The Three Enemies of Nigeria

By Simon Kolawole

One of my favourite Igbo proverbs says: “What a dog saw and
started barking ferociously is the same thing a goat saw and merely
grunted.” As young as I am, I have seen so much in this country
that when people are barking over a thing, I just sigh. Yet we are
reacting to the same stimulus. Inside me, I retort: “What else do
we expect? How can we sow the wind and not expect to reap the
whirlwind?” I have painstakingly studied the history of Nigeria. I
have lived through 13 administrations, old enough in 11 of them to
be able to distinguish between my right and left hands. I have
researched into key issues per time, per administration. I have
observed the trajectory.

Nigeria seems to be permanently on auto replay. So, all I do
these days is sigh when people scream.

For instance, as far back as 14 years ago, I foresaw and wrote
about a looming pubic disorder and insecurity fuelled by inequality
and corruption — although I must confess that not in my wildest
imagination could I have predicted the widespread carnage we are
living with today. But you cannot have a country where over 70 per
cent of its people have been living below the poverty line for
decades and think there would be no explosion at some point. You
cannot have a country with borders as porous as a sieve, plus
security agencies that are insanely corrupt and ill-equipped, and
think anarchy would not descend on us someday. You cannot have a
political system built around rentier mentality and primordial
sentiments and assume that Nigeria would be all fine. No way.

Economic hardship, ethnic rivalry, religious crisis, political
tension, violence and insecurity have been part of our make-up for
ages. From administration to administration. From president to
president. Some issues are perennial, others seasonal. They only
take different coloration and intensity per administration. In my
undergraduate days, I used to easily get excited to jump on the
bandwagon to blame our problems on one person or one part of the
country. There is hardly anything people are campaigning for today
that I did not parrot in the past — based on popular but jaundiced
opinion. With introspection, I have become less emotional and more
dispassionate in looking at the Nigerian malaise. We have been
changing leaders and parties, but Nigeria remains largely the same.
Why?

As we begin to discuss the 2023 elections, I can see excitement
in the air yet again, propelled by permutations.

We are going to get a new president, new governors, new
ministers, new commissioners, new agency heads, new board members,
name it. We love new things. We renew our hopes at election times,
expecting some change in our fortunes.

But it’s the expectations that kill us. In an article I wrote
before the 2019 general election, entitled ‘Hurting on the Inside’,
I argued that Nigerians have become adept at falling in love with
politicians every election year — but the heartbreak never seems to
stop. Yet, in the voice of Peter Tosh, the Nigerian will say: “I
gotto pick myself up/Dust myself off/Start all over again.” Hope
can be quite stubborn — and pretty stupid.

We all have our positions and perspectives on why Nigeria is
like this. Some would argue that it is because there is no “true”
federalism or regionalism that students are learning chemistry
without chemicals in many government secondary schools in the
south-west. Some are of the opinion that it is because there is no
Republic of Biafra that many state hospitals do not have beds and
drugs in the south-east. Some are convinced that it is because
there is no “resource control” that the NDDC has literally burnt
$50 billion in 20 years. Up north, many believe that it is because
there is no full Sharia that they are abjectly poor and neglected.
Some will even say that it is because of fornication and adultery —
not poor sanitation and unclean water — that they suffer yearly
outbreaks of cholera.

My views are slightly different. Anyone familiar with my
writings in the last 18 years know that I have persistently pursued
a different line of argument on the Nigerian condition. Today, I
will focus on the three “enemies” of Nigeria that I have often
identified as the enablers of the country’s underdevelopment. These
are (1) our concept of political leadership (2) our concept of
followership (3) our concept of development. Our concepts are based
on warped mindsets, some of which we inherited. If these mindsets
don’t change, Nigeria will never change. A scripture says: “As a
man thinks in his heart, so he is.” Our minds have been conditioned
to interact with Nigeria in particular ways. These mindsets control
how we see and do things. We badly need to restructure our
minds.

Let’s start with our concept of political leadership. One, a
typical Nigerian leader — and I use “typical” as the rule rather
than the exception — does not have a vision. I rephrase: they do
not have a positive mental picture of where they want the country,
state, council, ministry or agency to be under their watch. I apply
this to presidents, governors, council bosses, councillors,
legislators, judges, ministers, permanent secretaries, members of
governing boards and councils, commissioners, executive
chairpersons, DGs, etc. Politics, the type that leads to
development, is built upon an implementable “vision of society”.
The leader is always thinking: where are we? Where are we going?
Why are we still here? How can we get out of here? How far can we
go in four years?

