By Idris Hamza
One perfect phrase that describes Nigerians is “impatient yet tolerant.” I will begin with the latter.
From the onset, the daring act by the colonial contractors to merge hundreds of nations into a supposedly homogenous entity begged for an extraordinary tolerance. And, since then, Nigerians have been nothing but tolerant. Tolerant of one another. Tolerant of different indescribable governments. Tolerant of nepotistic and insatiable politicians. Tolerant of merciless military juntas. Tolerant of faithless faith leaders. Tolerant of poverty and hunger and precarity. The list is endless. In fact, Nigerians deserve a “Nobel Prize for Tolerance!”
Nigeria@60: Formation of political Parties
Despite our tolerance extraordinaire however, Nigerians are very impatient. We are impatient with the development of our country as a nation. We tend to count Nigeria’s ages – with its corresponding trajectories – the way we count human ages. That is the root of our impatience. It is very common to hear people complaining that despite sixty years of existence, the country still acts like it got its independence yesterday. The irony of these statements is that it is not far from being true. Nigeria is still a TODDLER.
If the conception (read pregnancy) of Nigeria can take decades before it was given independence (read born), why do we assume that its growth can happen overnight? Sixty years, in this respect, is indeed an overnight. Yes, we have had many governments during these years and many events have occurred as such. If we look at how the other nations that we fancy calling “developed” have developed however, we will realise how far we are from being a fully-grown nation.
I am not being apologetic to failed governments. I am also not oblivious of the fact we could do better. Nigeria has been plagued by bad leadership. I am sure you will agree with me that the most promising governments in Nigeria were the short-lived. This is one of our country’s misfortune. Apart from this misfortune, citizen’s attitude towards the failed leadership compounds our quandary. Our nonchalance has given the leaders the impression that they can do anything and get away with it. This must change!
The growth and development of every nation rests on the shoulders of citizenry. Nigerians must not be different. We must stand up, with sincerity and patriotism, to rescue our country. It is time to say enough is enough. We must stop voting leaders whose only manifesto is looting our country and enriching their families and friends. We must also start holding accountable the ones we vote into offices.
Community and faith leaders must shy away from their insatiable egotism and selfishness and make the interest of the people, who trust them with their lives, their priorities. The youth must also outgrow the pathetic sycophancy they engage in and realise that their future is in their hands. They must stop extolling the invisible virtues of valueless leaders and start demanding for good leadership and sustainable development for themselves and the generation unborn.
If we connect these dots, the odds will be in favour of Nigeria in sha Allah.
Happy sixty years of independence!
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Amin.
