By Douglas Anele

Consequently, if measures are not taken expeditiously to cut down drastically the cost of governance, Nigeria would be bankrupt. That said, between 2008 and 2010, the most serious security challenge the country confronted was kidnapping by Niger Delta militants.

Of course inhabitants of Niger Delta have a valid case of criminal neglect and environmental degradation against government and oil companies, but this was overshadowed by the selfish interests of leaders of militant groups there.
As at the time late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s government pacified the militants with a N60 billion amnesty programme, kidnapping had spread to the South-East and almost became an industry.

Now, the Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, constitutes the most pressing security nightmare in the country. I have always argued that the federal government must deal with the Boko Haram threat from a position of strength not of weakness by putting the sect under relentless pressure.

However, recent pronouncements of Mr. President are not encouraging at all. Late last year, he chided critics of his laid-back approach to the economic and security challenges facing his administration, reminding them that he is neither a lion nor a tiger.

But then, Nigerians rightly expect their President to be a commander-in-chief, a man who is disciplined and decisive enough to use the instruments of power to protect them and guarantee their security. Jonathan must be told that the increasing audacity and viciousness of Boko Haram’s attacks is gradually reducing the prestige and gravitas that naturally ought to belong to the office of the President as the commander-in-chief and chief security officer of the country, which indicates that the security situation in Nigeria requires the strength of a lion as well as the legendry sagacity of the tortoise to handle.

In my view, President Jonathan, like his predecessor, Musa Yar’Adua, is mishandling the Boko Haram threat. Leaders of Israel, the United States and other countries dealing with the constant threat of terrorist attacks use all means necessary to subdue such threats – they, as a matter of principle, do not appease terrorist groups.

Our President has a big problem though, given the peculiarities of our situation, especially his acknowledgement that the sect has penetrated his government. Nigerians are not interested in his “explanations”: for them he should flush out the fifth columnists since it is his duty to protect the lives and property of the people instead of making statements that tend to question his ability to do so.

Turning our attention to other matters,in terms of social amenities Nigerians are still groaning under the heavy load of epileptic electricity, bad roads, inadequate transport, hyperinflation, poor housing, problems of portable water supply, dilapidated educational and health institutions and so on. Judging by the existential condition of eightypercent of Nigerians, it is really hard to justify the existence of government.

In our view, the fundamental function of government is to ensure the welfare and security of the citizens by creative deployment of the human and natural resources available within the country. For all intents and purposes, governance in Nigeria has been on holiday.

Nigerian leaders, particularly since 1970 (with the possible exception of Murtala Mohammed and MuhammaduBuhari, because their regimes were too short for meaningful impact) are a bunch of shameless mediocrities bereft of creative imagination and patriotic zeal in the management of human and material resources. Consider Japan, a country with comparatively little natural resources.

Again, Nigeria is more populous than Japan. But there is a world of difference between quantity and quality, because despite the fact that Japan is not as endowed as Nigeria, she is the third largest economy in the world while Nigeria is among the poorest countries on earth right now. Therefore Nigerian leaders, if they still have any atom of decency in their character, must hide their faces in shame.

Prof. Chinua Achebe and others have located our problem at the feet of mediocre leaders. I concur. However, it must be acknowledged that Nigerians themselves, to some extent, deserve the appalling situation they find themselves. The attributes which dominate the mental architectonic of the leaders also permeate the mind-set of the average Nigerian.

The get-rich-quick syndrome, disposition to corruption and dishonesty, indiscipline, egotism, lack of patriotism, disregard for excellence and merit, empty pride, hypocrisy and pretentious religious consciousness – all these are part and parcel of the mental furniture which the average Nigerian shares with members of the ruling cabal. Because in Nigeria, there is an appalling retreat of positive values in our practice of life, our image in other countries is, to put it mildly, disgraceful.

The way Nigerians are maltreated right at the entrance into other countries both in Africa and other continents is really disturbing. And those lucky to be resident in foreign lands are constantly harassed by law enforcement agents simply because of the nefarious activities of few Nigerian criminals.

No matter how one looks at it, Nigeria is not a country one should be proud of for now, never mind the insincere hypocritical slogan “Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation.” If Nigerians, especially members of the ruling cabal, were good people, Nigeria would not have been the mess that it is today; if the country was a great nation indeed, the kind of indolent, corrupt, unimaginative and extra-selfish leadership that has dominated the portals of power would not have emerged.

To be candid, it is becoming increasingly clear that the amalgamation of 1914 might be a big mistake. But since nothing in history is completely inevitable, Nigerians may either get their acts together and create a solid nation or disintegrate into several nations. The future of Nigeria is pregnant with exciting and challenging possibilities, because as a people we have a rendezvous with history. CONCLUDED