Without having a reasonable “vision of society”, the leader has
already failed. It is like playing football without goalposts: you
are just having fun and burning calories. That, unfortunately, is
what leadership in Nigeria is mostly about: having fun. The moment
some step into leadership positions, their vision is Dubai today,
China tomorrow. They think leadership is the licence for comfort.
They focus on building castles as government houses; riding the
latest models of 4WDs in kilometre-long convoys, protected by
battalions of police officers; acquiring or chartering private jets
for personal well-being; and travelling abroad out to treat sore
throat. All in the midst of ponging poverty right under their
noses! In the end, we blame God or some constitution for our
underdevelopment.

For so many, leadership is all about the perks of power.
Narcissism. Everybody worships at their feet. There is a retinue of
aides attending to their needs. They are unchallengeable — they are
imperial majesties. There are some ministries and agencies where
specific elevators are dedicated to the ministers and DGs. If the
elevator for the staff is broken, what a pity. Even if the
ministers and DGs are not around for a whole month, their lifts
remain unused while the staff will continue to use the staircase.
Warped! If you are a leader and your understanding of priorities is
built around personal comfort and the perks of power, be assured
that you are a pathetic problem to this society. Quote me: any
country where leadership is not focused on a “vision of society” is
going nowhere.

Let’s now move on to the concept of followership. While I
unapologetically hold leadership responsible for the
underdevelopment of Nigeria, I never lose sight of how followers
have enabled and nurtured this disability. We turn our leaders to
demi-gods and cash cows, and that means we do not question or
scrutinise them as we should.

Rather, we see them relishing in the comfort of power and crave
to partake in the unholy communion. We position ourselves to be
co-opted. We either defend or attack our leaders on the basis of
bias and overlook their performance. We stink of hate and
prejudice. The intellectual concubines of the divisive elite are so
blinded by ethnic and religious biases that all they busy
themselves with is how to plant and nurture half-truths and
fallacies.

We, the followers, perennially enable inept leadership and then
turn around to complain that Nigeria is not making progress. Many
would argue that the leadership selection process is already
polluted because voters are induced at election times. That is
definitely part of the problem, but I would still make the point
that it should not stop the pursuit of a development agenda if
indeed the candidate has what it takes to deliver the goods. If you
are not competent, you are not competent, no matter how you got
into power. Worse still, we the followers often think our job stops
at voting leaders into office. We do not think of a development
agenda that we should pursue. We do not think our failure to hold
our leaders accountable is a key contribution to our
underdevelopment.

Finally, what really is our concept of development as a people?
I often break human development into tiny pieces:

access to education, health care, safe water, sanitation,
electricity, roads and security, as well as gender equity.
Therefore, when I say Nigeria is underdeveloped, what I am really
talking about are the inequalities inflicted on all of us across
the 36 states, FCT and 774 councils. My conscience will not allow
me to say only Muslims or only Christians are affected by the
insecurity and violence in the land, or that only one ethnic group
is suffering from the lack of access to food, shelter and clothing.
Tragically, since almost all issues are framed along ethnic,
regional and religious lines in Nigeria, we cannot even begin to
discuss or promote a proper development agenda.

I do not downplay our ethno-religious issues — I would be daft
to do that. But every country in the world battles internal
divisions: it could be race, creed, ideology, religion, ethnicity,
anything. The human society is inherently given to rivalry and
division. No nation is exempt. Even the family unit, bond by blood,
is not conflict-free, much less a multi-ethnic country. The problem
is not conflict but the management of it. I often argue that the
political mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity is a major setback
for our development. We need justice and peace across board. But I
am more persuaded that we can never rise until we get our concepts
of leadership, followership and development right. And leadership
will have to play the biggest role in breaking the shackles.

The Nigerian leadership factory has always malfunctioned. We are
ruled in the main by a predatory elite across the regions. They are
content with using power to benefit themselves and a few others,
not to uplift the society. They are enabled by a parochial
intelligentsia feasting on the crumbs. They are idolised by the
downtrodden who have been fed with divisive poisons all their
lives. Even if we balkanise Nigeria and these mindsets are not
fixed, it will only multiply our troubles. Our latter end will be
worse than the former. It is a mental problem. I have not seen any
indication yet that we are about to produce leaders with a new
mentality in 2023. And I still have not seen anything on the part
of the followers that points to a new mindset as well. Yet we are
expecting to see a new Nigeria.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS

SCHOOLBOY ERROR

Mrs Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as an INEC national electoral
commissioner was opposed because she is a member of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) — but the senate said it rejected her
on the basis of federal character. Delta state, where she comes
from, already has a national commissioner. Now, this is serious.
When President Buhari was nominating her, was he not aware that
Delta already has a commissioner? Can one state have two of the 12
slots for national commissioners? How did that pass scrutiny before
her name was sent? There are just too many things about this
government that expose its quality of thinking and decision making.
Appalling.

