Nigeria At A Crossroad At 60 -By Richard Odusanya

A new Nigeria requires a revolution of values, a change of mentality and savvy youths that are ready to bring change. As Martin Luther King Jr. rightly said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” In a nation where vote doesn’t count because whoever the Godfathers select is the person that emerges as the winner of any election.

Nepotism is a bane in Nigeria and this has led to a failed system benefiting particular elites, states, institutions, arms of government and region etc that is leaving a trail of dead people, poverty and confusion. Why in a secular country will a particular religion and region head more than 85% of government agencies, the armed forces and other parastatals?

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said it all at webinar tagged, ‘Selection and appointment of judges: Lessons for Nigeria’, which was organised by Justice Research Institute (JRI) on Saturday 8 August, 2020.

Osinbajo said Nigeria’s justice administration “is under severe pressure from the elite who want to get ahead at all cost”.

“We have an elite and when I speak of elite, I speak of the Nigerian elite both political, religious, commercial/business etc. Everyone wants to get ahead, we want to own things, we want to control things and we want to own the judges too,” he said.

“The Nigerian elite want to be sure of all the outcomes and they want all the outcomes to favour them. That is the same pressure that we have with respect to the federal character.”

Never before, in the history of our country has there been a loud cry for change in every facet of our government than now. You can see this everywhere you go. From every little gathering, you hear complains and grumbling against the government and it will make you wonder a little, if the government is so unpopular among the people then who voted this government in.

Our past heroes fought for independence, now we must fight for progress and unity. They fought to free us from slavery and now we must emancipate ourselves from mental slavery. They fought to free us from colonialism and now we must fight to free our nation from regionalism. It’s about that time, we flush out the bad eggs in our political sphere whom paddling the affairs of this country failed to institutionalise principle of fairness and equality and impoverished the very fabric of our existence and sabotaging our dear nation.

Malawi as a country doesn’t have up to one-third of the problems we are battling with in Nigeria, yet the people are holding their government responsible for accountability. They all came together to fight tyranny by protesting against the fraudulent election process that declared then President Peter Mutharika winner of the election. Both the Constitutional and Supreme court were harshly critical of how the Malawi Electoral Commissioners handled the election, finding the Chairperson Jane Ansah and her Commissioners incompetent.

The 2019 election results also triggered Months of Nationwide protests, calling for a new election and demand for Ansah’s removal. Malawi’s constitutional court had to annull last year’s controversial election after the judge found there had been widespread irregularities in the May 21, 2019 vote. When Ansah finally caved in and tendered her resignation in May this year. The then President Mutharik responded by appointing, former High Court Judge, Chifudo Kashalp as a new Chairperson, who vowed that Tuesday 25 June 2020 rerun would be a free, fair and Credible rerun.

Former president Muthatika displayed his statesmanship by allowing the judiciary and electoral umpire reasonable liberty needed to discharge their duties fairly. While in Nigeria, the judiciary arms has come into question in recent times due to some of its pronouncement. We could take a leaf from the example of Malawi as they have set a precedence which should serve as a point of reference to others in the continent.

Unlike in Malawi, protest against the government are meant with threats from the Department of State Services and EFCC. A government that’s trying to systematically take away the freedom of speech from the masses is dictatorial. A good government is supposed to learn from his critics instead of trying to silent voice of the people by setting up social media bills.

Flashback to Nigeria’s 2019, Chief Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen was removed, general elections were marred with violence and rigging. One of the most admirable virtues of a Judge is courage! This is what a supreme court does, not the supreme shame we have under Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad CFR. His speech on “Technicalities” In July 17, 2019, during his screening by the members of the National Assembly on issues concerning administration of justice in the country was really worrisome.

Our nation is rotten to the core. We are witnessing an unprecedented levels of corruption and widespread insecurity. The bad system of the country has enfeeble so many citizens particularly the youths whom the national leaders still went ahead to label “lazy.” Same youths they use to steal ballot boxes on election days, hire as thugs and hitmen for the old politicians just for crumbs and while others are channeling their interest to internet fraud because of hardship and unemployment in the land.

But thank God will still have disciplined and capable young men and women in our society that can take up mantle of leadership in Nigeria and Africa. We just have to wake up from our slumber and smell the coffee. Character is the soul of the youth. We need youth that are morally and ethically upright, absolved of religious and ethnicity sentiments. We need youth with courage and personality, that are willing to pay the ultimate price and sacrifice for the progress of this country because we seek a new Nigeria, and a new Nigeria we must get.

Remember Queen Esther in the Bible. A woman of remarkable character worth emulating who showed uncommon faith and courage when she requests to see her husband, King Xerxes. The risk pays off when her people, the Jews, are saved from death. It will be unfair and shameful to pass the current state of our nation to the next generation just the way our parents bequeathed it to us.

In Nehemiah 2:6, Nehemiah set a time for the king within which he hoped to undertake the journey of rebuilding the city that was in ruins. Nehemiah appointed the time within which his project of rebuilding Judah would be accomplished. Nehemiah set a time for his accomplishment.

Nehemiah was a prophet. He was one who understood what it meant to make a declaration. So, he wasn’t just guessing how much time it would take to accomplish his project. He set the time that he would take to make his vision a reality. He tied his future accomplishment to time. He seemed to pass a decree with regard to how long his project should last. He appointed a period of time to his next accomplishment.

Beloveds, what is that mission you wish to accomplish? Set a time for it. Set a time for that next level you want to attain; set a time for that project you want to accomplish; set a time for that result you want to call forth. It is understandable that our thoughts, words and actions will have an impact on our daily experience as a nation with a date with destiny come October 1st, Revolution Day.

We are not here accidentally, we are here meaningfully. There is a purpose behind us. The whole intends to do something through us in this world. “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived – that is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The strength of any nation is in its youth. The fact is that a new generation is coming. This new generation is faced with diverse challenges. You can call it a paradigm shift. Are you prepared for the next phase in our nations history?

Conclusively, Thank you my fellow compatriots, for bravely, revolutionarily, forging ahead for us all the basis for such a sustainably bright future..

Richard Olanrewaju Odusanya
Convener AFRICA CONVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE (ACRI)