(By Whyte Habeeb Ibidapo)

“Power I know is a great aphrodisiac, and those with a will would grasp and beaver away to get it. The crop of leaders we have are like rose selling poison. Even if most tales about them are apocryphal, they have not lived up to our expectations. They’ve made our country a cesspool of ludicrousness and ridiculousness, a cesspit of laughability and farcicality, a cistern through which all things miasmic and mephitic flow. It is not simply that a gap exists between our professed ideals as a nation and the reality we witness every day. In one form or another, that gap has existed since the birth of this country“.

Nigeria oscillates between diluted democracy, sheer impunity and unbridled madness. Stays mostly on the last two. – Japhet Omojuwa on twitter 2nd August, 2014 at 19: 38

Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of leaders it insists on. The law of sacrifice is uniform throughout the world. To be effective it demands the sacrifice of the bravest and the most spotless. Two things make democracy work, the rule of law and the will of the people. It is not the might that makes it right. Right makes might. There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. Our land that is watered by the Niger and Benue between the sandy wastes and the gulf of guinea, washed by the mighty Atlantic is an arena for the breeding leaders who practice a brand of politics that goes beyond the greed for lucre. So also the followers are passive and submissive. We are scared to speak our mind and scared to speak the truth. We mainly grumble in silence and because of this silence, politicians and public officials have become emboldened and continue to steal and mismanage and run the country aground. It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win. In this waters, rapine has replaced respect. Our system of governance has turn into a gangster enclave where the gang is a star. They live to subject the state under their manipulative duress.

Power I know is a great aphrodisiac, and those with a will would grasp and beaver away to get it. The crop of leaders we have are like rose selling poison. Even if most tales about them are apocryphal, they have not lived up to our expectations. They’ve made our country a cesspool of ludicrousness and ridiculousness, a cesspit of laughability and farcicality, a cistern through which all things miasmic and mephitic flow. It is not simply that a gap exists between our professed ideals as a nation and the reality we witness every day. In one form or another, that gap has existed since the birth of this country. In matters of public concern, the law of the majority has no place in their reasoning. Our leaders are the earthly problem we face in general. Imagine having a leader that would prefer to honour a political rally shortly after a bombing that killed several people. Leaders that would keep making empty promises and fulfilling failed projects. A leader that do not demonstrate that he is sensitive to the pains of the people is not a leader. Most of our leaders serve their political associates, immediate family and their pockets. Lawless are they that make their wills their law.

The fact that my own generation feels comfortable with a mission of undecided future through this failed leadership system is so disheartening. We have so much useless ourselves to the extent that we take anything from our leaders. We celebrate their bad ways for money. They ride on us to gain power and we oblige them cheaply. Rather than giving it out on the basis of credibility, we do it on the basis of money and ethnicity. We are the gold but willingly turn ourselves to dust and we are been marched upon without gentility. How many times have we seen our presidential aspirants at the gate of our federal universities to campaign for elections and debate their policies? How many times have we seen our gubernatorial aspirants at our various township halls to debate their policies? How many times have we seen the Local government chairmen aspirants at our community meetings to tell us their plans? Not even our senators, house of representative members nor assembly members have the guts to address their constituencies. Just few of them trade the part of honour by doing the right thing and act above board. Value is now jaundiced especially when money is involved. We are the illuminated turn humiliated. Is this not an attempt to get our future eroded in a wasting generation of tired and hired brains? I ask again, is this act of ours not a bunkum and absurd verbiage?

Behold! We have weak institutions that the bureaucracy processes used in operating them has been a blessing to the leaders alone. We the followers hardly give a damn about the continuous looting of our treasury by our leaders so far we would be benefactors to the loot. We all claim to be Nigerians and yet we do things that can make Nigeria loose her internal sovereignty. Nigeria is greater than any race or ethnic background. Her growth should be our priority. It’s time to wright our wrongs and do the proper thing. We should make constructive criticism and encourage others to do so. If Americans had behaved the way we are behaving, they would not wake up early in the morning and pray for their country before praying for themselves. That act by the Americans shows patriotism as oppose encouragement to failed leadership. This is what is helping them to grow as a nation; the love of one’s country above oneself, one’s culture or ethnic race. The prevailing times in this country requires the attention of the best and boldest citizens. This was a country that once had a robust history. It is time to make up our minds on what we want to accept, tolerate or resist. Life is too short to delay action and prevaricate and history will be severe on those who have the ability to take decisions that will benefit the present and the future of our people but who because of temporary political advantage refuse to do so.

WHYTE HABEEB IBIDAPO is a Lawyer, United Nations Award winner, Africa International Arbitration Award winner and Coca cola/ The Nation Campuslife Award Winner.

Email: whyte287@gmail.com   @whytehabeeb

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