TAKING EXEMPTION

When a court ruled recently that Mrs Kemi Adeosun, former
minister of finance, did not have to do national service because
she was “technically” not a Nigerian when she graduated in 1989,
the headlines said “court clears Adeosun over NYSC saga”. She even
issued a statement promising to take legal action to “clear” her
name — a veiled threat at Premium Times, the news website that
investigated the saga. I am somewhat confused. The allegation
against Adeosun was forgery — not citizenship — and she admitted
guilt in her resignation letter. What exactly is this “court clears
Adeosun” narrative about? And, please, what exactly will she sue
any newspaper for? Bewildering.

DANGER SIGNAL

The house of representatives on Thursday asked DStv to reduce
its subscription fees following recommendations from an ad–hoc
committee. The Nigerian government itself has increased petrol
prices, raised electricity tariffs and hiked the toll and parking
fees at airports. The exchange rate has fallen from N305/$ to
N410/$ (remember broadcast rights are paid for in dollars). Prices
of garri, palm oil and yam, along with transport costs, have hit
the roof — all of which have eroded the real income of Nigerians.
However, the critical issue for our dear lawmakers is the
subscription fee of a luxury product like DStv. Meanwhile, the
lawmakers have not reduced their own allowances. Joke.

SOUND OF SILENCE

Role models don’t come better than Lanre Fasasi aka Sound
Sultan, who unfortunately died last week after a battle with
lymphoma, the extremely aggressive cancer of the white blood cell.
I actually wept when the news broke. A Nigerian patriot to his
bones and a responsible husband and father, the multi-talented
artist and satirist was never named in any scandal. He never
engaged in media wars. He was just a cool guy, whose personality
and art I admired greatly. It is also so unfortunate that the
basketball aficionado was not alive to witness the incredible
victory of D’Tigers of Nigeria over the world’s greatest team, the
Dream Team of USA, in an Olympics warm-up. Life!

By Simon Kolawole

One of my favourite Igbo proverbs says: “What a dog saw and
started barking ferociously is the same thing a goat saw and merely
grunted.” As young as I am, I have seen so much in this country
that when people are barking over a thing, I just sigh. Yet we are
reacting to the same stimulus. Inside me, I retort: “What else do
we expect? How can we sow the wind and not expect to reap the
whirlwind?” I have painstakingly studied the history of Nigeria. I
have lived through 13 administrations, old enough in 11 of them to
be able to distinguish between my right and left hands. I have
researched into key issues per time, per administration. I have
observed the trajectory.

Nigeria seems to be permanently on auto replay. So, all I do
these days is sigh when people scream.

For instance, as far back as 14 years ago, I foresaw and wrote
about a looming pubic disorder and insecurity fuelled by inequality
and corruption — although I must confess that not in my wildest
imagination could I have predicted the widespread carnage we are
living with today. But you cannot have a country where over 70 per
cent of its people have been living below the poverty line for
decades and think there would be no explosion at some point. You
cannot have a country with borders as porous as a sieve, plus
security agencies that are insanely corrupt and ill-equipped, and
think anarchy would not descend on us someday. You cannot have a
political system built around rentier mentality and primordial
sentiments and assume that Nigeria would be all fine. No way.

Economic hardship, ethnic rivalry, religious crisis, political
tension, violence and insecurity have been part of our make-up for
ages. From administration to administration. From president to
president. Some issues are perennial, others seasonal. They only
take different coloration and intensity per administration. In my
undergraduate days, I used to easily get excited to jump on the
bandwagon to blame our problems on one person or one part of the
country. There is hardly anything people are campaigning for today
that I did not parrot in the past — based on popular but jaundiced
opinion. With introspection, I have become less emotional and more
dispassionate in looking at the Nigerian malaise. We have been
changing leaders and parties, but Nigeria remains largely the same.
Why?

As we begin to discuss the 2023 elections, I can see excitement
in the air yet again, propelled by permutations.

We are going to get a new president, new governors, new
ministers, new commissioners, new agency heads, new board members,
name it. We love new things. We renew our hopes at election times,
expecting some change in our fortunes.

