From President Barack Obama in Ghana came a strong damnation of the irresponsible governance that has for decades been the unfortunate lot of Nigeria but which has assumed an embarrassing status with the current congenital incompetence mismanaging the country.
In a well-delivered speech, the 44th President of the United States of America, who could not be accused of racism, spoke eloquently about the success of Ghana (Nigeria’s failures) with a biting indictment of the shame of most of the rest of the continent of which Nigeria is a giant among the continental embarrassments.
Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) congratulates Ghanaians who have risen from the valley of adversity to the mountain of prosperity and good conduct to be the first port of call in sub-Saharan Africa on an elaborate and historical visit; and as Obama attested, “The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington but by what happens in Accra as well.” Ghana has shown that some thing good can come out of Africa after all.
As we congratulate Ghana - its people and leadership – we turn our attention to the irresponsible leadership of Nigeria, which believes that a Madam Rebrander spraying cologne on a stinking corpse is what would make Nigeria attractive to the world.
But like we told them that, you can’t change the opinions of decent nations with deceptions, Obama has painted a graphic picture of the ugliness of the Nigerian ostrich.
While the ruling party behaved like a band of pirates in Ekiti and thought the world was not watching, Obama was taking notes “Each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions. But history offers a clear verdict: governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous, more stable and more successful than governments that do not. This is about more than holding elections – it’s also about what happens between them.”
While the present administration makes mockery of the rule of law as core of its Seven -Point deception and hounding Nuhu Ribadu for standing against corruption whch it pretends to fight, Obama came out clear: “No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves or police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top or head of the port authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny and now is the time to end it.”
Whereas former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his successor are apostles of “do-or-die” politics, Obama says the Ghana model is it: “Time and again, Ghanaians have chosen constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through. We see that in leaders who accept defeat graciously and victors who resist calls to wield power against the opposition.”
Obama was not all about denunciations but also about practical measures to end the season of anomies in Nigeria. He advocated a bottom-up change with a solemn promise that America will support change seekers who are ready to sort their country. And, for the young people who are giving up and using social vices as escape values from the miseries in Nigeria, Obama had appropriate counsel: “In places like Ghana (Nigeria), you make up over half of the population. Here is what you must know: the world will be what you make of it. You have the power to hold your leader accountable and to build institutions that serve the people.”
This is the critical challenge today for us as a people. The time has come for both the young and the old. The young must take the challenge of fixing Nigeria. The re-branders have exhausted all their possibilities and we are left as an object of derision by their misrule. Now is the time for the re-builders to step out as Obama, who did it in his own country within two years, has cut out the job ahead of 2011.
It is absurd that, as bad as things are for Nigeria, President Yar’Adua is turning the rumour of his Second Term bid to a reality. It is only the wicked souls in the Party Destroying People (PDP) who can give thought to the tragic idea that any nation deserves eight years of the nonsense currently going on in Nigeria.
The moment must begin to find its wo(men). All change agents must step out now from the deserts of the Northwest and the hills of the Northeast; from the valleys of the North-central, to the plains of the Southeast; and from the creeks of the South-South, to the Savannah of the Southwest.
It is time to take back our country from the demons and let righteousness reign. If we are set to do it, YES, WE CAN! If we don’t, YES, WE CAN’T. The banner of our movement must be CHANGE.
‘Yinka Odumakin
National Publicity Secretary
Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG)
