Nigerian Leaders Behave Like Mosquitoes
by Christian Akpunonu
sms only 08034118223 ,mail: chrisuche3914@yaho.com
It is insightful to observe that Africa incurs huge capital flights in the importation of Malaria drugs and palliative measures, like the on-going Roll-Back programme. Regrettably, not much is being done to deter or at best exterminate the vector of the malaria disease which experts and research finding have shown to be more devastating than the surge of the much talked about Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV), found to cause Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In fact, this menace of mosquito transmitted disease, medically known as Malaria, has been strongly accountable for the ravaging ethnic poverty among the poor nations especially African countries of the Rain forest and monsoon climates. The insect, mosquitoes whose economic importance is overwhelming as the biologists will describe is the vector of the deadly disease, malaria found in the pseudopodia of the female specie of the Anopheles mosquitoes. These organisms habitat and breed comfortably in dirty environments such as bushes and stagnant ponds or gutters. The modus operandi of mosquitoes particularly the malaria carrier species is to sting on man by penetrating their proboscis through which a cruel exchange of human blood with the plasmodium is perfected. inside the plasmodium thrives the malaria parasite which attacks the white blood cells of human beings which is the main cells bearing the anti-bodies that resist infections in the blood system. As a consequence, man is infected with the killer disease called malaria as the manifestation of anemia, fever, body weakness, pains and headache to the ultimate breakdown of the victim’s health. The medical experts will elaborate on this process better than me.
For the doses of the lethal plasmodia innate in the pseudopodia channeled via the proboscis of the mosquitoes, human health is afflicted with the killer disease of malaria which has enormous economic importance. The economic significance of the inimical attacks of mosquitoes against human beings lies in the facts that money is usually expended to purchase deserving medications needed to cure the sickness of malaria on the victims. Ironically, the mosquitoes themselves after sucking human blood in exchange for the malaria disease carrying vectors (the plasmodia), end up only being pregnant with blood left with swollen sack-like abdominal segment. it is worrisome that the sack of blood will remain and coagulate in the abdominal segment of the mosquitoes unto death. This implies that the human blood sucked greedily by mosquitoes actually serves little or no nutritional purpose to the cruel organisms. The act of indulging in voracious siphoning of human blood which is of no use to mosquitoes which simultaneously transmits poisonous substances is a relationship biologically perceived as parasitism. It is atrocious. In a parasitic relationship, one party is often at a loss whereas the other benefits. To what intents and purposes does the attack of human being by mosquitoes benefit the latter, if not for the fun of it? the above question is equally posed by bitter pills to those who are called our leaders in this awesome country (i.e. the elite of this nation). The sudden switch over of value system from what hitherto was service-based acclamation to the current bandwagon of “what is in it for me” is chiefly responsible for Nigeria’s stagnation, both development and economy wise.
The lackluster attitude towards leadership occasioned by negative value system that reigns supreme explains the incurable afflictions with the pangs of corruption like cupidity, cronyism, nepotism, favoritism, travesty of justice, name them; all of which thrives on selfishness and avarice. These are our bane.
