By Adeola Aderounmu.

We have a country of an estimated 140 million people and we have a small group of people who have held us as hostages in our own country since independence in 1960. Self determination or self governance, if I understand it very well, should be a means by which the people who own a territory or a country will be able to advance the course of that entity for the benefit of all and sundry. In an elementary school, it would sound like: no child left behind. In reality, that is not a possibility, there will always be a child left behind but that would be a case of an anomaly and not intent.

 In Nigeria, ordinary citizens have been left behind by intent for 47 years. This article will not do a recount of all the stupidity that has been displayed in governance over the past 4 decades. However, recent occurrences indicate that the hope of millions of Nigerians who are alive today is baseless. Just a little over 8 years ago, these millions of people heaved a sigh of relief when the military went back to the barracks. Little did they know that they were about to experience the reign of the callous one. The 2007 elections and the outcomes remain a monumental disaster that time and appeal cannot take away.

Early signs of the present illegitimate government have indicated that the more Nigerians continue to wait for the turning point, the farther away they are from the promise land. In a country where resiliency is the attribute of the general masses and siddon look a phenomenon that must be learnt and followed, the continuous abuse of political offices will never abate. Never! In the character of a self acclaimed righteous one who ascended to leadership through a bastardize presidential election and a ferocious Attorney General, modern Nigeria provides a classic example of a laughingstock.

If the recent reports linking Mike Aondoakaa as the helping hand that is now assisting looters to escape without prosecution, then we are in real soup. We are damned! When true patriots and real progressives were crying foul after the charade that took place in April 2007, sycophants reared their ugly heads and faces for the umpteenth time. Hear them, “…this is the first time we are transferring power from civilian to civilian rule, let us give this (illegitimate) government a chance in the name of moving the country forward”.  What actually happened was that, in our usual manner, power was transferred from one fraudulent administration to another and Nigeria continues to take giant strides backward. In the comity of nations, our present status is pathetic.

Now that the self acclaimed servant leader is beginning to show his real colours especially with the highly questionable characters of the tropical gangsters that surround him, those who advocated and fronted for them should please cover their heads in shame. Oh! I forgot, shame is a virtue in Nigerian politics. The so called president in Nigeria was never prepared for that office. He was bundled in to fulfill certain political arrangements all to the detriments of the nation at large. He was never prepared for the office and will never be. Those who radiated signs of born-leaders have never ascended to the number one position in Nigeria. How a cabal, either in uniform, mufti or transformed oversize khaki has succeeded to place us under a siege for more than 47 years remains inexplicable.

Anyone who could neither see nor understand the handwritings on the wall, and therefore still hoping for the better days ahead, should please wake up from her nightmare. Where are the better days ahead? We have been ruled by dictators who stole and emptied our national treasury. We have been ruled by civilians who gave us stones in place of the bread that they promised us. Nigerians have been deceived for more than 40 years by the same clique of dubious elements or their progeny who have done extremely very little to improve the lots of the country and exceedingly very much to improve their personal lots. How can we make progress when we have not started to do things the right ways? How can there be solutions to our problems when all that have suggested as common good never saw the light of the day?

The Nigerian masses have now reached a point where they must salvage this beautiful country for their unborn children and children’s children. No doubts, a handful of generations have been unnecessarily wasted. Nigerian intellectuals and hardworking people at home and abroad have not been able to impact positively on the mainstream of Nigerian life. Where we are today is an immeasurable negative nautical miles from where we took off in 1960. As a nation, Nigeria is not making progress at all. GSM phones and the emergence of foreign-style cinema houses are not indicators for progress.

Of course, despite the haphazard mode of life, there are people who are enjoying in Nigeria. Politicians are undoubtedly the champions. Those who have executed one dubious contract or another are lords. Many are living on advanced fee fraud and there are honest people who have worked hard to earn decent livelihoods. Still, the majority of Nigerians, several millions to be sure, are living in absolute penury (severe poverty). If anyone is hoping that Nigeria’s course will be advance by a dubious chemist, that person has fallen into the expected political gimmick-trap.

In all, a new dawn of hopelessness seems to have crawled back into our daily existence. Great Nations of today took the steps towards greatness using different means. There were sacrifices made in the past that the generations of modern times are enjoying in such nations. France, America, Russia and China are classical examples of countries where revolutions took place. Sweden was a country plagued by poverty and misadventures until about a century ago. Almost a fifth of the people went abroad, to the US especially. The rest at home sat down and discussed the way forward for their lives. They discussed every aspect of their lives and to this day, public discussions, debates and true voting remain acceptable approaches to handling issues in Sweden which is one of the most developed countries in the world today.

In Nigeria, we will continue to deceive ourselves if we allow the status quo to persist. The Politicians are untrustworthy and they have no conscience. Non-participatory mentality of the people must change. The people must find a way to participate in governance instead of been forced to accept what a cabal dictated. The people must find a way to end for all time the corruption mentality that has not only destroyed our economy but also made a few greedy people wealthy at the expense of the majority. The good people and the teeming masses must stand up and request for a say in the running of Nigeria. All of these approaches to ending the reign of evil can be achieved through discussions or dialogues. There must be a way to bring the ordinary people into the mainstream of our politics so that they can decide what they want and how they want it. This country belongs to all of us and it is our right to participate in the matters that shape our lives. The last probable option will be to do it by force.  The people must utilize the best option that is open to them so that prosperity can be a bestowment to the generations unborn from this land flowing with milk and honey.