In this country Nigeria, virtually nothing is working today. Sure, the Nigeria system has collapsed and that was why most Nigerians today only suffer untold hardship. Economically, most of us live below poverty line; we are in abject poverty, education here is not only expensive but also substandard, our healthcare delivery system is in shambles, the polity is not secured, and so we only live to perceive the miasma of hopelessness. And because the Nigerian people are naturally always happy irrespective of the circumstance, things seem well.
However, Nigerians today have a sad story of leadership failure to tell. Leadership failure was the reason why all the institutions in the country are on their knees; leadership failure was the reason for Nigeria’s woes. And worse of it all, it was not for reason of mediocrity but for the disheartening reason that those at the helm of affairs only rule to please themselves. And that was why leadership is now meaningless in this part of the world.
Leadership is the planning and or organizing of the financial, human and informational resources of a government or an organization to achieve set goals. Hence, as Danmasanin Kano would put it, leaders are those who study the problems of their people with a view to solving them; they are those who use the philosophy of the herdsman who sacrifices his comfort and health for his cattle. They give and not take, and they serve and not are served.
In contradiction to the aforementioned, leaders here have not had the intention of solving the problems of their people and they prefer to be served rather than them serving. Almost all of them aspire to political positions simply to gain access to public funds so that they could steal the country poor. They want to have mansions to live in and buy luxurious cars to drive on the accident-prone-filthy roads of Nigeria. They want to send their children to the US, UK, Canada, Malaysia etc to study. And that was why when in power, they never have respect for the constitution of the land let alone that of their political parties. For most of the leaders in this country, Nigeria is but a contraption that could be manipulated any how to achieve any self-centered objective.
Government has failed to protect the life and property of Nigerians. The country is not secured; no one is safe either at home, in the office or on roads. Security gurus say the polity can never be secured if the youths are restive. And this could only be achieved when employment opportunities are available and education accessible to all. Here there are no employment opportunities and education is not only substandard but also inaccessible.
It was because of leadership failure that today education is in a state of rot in this country. First, instructional materials are insufficient and qualified teachers scant in our nursery, primary and secondary schools. In our institutions of higher learning, teaching facilities are inadequate. It is only in this part of the world that education is not given any priority. In budgets, not enough funds are voted for education. For too long a time now, successive governments have shown little concern for education.
Consequently today, graduates in Nigeria are half-literates. Very few can read well and only a little can effectively communicate. This situation is only indicative of the fact that Nigeria has no future for the future of any nation solely depends on how its youths were nurtured.
There is also nothing to write home about our health institutions. The hospitals environments are filthy, drugs which are expensive are unavailable and doctors insufficient. And so we do not have access to quality healthcare delivery system. The situation is same both in rural and urban areas. Hence the reason why the rich and well to do only seek medical services elsewhere, outside the country.
Today, because of bad leadership, Nigeria imports food despite that it was blessed with a vast arable land that could be used for the cultivation of crops and rearing of animals. Our country has been a good importer of agricultural produce for too long a time now. The agricultural sector has got less needed attention of succeeding governments and so the country cannot feed itself as I write. Agricultural machines and implements are unavailable and so it is with fertilizer. Government watched while the National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria (NAFCON) Ltd, Onne, Port-Harcourt was systemically grounding. The agricultural sector was put to neglect for the simple reason that the petroleum sector has been giving the country easy money.
And worse of it all, the petroleum sector is today not thriving; corruption has eaten it up. The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is not without problems. Our refineries in Port-Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna have run down for almost a decade now and are yet to be fixed. And so, we are now a major exporter of petroleum and paradoxically also a good importer of petroleum products. What an absurdity!
On Twitter: @mukhtarjarmajo
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