INSPIRE NIGERIA

                                           

                                       By Chidi W Nwachukwu

There is a growing loss of confidence in the Nigerian state . The leadership has developed a credibility problem  over the years, and little wonder that every government policies or pronouncements, rather than get commendation from members of the public is rather viewed with suspicion and cynicism. Nigerians have every reason  to discredit their leaders due to repeated failures of the past, but for how long should this continue?

“Unfortunately” Government cannot lead itself, it must lead the citizenry. But it can only achieve this successfully when those being led believe in those who have been made to lead them. Election that brought in leaders to power may not be wholly transparent, but once they begin to paddle the ship of state, all things being equal, it behooves the majority of the citizenry to give in their support.

Which  ever way an election is organized, there must be those who disagree, but one thing is certain; we must be led by imperfect people . INSPIRE NIGERIA is not by this platform trying to justify fraudulent election of leaders, what we are saying is that it pays to build confidence in our leaders, believe that  they will do what they promised to do, take them to task and insist that they do it, it is our right.

We believe that It pays to believe and have confidence in our leaders than otherwise, because by that, we develope a passion to monitor their progress as well as cooperate with government where we can.

 The 2011 election witnessed a large participation because Nigerians believed in Prof.Jega,the INEC chairman who was saddled with the responsibility of conducting the elections in Nigeria.

This country is still evolving, and Nigerians should give it the benefit to make its own mistakes. Poor economy, unemployment, poverty, poor educational standard and  insecurity currently ravaging the country does not suggest that we have failed as a Nation. it only represent challenges which must be faced and fixed.

As individuals, we often face our challenges with unflinching determination to surmount them. Research has shown that most successful people around the world are usually from poor backgrounds where there were no foods, no money, no decent accommodation yet they succeeded. As individuals we give ourselves chances to succeed, why not give our Nation chance to succeed as well.

Some people may argue that other countries that began the race with us have all moved ahead, but such should not be a source of discouragement, but a reason to know that we can also succeed as a Nation, it may not matter how long it takes because a nation is meant to last longer than any individual.

Fellow citizens; the time has come when we should speak plainly and think clearly. With the current security situation in the country and sharp divide in opinion in the largest party in Africa ,we certainly have come to the cross road of civilization at which we must choose, because we have the choice of many roads.

The best choice we believe is to awaken anew that spiritual forces of our founding fathers, subordinate our political and economic differences of opinion and pull all together. What this means is that we must co-operate in both spirit and deed, each of us recognizing the fact that we are our brothers keeper whether we like it or not.     

It is time we understood the truth that we can become the richest and freest people on the African continent, only by that form of cooperation which inspires hope and faith and trust in one another .it is also time we realized the need for a nationwide spiritual renaissance  for which mere economic recovery will do us no permanent good.

It is time we stopped emphasizing on sovereign national conference, (even if it has its own merits) and start talking about spiritual recovery, for it must be obvious even to the most obtuse in our Nation today that we are spiritually bankrupt. Our spiritual bankruptcy does not stem from the fact that we do not attend church services, or that we do not say our regular prayers as Muslims, but that we have deviated from the sacred teachings of our Bible and Koran which includes, love and dignity.This is why corruption has eaten deep into every aspect of our lives.       

We are the big brother in Africa, and we have assisted in resolving various conflicts on the continent, but before we further concern ourselves with the problems of other Nations, with their impending wars and internal conflicts, let us put our own house in order. We should begin  by bringing about a better spirit of understanding between the leaders and ordinary people of this country. Government must learn to focus on the basic needs of the ordinary man which is shelter, food and clothing, make commitment to the people and follow through. Our law makers should find it convenient in making pro people laws. They should continually think of how majority of our people will be lifted out of poverty. These are the parameters for good governance.  

This country is still a democracy despite its challenges, and  we are a free people with the right to help establish and maintain the political and economic principles which must support this. There is a deep conviction that no true Nigerian wants this Nation to come under any form of anarchy, therefore let us continue to put our shoulders to the wheel of destiny, keep it turning so that we may remain one and indivisible state.

    

Our problem is not religion or ethnicity because we are better as one Nation. Our challenge is to continue to educate the minds our citizens that we all have red blood in our body, and that we are united  more by love than by family ,religion or ethnicity. We must refrain from judging our leaders based on where they come from ,but whether they have the drive, passion and competence in their area of leadership.                      

The immortal word of the late Martin luther King junior is still  fresh in our minds  ‘’We should judge people not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’’. Today an African American is the president of the United States of America, an idea that was unthinkable more than fifty years ago. Their thinking had changed from just looking at an African American and conclude on that basis, they looked beyond the  skin  and saw a man who gave them superior argument to lead America irrespective of his colour.

We must make Nigeria work; We must give it a chance to succeed.