AROUND this period seven years ago, Nigerians were in a joyful mood because former President Olusegun Obasanjo had successfully liquidated Nigeria’s estimated $30b external debt.

In an exclusive interview with Sola Ogundipe and Chioma Obinna, the State Chairman of the Lagos State Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Edamisan Temiye calls to question the relevance of governance and state government’s credibility on the issue of agreements.

IN September 2009, following several years of negotiations between the Nigerian Medical Association and the Federal Government, the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale, CONMESS, circular SWC/S/04/S.410/220 was released by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission. CONMESS is a uniform salary structure initiated by the Federal Government for all doctors in the country.

The workings of their minds may never be known. General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s Provisional Ruling Council, PRC, had an idea of what Nigerians wanted and was very eager and willing to give it to them.

It was a sharp twist for a people repeatedly classed as the happiest people on earth. Nigerians were said to like life so much that they would rather suffer brutal dictators than allow themselves to be inconvenienced by tear gas from demonstrations against bad government. But no longer.

THE 2011 general polls presented interesting scenarios. Those, who got elected had to wage a series of battles on many fronts – intra-party, inter-party and at the law courts.

A look at the direction of the Jonathan administration indicates that the government has good intentions of transforming the nation’s economy.

Nigeria had a uniform electoral calendar until the landmark case of Mr Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Dr. Chris Ngige of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who was initially returned as winner of the 2003 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.

Since the enthronement of the Fourth Republic about thirteen years ago, Nigeria’s catalogue of woes appeared to have reached unfinished symphony. Her people groaned under the yoke of repressive successive government, unemployment, dearth of social amenities abysmal demonstration of travesty of justice.

To me, I see the 13years of democracy as wasted years in the sense that, we have not been able to achieve anything for that number of years. Compared to the problems we still have in the government especially, in the area of corruption which is on increase on a daily basis, I do not think democracy has yielded anything good to Nigeria.