Mind Restructuring: The Importance Of Sound Mind, The Tragedy Of Government By Error/Terror And Gullibility Of The Masses -By Richard Odusanya

“It is not the function of the government to keep the citizens from falling into error; it is the function of the citizens to keep the government from falling into error.” – Robert Jackson. This is time tested.

The London Economist is a globally certified credible newspaper of note with decades of unbiased reportage. As usual, its recent editorial on the way and manner that NIGERIANS are easily manipulated, shows the level of our gullibility. This is an extract: “… NIGERIANS may have just certified themselves on the world map as a nation and its people easy to fool with propaganda.” This is certainly, the sad reality of our people and beloved nation Nigeria.

This is part of our realities, a nation with a population of over two hundred million citizens, with unimaginable magnitude of resources available to her; gold, bitumen, gas, iron, copper, zink, cotton, uranium, oil and a revenue of approximately $400 billion dollars from just one source in less than ten years. A nation where a reprehensible rejuvenated retired congenitally destructive minds thinks it is their birthright to corruptly enriched themselves and becomes stupendously rich individually, to the extent that they are much more richer than the nation itself.

Very recently, precisely two months ago, when the current administration through the Senate president, Sen. Ahmed Lawan, annoyingly announced to a bewildered nation that earned surplus of about $400 billion dollars from just one source, that our dear nation Nigeria is not rich and that the option for them is to continue with the borrowing spray. This is the height of irresponsibility and impunity that we have witnessed all along. It actually didn’t start with the present political gladiators. It is sad that nobody is asking questions about the true position of our wastefulness, squandering of riches and plundering of resources.

A nation where a few privileged individuals in public positions and their cronies are living large at the expense of the masses. Yet, we are not permitted to ask questions courtesy of their attack and lap dogs. In the words of an accomplished journalist and my dearest egbon’ Dare Babarinsa: “If we fail to find jobs for our youths the devil will employ them.” These painstaking speaks to the issues ranging from poor leadership, election rigging, kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, cronyism, clannishness, nepotism leading to economic downturn and ultimately the issue of 35 percent unemployment.

We will further appeal to the conscience of the ruling elites and the generality of our compatriots, using the words of the former first lady and later secretary of state of the United States of America, Hillary Rodham Clinton, she said that: “it is up to you, the good people of Nigeria who desire visionary and purposeful leadership to choose between vibrancy and complacency.”

On the flip side and fortunately, we still have gargantuan human talents and natural endowments. But our so-called leaders have lilliputian brainpower and crooked values. Until we deliberately recruit personalities of excellent managerial competence, integrity, honesty, character, couple with leapfrogging technologies compliant mindset. We will continue to wander and perish in the wilderness of life.

This is part of the reasons why we must keep our eyes on the ball. The electoral law that will enable rigging of election through fraudulent manual transmission must be rejected; we must be ready to hold leadership accountable. Because of the verdict of history, verdict of posterity and the judgment of God Almighty will be very harsh on all of us if we refused to act wisely.

ARISE’O COMPATRIOTS

Richard Odusanya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI