Nigeria: Back To The Drawing Board

THERE is a growing state of despair across the country. One can feel it across board. From offices, churches, motor parks to our educational institutions, the message is the same: austerity. Since mid last year, we were told to expect positive change, yet it seems nothing is happening. All we hear each day is news of trillions of naira that have been looted by our past leaders. Such news bombards us every second, every minute, almost stifling our very breaths. Meanwhile, the economy is left to drift about the sea of uncertainty. We are in a delicate situation indeed.

In my opinion, if there is an entity that urgently needs to go back to the drawing board with the intent to rebuild, it is Nigeria. A country immensely blessed with human and material resources yet wallowing in retrogression. Is it not time we realised that things have truly gone haywire. Is it until people begin to drop dead on the streets in droves that it will finally dawn on us that many are facing turbulence? Is it until we experience bloody mass protests across the country it would occur to our leaders that Nigerians are suffering and need quick palliatives? A common saying has it that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. For years, we have been running like cars on auto- pilot, speeding about with no direction, without any viable road map, and we have since seen the result.

It is now clear to all that we need a new lease of life. That was why this government was voted in the first place. But from the look of things, it appears we are not getting the expected result. All time and resources appear to be expended in arresting those believed to have stolen our wealth, with little time left to develop other aspects of national life. For instance, the ministers have since been sworn in, but we are yet to feel their impact. The budget is yet to be appropriated. Everything is left pending; perhaps until corruption is eradicated.

Four years may appear a long time, but it is really not enough for any government wishing to tackle corruption to a stand still. It should be a continuous battle, even after this administration. It should not be seen as a Buhari agenda alone, but one that we all have agreed to pursue. It also requires a holistic approach so that everyone will see it as his or her own responsibility. Unfortunately, this will not come easy, considering that we have been so divided across ethnic and religious line. But we have a reference with the last national conference, which made several far-reaching recommendations on the way forward. Without sounding political, I want to call President Buhari and his team to summon the courage to pick up the document and see areas that can be incorporated as soon as possible. It will also save everyone unnecessary time and resources.

I was shocked recently, when Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed revealed that 55 Nigerians have stolen over N1.34 trillion from the country’s treasury from 2006 to 2013. I don’t know whether this is true or not. I can imagine the gravity of discovery that would be made, if the net were spread to all other areas of our national life, including the civil service, the judiciary and even our educational institutions. This only goes to buttress the need for us to take another look at our foundation as a nation.

Very Rev. Msgr. Osu, Director, Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.