But it’s the expectations that kill us. In an article I wrote
before the 2019 general election, entitled ‘Hurting on the Inside’,
I argued that Nigerians have become adept at falling in love with
politicians every election year — but the heartbreak never seems to
stop. Yet, in the voice of Peter Tosh, the Nigerian will say: “I
gotto pick myself up/Dust myself off/Start all over again.” Hope
can be quite stubborn — and pretty stupid.

We all have our positions and perspectives on why Nigeria is
like this. Some would argue that it is because there is no “true”
federalism or regionalism that students are learning chemistry
without chemicals in many government secondary schools in the
south-west. Some are of the opinion that it is because there is no
Republic of Biafra that many state hospitals do not have beds and
drugs in the south-east. Some are convinced that it is because
there is no “resource control” that the NDDC has literally burnt
$50 billion in 20 years. Up north, many believe that it is because
there is no full Sharia that they are abjectly poor and neglected.
Some will even say that it is because of fornication and adultery —
not poor sanitation and unclean water — that they suffer yearly
outbreaks of cholera.

My views are slightly different. Anyone familiar with my
writings in the last 18 years know that I have persistently pursued
a different line of argument on the Nigerian condition. Today, I
will focus on the three “enemies” of Nigeria that I have often
identified as the enablers of the country’s underdevelopment. These
are (1) our concept of political leadership (2) our concept of
followership (3) our concept of development. Our concepts are based
on warped mindsets, some of which we inherited. If these mindsets
don’t change, Nigeria will never change. A scripture says: “As a
man thinks in his heart, so he is.” Our minds have been conditioned
to interact with Nigeria in particular ways. These mindsets control
how we see and do things. We badly need to restructure our
minds.

Let’s start with our concept of political leadership. One, a
typical Nigerian leader — and I use “typical” as the rule rather
than the exception — does not have a vision. I rephrase: they do
not have a positive mental picture of where they want the country,
state, council, ministry or agency to be under their watch. I apply
this to presidents, governors, council bosses, councillors,
legislators, judges, ministers, permanent secretaries, members of
governing boards and councils, commissioners, executive
chairpersons, DGs, etc. Politics, the type that leads to
development, is built upon an implementable “vision of society”.
The leader is always thinking: where are we? Where are we going?
Why are we still here? How can we get out of here? How far can we
go in four years?

Without having a reasonable “vision of society”, the leader has
already failed. It is like playing football without goalposts: you
are just having fun and burning calories. That, unfortunately, is
what leadership in Nigeria is mostly about: having fun. The moment
some step into leadership positions, their vision is Dubai today,
China tomorrow. They think leadership is the licence for comfort.
They focus on building castles as government houses; riding the
latest models of 4WDs in kilometre-long convoys, protected by
battalions of police officers; acquiring or chartering private jets
for personal well-being; and travelling abroad out to treat sore
throat. All in the midst of ponging poverty right under their
noses! In the end, we blame God or some constitution for our
underdevelopment.

For so many, leadership is all about the perks of power.
Narcissism. Everybody worships at their feet. There is a retinue of
aides attending to their needs. They are unchallengeable — they are
imperial majesties. There are some ministries and agencies where
specific elevators are dedicated to the ministers and DGs. If the
elevator for the staff is broken, what a pity. Even if the
ministers and DGs are not around for a whole month, their lifts
remain unused while the staff will continue to use the staircase.
Warped! If you are a leader and your understanding of priorities is
built around personal comfort and the perks of power, be assured
that you are a pathetic problem to this society. Quote me: any
country where leadership is not focused on a “vision of society” is
going nowhere.

Let’s now move on to the concept of followership. While I
unapologetically hold leadership responsible for the
underdevelopment of Nigeria, I never lose sight of how followers
have enabled and nurtured this disability. We turn our leaders to
demi-gods and cash cows, and that means we do not question or
scrutinise them as we should.

Rather, we see them relishing in the comfort of power and crave
to partake in the unholy communion. We position ourselves to be
co-opted. We either defend or attack our leaders on the basis of
bias and overlook their performance. We stink of hate and
prejudice. The intellectual concubines of the divisive elite are so
blinded by ethnic and religious biases that all they busy
themselves with is how to plant and nurture half-truths and
fallacies.

We, the followers, perennially enable inept leadership and then
turn around to complain that Nigeria is not making progress. Many
would argue that the leadership selection process is already
polluted because voters are induced at election times. That is
definitely part of the problem, but I would still make the point
that it should not stop the pursuit of a development agenda if
indeed the candidate has what it takes to deliver the goods. If you
are not competent, you are not competent, no matter how you got
into power. Worse still, we the followers often think our job stops
at voting leaders into office. We do not think of a development
agenda that we should pursue. We do not think our failure to hold
our leaders accountable is a key contribution to our
underdevelopment.

