete for leadership, because the brilliant ones, he continued were in overseas while the riff raffs spread their wings like eagles to reign in the land. The truth is that Nigerian brains are in overseas and anybody who contests that is foolish; we also know that there some brilliant Nigerians at home, but the hooligans, the so called politicians will push them over the cliff if they attempt to come nearer.The bad news for Nigeria is that the country is not in hurry for development, and the hooligans are not in a hurry to quit. An average Nigerian politician does not understand problem solving skill strategies; ask them to write policy statement, the seat on which they sit will shake until both the seat and the seated fall on the ground. An Average Nigerian politician does not know critical thinking map process and they don’t want to be bothered with task analysis and strategic management. They only language they are good at is how much money do I get at the whole deal process? All of them are contractors. Some of them are well read, but their education has stopped to be functional. Their big business is not growing grey hair for good governance and the art of law making but women, pepper soup, nkwobi, travelling and dexterity for corruption. The governors use state money to spruce the lives of women other than their wives and it is permissible because it is Nigeria. The legislators quarrel sometimes not because of disagreements on bills for the people, but the sharing of Ghana-must-go.Ever wonder why the country is in stagnation; two steps forward, four steps backwards. President Barack Obama is pushing his health care programs, so that common man will be insured as it is practiced in some of the westernized countries. It has been a big war between the Democrats and Republicans, a robust debate, which will produce superior health care overhaul, and if he succeeds, he will write his name on stone as the only president who has succeeded where others failed. What is Umaru doing in Aso Rock and what has he achieved since he stole the election with Olusegun via the enabler, Maurice Iwu?When the problem is enormous, one has to start somewhere, but the most important thing is to set goals of what to be achieved. Do our leaders know what goal setting is? Every Engineering Manager knows project evaluation and review technique (PERT); strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT); specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timeline (SMART). These are management instruments that managers use to produce results in competitive environments involving different kinds of projects and marketing endeavors. If there is a problem, define it, give it a name, and draw out the task analysis, what are the strategies to solve the problems? Brainstorm about it to produce arrays of solutions, set the goals you want, to measure the efficacies of the solution strategies. Did it work; is it achievable, what are the obstacles on the way? If not revisit the solution sets with the goals in mind. Engage experts and not anybody picked from the streets or the ones recommended by the Emirs, Obas or any local chief somewhere who does not know the difference between a control key and the delete key of a computer’s key board. Tell me why things don’t work in Nigeria? Nigerians hold strategic positions in USA as experts and in some other industrialized nations of the world. Can we invite these people to develop our country? Whither Boko Haram!I am always amused when I read both the federal government and some state governments inaugurating the vision 20-20. Are all these people bitten by mosquitoes that they have incurable malaria? Nigerians are not happy unless they find avenues for siphoning money or splashing money to their political patronage. The university students have been at home now for more than three months, the lecturers beaten to kiss the dust, yet these people are not ashamed to talk about being among the first 20 developed economics of the world. Both the federal and the state governments cannot even fix the roads lying at their noses, cannot provide the people with portable drinking water, cannot provide workable hospitals, cannot provide one-quarter a day’s electricity, cannot feed the hungry, cannot provide housing for her citizen and cannot provide employment to millions of the hapless ones and they are busy wasting peoples’ wealth. They cannot even plan and execute simple project for the people.It is not bad to have an ambition, but it is mere fool-hardy when you are throwing up challenges you cannot tackle since you are floored by simple things due to corruption, nepotism, lack of political will, procrastination, deceit and selfishness. If Nigeria should know the electricity capacity of South Africa, Umaru should bury his head in shame for celebrating 6, 000 megawatts by December this year. Tell him that South Africa with a small population is at present producing 45,000 megawatts and electricity there is 24/7 and the electricity company there is publicly run. If Nigeria is serious for develop, the politicians who are not all that smart should for the sake of the country, step aside for the smart ones to lead the country and the world will see the economic, political and social revolutions never seen before in the country.My last commentary on this news site was the probing questions I asked why a country like Nigeria refused to develop. In one of my solutions, I proposed an important stakeholders state of the nation summit, where we will assemble the friends of Nigeria to discuss why we are still operating from the era of 15th century. Among the notable patriots I mentioned was our own indomitable Gani and three days later, he died. Folks, Nigeria is dead, because who will whip our erring power grabbers into line? Gani’s tribute will be another time. Just last week, the broken system of the country hit me home. I received a telephone call that my brother Sylvester Iwuanyanwu was sick. I sent money for him to be rushed to the hospital. It turned out that in all the hospitals he was taken to, none was able to diagnose what he was suffering from. One hospital recommended the services of a native doctor, and this is what Nigerian hospitals and the doctors have turned into; no facilities and no capable hands. My family was frustrated that they took my brother to a church place for prayers and after fruitless search for cure, my brother died. He died because my family has no money to fly him to South Africa or Ghana for proper medical attention. Nigeria, a failed state and no thanks to the power grabbers.Frustration in the land: Few Nigerians have been making indirect speeches aimed at sensitizing the military to sack the government of Umaru. Of course in a democratic setting, there should be the freedom of speech, but the subtext of all these is the pent-up anger reigning in the land. No person in his or her right thinking cap will advocate the return of the military in this stage of world development. Successive military incursions into Nigerian politics have proved a disaster time and time again, but what will the people do when their votes do not count. How will our votes count so that people like Umaru and the countless state governors are voted out of Aso Rock and the state houses respectively? Don’t forget the federal and state legislatures. Throughout the civilized nations including Ghana, regime change is feasible through the ballot boxes, but Maurice Iwu and his cohorts always deny us this important franchise. Military coup is now unpopular, but 90% of Nigeria will pour onto the streets to jubilate if these crass and crop politicians we have now are sacked for good and jailed. Can they save us from the dark days of the military boys, because the sufferings are becoming unbearable?Chukwuma Iwuanyanwu, Executive Director of Harcourt Foundation, writes from Los Angeles.
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