BY ; CHRISTIAN AKPUNONU PHONE: 08034118223 email:chrisuche3914@yahoo.com
Barely fifty two years (52) after her independence from the British colonial overlords is Nigeria still grappling with key issues like the provision of the basic necessities of life which includes food, clothing and shelter? It is a shameful thing that in spite of abundant natural resources bestowed on her, the country still ranks among top poverty stricken nations of this world. The Paradox of it all being that the level of ravaging poverty and hunger in the land hardly discourage the poor masses whom the rest of the world in one research findings classified as the happiest people on earth. This is a country where t.he citizens are often unabashed by dehumanizing rate of social injustices meted out by quite an unusual style of governance and painful poor statecraft. Nigeria runs a system where everything appears awry yet nothing goes wrong; where the existentialist’s maxim of the fittest of fittest rains; where the chasm between the haves and have-nots widens uncontrollably and where the course of the natural justice is relegated to the atrocious goal of the common law- to protect the lives and property of the high and mighty only. The social imbalance in Nigeria is so visible that nothing else can be done except the launching of a revolution. In some other climes the Indian Mahtmar Ghandi’s theory of non-violence approach may suffice to call to order a perceivable disorderliness but Nigeria’s case is bound to defy it unless one Jerry Rawlings emerges to salvage us from this derision. In one wisdom, the sages would have it that respect is a reciprocal. This applies equally to patriotism. Truly, anyone who conforms well to the natural trends in a given social milieu aught not to beg for ~espect rather should command respect. Similarly, the need to persuade, toady, lure or coerce somebody to be patriotically disposed should not arise if there is found very cogent reason to be so obliged. As the American aphorism has it, “Always think of what you can do for America and not what America can do for you” This is the key to the American success today.
Everybody of the American extraction feels obliged to the nationhood as the fundamental essence of integrity on the international fora. This unalloyed commitment is purely driven by patriotism. In return, American visionary leadership has it in the front burners the protection of individual’s lives and property to the absolute.
Hence, the tendency for a welfare – oriented regime to enjoy moral, spiritual, ethical and unfettered support of the citizens will be unimaginably automatic. According to one scriptural injunction; “He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment”
Of course, even the blind will know that Nigeria is a misfit as a Nation. That is why her citizens are not just bewildered but completely disillusioned. That’s why the life of a human being in Nigeria is at par with that of a fowl. That’s why the Hobbessian model of the enthronement of the criminals over an above the sovereign is befacing us today such that a few miscreants like the Boko Haram sect harasses and embarrasses our government with impunity. Because the collective wealth of a Nation is being hijacked by a very powerful few, the arena is open to all sort of abuses and only the fittest can survive. The apparent anarchy in our orderly society is condoned only because those entrusted with the political power to rule have forsaken the people who actually called them to duty, left an open field that is far from being a level playing ground for only the fittest to survive out of the trampled weaklings.
The dint of tragedy confronting those opportunists who has power to their hands is the recent manifestation of the frustrations of the sovereign by the criminal class. The recent outburst of President Goodluck Jonathan that, the nefarious activities of the vicious Islamic sect Boko Haram is frustrating his Government is a true testimony. Nigeria as a Nation has sinned and therefore fallen short of God’s expectation nay glory. The foundation is faulty abinitio which explains why the structure is wobbling. The Biblical Solomon, as an epitome of wisdom did say that; “Righteousness exalts a Nation, but sin is a reproach (Disgrace) to any people” – (Prov. 1434). It is only in Nigeria that we have the slogan; “National Cake” No other country in this world refers to the wealth of the Nation as a cake ready for cutting. This erroneous perception has called for the shameless rush to bite a chunk such that the cake becomes bayed by those privileged to grab a knife. This cake now on the verge of being ravaged by the many devourers over the years neither grows nor vanishes. This scenario calls for the curious inquisition of many a watcher who marvels at the inexhaustibility of this substance, the major attraction. This is not out of question for a true a Nation to recognize the efforts· will and individual contributions of her citizens.
In fact, the act of bestowing National Awards of Honours to exemplified citizen of a country is a common practice among nations and not peculiar to Nigeria. In most countries across the globe, National honours are regularly bestowed on those individuals (citizen and aliens) whose contributions to the upliftment of the Nation in various fields of human endeavour are proven immense enough to warrant encouragement.
Usually, stable and upright Nations recognize the valued contributions of certain individuals in the overall well being of the society generally and the country in question particularly. It is essentially to encourage talent utilization in proper marner the impact to the society positively. America as a Nation caters for everybody who feels like an American within the country and beyond talk less of a bonafide citizen.
