What constitutes Nigeria’s greatest security challenge today? You might consider it a silly question to ask. But, if you think about it, you may then decide that it is either Boko Haram, herdsmen, lack of restructuring, poverty or unemployment especially among youths. And you are partly right. But, has it ever occurred to you that the number one source of insecurity from which all the others derive sustenance is the Nigerian political leadership as a whole? Perhaps, in few countries on earth today has the global community witnessed the rise of dangerous men and women to political leadership roles as in Nigeria today.
Some of our politicians are involved in Boko Haram; others are Life Patrons of the Mayetti Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN; we are aware of those who stand resolutely against restructuring despite the widespread call for it. Nigerians are getting poorer at the rate of six new destitute people per minute while billions of naira disappears regularly from the federation account into already over-stuffed pockets under a government which came in promising to eradicate corruption. Instead of creating new jobs, more jobs are being lost everyday. When global banks leave the country they sack their staff and leave their suppliers of services facing lower income. Woe to the supplier whose biggest customer was UBS or HSBC. Liquidation is a likely prospect and the domino effect of one bank’s closure will cause ripples down the entire economy. Is there a politician in this country today who is addressing all these problems in a holistic manner with the aim in mind of solving them?
“Every country has the government it deserves.” Joseph De Maistre, 1753-1821.
All the issues listed above, as well as others not mentioned arose from monumental errors made by our political leaders – past and present. There was no Boko Haram insurgency until the end of Obasanjo’s administration in 2007. It had its origin during YarÁdua’s government and remains till today. Herdsmen killing farmers and burning down villages were unknown during Jonathan’s five years as President. Unemployment started rising in 1978 and has remained a major problem till today. By contrast, there was full employment during the Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Mohammed regimes in the 1970s. Anybody with a certificate in that period, either from secondary school or university who was without a job probably did not search for it or was dismissed for misconduct from the one he had.
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