Power tussle and the state of Nigeria development

As the Nation Nigeria draws closer to Election year (2019) it is sacrosanct that the Nigerian citizens, whom will be the ones to vote political aspirants into various political office, should know the difference between a greedy political ambition of new aspirants and the phobia of returning to private life by any sitting aspirant who seeks re-election.

It saddens my heart to note that most of the political aspirants today falls into one of the categories mentioned earlier. A lot of our politicians don't have a genuine reason for contesting. Many have no feelings for the poverty ravaging the masses nor do they care about the economic downturn in a country known to be a former giant of Africa.

Politics they say is a game of numbers; but in Africa I'm afraid to say that politics has become a game of power tussle at the espense of National Development.

I was discussing with my very good friend, Mr A.D Omotosho Yayi about the state of National Development presently experienced in Nigeria. We talked at length, mostly over Whatsapp and in the group we both belong. He made cogent points salient, and expressed his dissatisfaction with the system and the people. Please read below, in his own words what he had to say during one of our interactive sessions.

" i feel the major reason we are no longer working as a nation or not doing fine as we used to do in the past is due to the kind of political system we run. It is pertinent we know that our political system doesn't have the capacity to attract our best men and women, all we have today are either economic scavengers or political cankerworms. I have always been saying it and will keep saying it, we (the elites) are the problem here. We are exposed enough to know the track records of the aspirants, we should be able to access and recommend the good ones but instead we are being used by this unfortunate leaders because we lack values and integrity.

In a bid of considering a candidate for a political position, it is extremely imperative that we consider the person's track records.

Our best men and women are everywhere, from our neighborhood to our communities. We should find them, encourage them, motivate them and even volunteer for them. Until we begin to do this, we might never get it right again."

I have critically considered his words and with all sincerity, we all are to blame if we have bad leaders at the hem of National affairs.

Nigeria as a developing economy could be crumbled just by a simple act of electing a President. Many foreign Financial institutions have warned Nigerians ahead of the forthcoming elections. They have predicted what and what will happen if so and so wins, and what might not happen if this person doesn't win. As a patriotic Nigerian, I might not fully give attention to dooms day predictions for the economy of my beloved country, but I have the opportunity to reverse such doom by making sure that people get educated and enlightenment on the importance of electing the right candidates.

Kudos to the conveners of One Nigeria Reality Project (ONRP 2018) an educative and culturally incorporating programme organized by the leadership of #YouthDecide2019 in conjunction with #YALINETWORK which have made positive impacts in getting Nigerian Youths home and abroad active in the pursuit of greatness for our dear country Nigeria by making the people aware of the importance of the right leadership at all political office come 2019.

It is worthy to note that other campaigns and organizations are also not sleeping on their oars to make sure Nigeria get the right candidates for all political office available during the election. I might not be able to mention names, but for everyone of you and organizations that has the goodwill of Nigeria at heart in the forthcoming elections, only God will reward your efforts in the sensitization efforts towards a successful February 2019 elections.

I might have digressed a little from the main purpose of this write up but Power tussle and the state of Nigeria development is conceived to make the masses aware of the selfish desires of some aspirants to suck the Nation dry at the espense of National Development. Nigerian politics shouldn't be a 'Do or Die' affair. If the people don't want you representing them, Boss please honorably resign or step down. Nigerians are very intelligent, you can't proclaim yourself a systematic Mayor running a family heritage or empire. The Era of vote buying I believe by now should have passed. My only fear is the state of poverty ravaging the populace due to hardship presently experienced Nation wide. We might still see a few persons who will collect monetary gifts from aspirants for votes. But notwithstanding, if the election is free and fare which we all hope it would be, without vote buying or rigging then the right leader will emerge. Nigerians should be mindful though not to vote based on sentiments and religious or tribal differences.

Every aspirants should first put the people first, that is put Nigerians first not your ambitions, or greed while seeking political office. Most people believe that the easiest way to be a millionaire in Nigeria is when you join politics. That is why every Dick and Harry want to run for office not minding the fact that he or she isn't academically fit, morally fit, physically fit, mentally fit and even healthy to hold such political office.

Those who want a short cut to success, wealth and popularity decide to borrow money or get a God father who will sponsor campaigns and when they win, become loyal to such God fathers while neglecting the people they promised to serve. The greedy ones already in power are filled with selfishness and pride, they have experienced fame, power, and free money that nobody will question its source because while in power you are immune from Financial Crime Agencies prosecution. The fear of going to prison for financial crimes committed while in office or the phobia of losing respect, wealth and popularity will make this category of politicians do whatever it takes to remain in power.

When we have people with such mentalities in power then never expect Nigeria to develop economically. You might be shocked to know that some individuals or group of persons are actually benefiting handsomely in financial terms that Nigeria is referred to as a Developing Nation. That's a story for another day, ask UNESCO, USAID, DFID,UN, AU, I'M etc how much they have expended in Nigeria to make a change, but what do we get? Crimals, insurgency, frauds etc.

By 2019, Nigeria as a Federation will be 59 years in Independence. What do we have to show? We still depend on other countries to do virtually what we could have done ourselves. Needless to compare Nigeria to other continents economically, let's even just do the comparison within Africa. South Africa is far ahead of us in virtually all financial variables, Ghana is doing much better than we are in terms of stability, Libya was doing great before the Gaddafi saga, Tunisia, Egypt, to mention a few have something unique that Nigeria struggles with. The greedy selfish politician will never think about National Development, all he is after is power, fame and money. Acts like this will not make us advance as a Nation.

Why do we have to send our children to schools in Republic of Benin, Ghana, South Africa, Madagascar, Mali? If we utilize our resources right and make maximum use of our educational workforce, other African countries should rather send their children to Nigeria for quality education. But no, such isn't the case presently. Our educational system is almost zero with graduates being referred to as half-baked with many lacking entrepreneur skills. Nigeria is a populous country, we have if not the highest population in Africa with our birth rates increasing exponentially with little or no resources made available to cater for this teaming growing population.

I am proud to be a Nigerian, and I believe we can get it right, we can make National difference, we can forge a healthy and booming National economy. There's need for a total mindset re-orientation and overhaul. We all should be united to lift Nigeria out of the quick sand of mediocre into development limelight.

We have the people and resources to make this positive change, we only lack the oneness and honesty to make it work. We should discourage any attempt by any person or persons with selfish interest and not National interest to lead this great Nation Nigeria.
Our politicians should stop the power tussle and work towards National Development.
I strongly believe Nigeria will be great and I will contribute my own quota to make Nigeria a great Nation.

Compliment of the season and do have a prosperous New Year 2019.

My name is Nnamdi Kelechi A.