As a Nation, American leaders owe it as a duty prior to anything else to up-hold the integrity of her citizens and even allies. Pertinently, the security of lives and property of citizen remains the primary concern of committed leadership. In return, the citizens are obliged (not persuaded, coerced, lured or toadied) to up-hold the unity, strength and integrity of their country. Contrariwise, any Nation that falls short of the fundamental expectations of citizens aught not to bother much for patriotism. Matter-of-fact, patriotism as a virtue is commanded and not canvassed. Any wonder why Americans proudly fly, wears and brandish their national symbols. Besides the virility of the American economy, the respect for human rights and integrity accounts chiefly for the enormous volume of patriotism drawn from her citizens and allies within and outside the country, When the Nigerian leaders are not careful and proud of their citizens, how would they expect from them such a magical disposition towards patriotism? A situation where the leaders care only for themselves and their cronies smacks of heartless selfishness, avarice and injustice. In this situation also, there can hardly be fair play, rather favouritism and nepotism will be reigning unabated. For this reason, and more it will be unattainable to have quality award exercise at all levels, because, corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society. The contemporary Nigerian society encourages bribery, cupidity and cronyism. Also, the rule of law is brazenly violated.
It is cupidity and cronyism that strengthens the schism experienced in Nigeria today based on parameters like tribalism, religion and sectarianism. The duo (cupidity and cronyism) are two prongs of one devilish long fork, corruption with which our leaders are frittering away the wealth of Nigeria for over five decades. Consequently, all our problems as Nation right from 1963 of Republicanism are still staring us in our faces. The attainment of vision 20-20-20 remains utopian just like many failed past development plans. The realization of steady power supply obviously appears an illusion even with the latest frustration of the road map to power sector reforms that compelled Professor Bath Nnaji to resign abruptly. Among the oil rich nations of the world, Nigeria is the only country with rampant incidences of crude oil theft. Worst still, it is only in Nigeria that serving and retired numerous military Generals share oil wells amongst themselves like war booties. The social structure of Nigeria is polarized two ways; poverty and affluence. Nigeria is a country of competing extremes, extreme poverty on one divide, and extreme affluence on the other divide. The rich lives life as an art, but the poor lives the life of misery and agony. To hell with their national award, aver Professor Chinua Achebe and yours sincerely. What do you think?
From the foregoing it is practically impossible to access and obtain a virtuous National hero worthy of bestowing National award on merit basis. Sincerely, most of the awardees past and present that emerged through such a corrupt background of typical Nigerian society must have scaled through skewed judgments
This is debunking the assertion made recently by the Imo State Government Chief of Staff, Prince Eze Madumere who also bagged the National honour award of (MFR) that the selection panel were made and perfected by Senior Court Judges. The big question is; where do the said judges originate from? Were they imported from Heaven or America? In response, as far as the judges who made up the screening panel of the selection process for the National awardees are Nigerians, they must have done the Nigerian brand of scrutiny; palm -greasing-based.
The next aspect to consider is the quality of the leaders giving these prestigious awards. The antecedents of the crop of leadership we have been getting are questionable on many grounds. Firstly, the process and procedure of selecting them as the peoples leaders seem to be devious and spurious, often times very contentious without qualms. This refers to the mock electoral process vis-a-vis the extant vague electoral laws and the nasty national justice dispensation system. -Instructively, the flawed electoral process which had always been the case except the 1993 general election that left little or no rooms for doubt via I BB’s option A4 portends on one hand a weak strands of institutional framework (poor electoral laws) deepened by terrible justice delivery network. Another “worrisome dimension is that the President mandated state Governors to nominate those for the award.
The implication of this, being that people that will make the final list of the Governor’s nominations must be the stooges and cronies of the state helmsmen. In other words those that are not close to the state Governors or in their good books can never make the list to be forwarded to the President no matter what their achievements could be. This is quite funny and ridiculous. In the bottom line the National Award ends up recognizing only cronies to the powers that be, which results in the enthronement of mediocrity above meritocracy.
What is being insinuated is that the Nigeria national honour award is faulty, fraught with sharp practices and mostly unwarranted. Hence, a man of proven integrity and lIterary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe rejected the offers on two recorded occasions: For that one act, the prestigious Booker Prize Award winner in African Literature, Professor Chinua Achebe is vindicated as a virtue of international repute that being realistic enough sees no reason to celebrate in a Nation where almost nothing works and which leaders have no plans for posterity. This is exactly why this column prefers to see the award as; “National cronies Award” After all, what percentage of the awardees so far can actually boast of impacting our society positively? Only very few among them, of course. Now, what happened to one good citizen, which twice picked a missing personal wallet at airport with contents worth about U.S.D & 10,000 on each occasion? Why have the leadership failed to recognize such citizens who rendered selfless services to Nigeria littered forlornly across the length and breadth of our communities like teachers, clergymen, traditional rulers etc? let the Presidency answer this questions. I rest my case.