The South Koreans are typical of self-propelled up-coming economies which enjoyed selfless leadership both under the aegis of militarianism and democracy. Under the military regime in South Korea, Seoul was built and spiced up with scintillating sky-scratching mansions, nylon road corridors embellished with rich, tidy greeneries that exudes ambience in a highly aesthetic environment that blends technology with nature. It was on record that South Korea made giant economic strides under her military dictatorship in that high-tech industries like Daewoo, Samsung, Kia and Sony Erricson were established by the Juntas; and they have immense multiplier effect on the overall performance of South Korea as one of the Asian Tigers today. The military men in South Korea may not be availed of any criminal intents as if they were so averse to stealing money or Looting the economy. Far from it. They utilized their resources very well and pro-actively to even by investing what they stole from the nation’s treasury inside their beloved country. That takes me to one Biblical injunction that exhorts us to pray for our country and leaders because it’s the only country we have, especially many not privileged to have dual citizenship status. Also, the late Princess Diana did say: “Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.” Of course, in the above wisdom, caring for others (especially those under your leadership inadvertently implies caring for oneself. If our leaders have selflessly cared for the masses, they would have strived to ensure quality leadership geared towards economic growth and national development. This would curtail the ever-increasing need to travel out to overseas either to find safe havens for investments (by the rich and mighty) or in search of greener pastures or golden fleece as the case may be (by the down trodden). Nigerian leaders past and present (i.e. military and civilians alike) have blatantly shunned the development of their own country (which is our collective inheritance) and concentrated on developing themselves and their acolytes alone. On reoccurring basis, what obtains in this country is the government by few people and for the benefit of few people. The professor of Landscape Architecture who equally is the Vice Chancellor of Imo State University, Prof. C. Awuzie, asserted recently that the Nigerian elite and ruling class were responsible for our woes. He accused the elite and political cam ruling class of Nigeria of primitive acquisition of wealth, inordinate ambition to capture political power, promotion of ethnicity and divide-and-rule for the selfish ends.
In the past and at present, Nigeria was “blessed” with the crop of leaders who busied themselves, looting public treasury, cutting and sharing national cake and stockpiling them in far away countries overseas as safe havens for investment but neglected their country.
For more than three decades of military dictatorship in Nigeria, the men of the armed forces together with their cronies besieged our common heritage right from the inception of the oil boom to the in-set era of the oil doom when resistance and reactions to marginalization, deprivation or despoliation began to rear up its ugly heads as restiveness in the Niger-Delta, Kidnapping, ritual killings, extra-judicial killings, armed robbery, jungle justices, and sectarian crises across the country. The military rank and file in custody of powers intimidated the rest of Nigerians, raped the people’s collective will, shared oil blocks among themselves, under-developed our country, increased our misery and stockpiled copious amounts of monies overseas, amassed too much wealth which their generations yet unborn cannot finish, but wickedly left our economy battered with the masses impoverished in a land flowing with milk and honey. The Nigerian masses are thirsty in the pool of waters and starving in the midst of plenty and abundance of both human and natural resources. in all these, the worst case scenario is the situation where the wealth which these atrocious leaders amassed will definitely outlive them even their generation yet to come. This is what yours sincerely prefers to consider as the mosquito kind of greediness, avarice and selfishness. Instances abound to buttress this viewpoint, ranging from the late President Sani Abacha’s loots, James Thori, former Speaker Dimeji Bankole, Zero Hallibwton scandal, fuel subsidy scam, oil well arrogation, Cecila Ibru’s larceny (Other People’s Money-OPM), illegal oil bunkering, to many undisclosed cases of money laundering. Now, the same question posed in the fore-going to mosquitoes sucking too much human blood which serves them no good goes to these perfidious leaders that have bedeviled Nigeria dated from the time of independence. All the monies they stole from this country serve to embarrass them. A one-time Defence Minister, major power player and retired army general did disclose that the proceeds from the sales of just one oil well out of many at his disposal almost embarrassed him. It was Rtd. Gen. T.Y. Danjuma who sold just one oil block ascribed to him as war bounties for a whooping sum of about USD$500 Million (i.e. N79 billion then) and expressed a testimonial embarrassment. This is just a tip of the iceberg. Truly, there are many stinking rich Nigerians who are worth several billion dollars in cash deposits in Switzerland and other foreign banks. Another pertinent question begging for an answer is; What will they do with all these money and wealth? The western world bear me witness that the Nigerian leadership are daft, bereft of requisite leadership acumen, visionless but beclouded by the primitive instincts to steal and pile up just like mosquitoes would suck human blood to develop a sack- like abdomen waiting for death to beckon and all is vanity. Pray God, deliver our leaders from this mosquito-type habit of looting more than they can possibly utilize for Christ’s sake. It is indeed a bum fluff.
The Shame That Is Called Oguta Re-run Election
Comrade Phoenis Owen