Finally, what really is our concept of development as a people?
I often break human development into tiny pieces:

access to education, health care, safe water, sanitation,
electricity, roads and security, as well as gender equity.
Therefore, when I say Nigeria is underdeveloped, what I am really
talking about are the inequalities inflicted on all of us across
the 36 states, FCT and 774 councils. My conscience will not allow
me to say only Muslims or only Christians are affected by the
insecurity and violence in the land, or that only one ethnic group
is suffering from the lack of access to food, shelter and clothing.
Tragically, since almost all issues are framed along ethnic,
regional and religious lines in Nigeria, we cannot even begin to
discuss or promote a proper development agenda.

I do not downplay our ethno-religious issues — I would be daft
to do that. But every country in the world battles internal
divisions: it could be race, creed, ideology, religion, ethnicity,
anything. The human society is inherently given to rivalry and
division. No nation is exempt. Even the family unit, bond by blood,
is not conflict-free, much less a multi-ethnic country. The problem
is not conflict but the management of it. I often argue that the
political mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity is a major setback
for our development. We need justice and peace across board. But I
am more persuaded that we can never rise until we get our concepts
of leadership, followership and development right. And leadership
will have to play the biggest role in breaking the shackles.

The Nigerian leadership factory has always malfunctioned. We are
ruled in the main by a predatory elite across the regions. They are
content with using power to benefit themselves and a few others,
not to uplift the society. They are enabled by a parochial
intelligentsia feasting on the crumbs. They are idolised by the
downtrodden who have been fed with divisive poisons all their
lives. Even if we balkanise Nigeria and these mindsets are not
fixed, it will only multiply our troubles. Our latter end will be
worse than the former. It is a mental problem. I have not seen any
indication yet that we are about to produce leaders with a new
mentality in 2023. And I still have not seen anything on the part
of the followers that points to a new mindset as well. Yet we are
expecting to see a new Nigeria.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS

SCHOOLBOY ERROR

Mrs Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as an INEC national electoral
commissioner was opposed because she is a member of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) — but the senate said it rejected her
on the basis of federal character. Delta state, where she comes
from, already has a national commissioner. Now, this is serious.
When President Buhari was nominating her, was he not aware that
Delta already has a commissioner? Can one state have two of the 12
slots for national commissioners? How did that pass scrutiny before
her name was sent? There are just too many things about this
government that expose its quality of thinking and decision making.
Appalling.

TAKING EXEMPTION

When a court ruled recently that Mrs Kemi Adeosun, former
minister of finance, did not have to do national service because
she was “technically” not a Nigerian when she graduated in 1989,
the headlines said “court clears Adeosun over NYSC saga”. She even
issued a statement promising to take legal action to “clear” her
name — a veiled threat at Premium Times, the news website that
investigated the saga. I am somewhat confused. The allegation
against Adeosun was forgery — not citizenship — and she admitted
guilt in her resignation letter. What exactly is this “court clears
Adeosun” narrative about? And, please, what exactly will she sue
any newspaper for? Bewildering.

DANGER SIGNAL

The house of representatives on Thursday asked DStv to reduce
its subscription fees following recommendations from an ad–hoc
committee. The Nigerian government itself has increased petrol
prices, raised electricity tariffs and hiked the toll and parking
fees at airports. The exchange rate has fallen from N305/$ to
N410/$ (remember broadcast rights are paid for in dollars). Prices
of garri, palm oil and yam, along with transport costs, have hit
the roof — all of which have eroded the real income of Nigerians.
However, the critical issue for our dear lawmakers is the
subscription fee of a luxury product like DStv. Meanwhile, the
lawmakers have not reduced their own allowances. Joke.

SOUND OF SILENCE

Role models don’t come better than Lanre Fasasi aka Sound
Sultan, who unfortunately died last week after a battle with
lymphoma, the extremely aggressive cancer of the white blood cell.
I actually wept when the news broke. A Nigerian patriot to his
bones and a responsible husband and father, the multi-talented
artist and satirist was never named in any scandal. He never
engaged in media wars. He was just a cool guy, whose personality
and art I admired greatly. It is also so unfortunate that the
basketball aficionado was not alive to witness the incredible
victory of D’Tigers of Nigeria over the world’s greatest team, the
Dream Team of USA, in an Olympics warm-up. Life!