I was amused to see President
Jonathan standing with hands on hips looking somewhat surprised, shocked and
annoyed at the decadence he was seeing while at the Ikeja Police College. The
President's unscheduled visit was prompted by a documentary aired on Channels
television showing how police cadets are trained in appalling sub human
conditions. While I watched the drama, I
couldn't help asking myself, "what country did this guy think he is
leading? America?". Well Mr.
President, welcome to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This level of decay of
infrastructure is what the people have been hammering about all the time Mr.
president while you are holed up in Aso rock surrounded by aides bandying meaningless
economic figures and patting you at the back, telling you all is okay and you
are doing a good job. I kept thinking to myself about how disconnected our
leaders are with the present reality on ground in Nigeria. Was he not aware
that he was coming to preside over a
battered country with almost nonexistent Infrastructure at all levels? Did he
just decide he wanted to be president of Nigeria without looking at the
enormous task that awaited him? While he was going from state to state
campaigning for election in different types of asheobi, did he take time to
visit some of these places or listen to people who are affected by such
infrastructural decay?
Well I have good news for you Mr.
President, there is nothing special about the state of things at Police college
Ikeja. All you are seeing is the reflection of a wider Nigeria which you are
presiding over. This is Us, and this is our reality. The earlier you realise
this and start moving fast to get us out before we sink, the better. If places
like Ikeja Police training school are where we train the people who are supposed
to keep us safe, I wonder about the condition of our prisons, where condemned
prisoners are 'rehabilitated'. Sir, start paying surprise visits to any of the
government primary and secondary schools and you will see where and how the
future Nigerian leaders are trained. Or visit any of the government hospitals
to see how women deliver babies in candle lit labour rooms, and where patients
cannot afford to buy 1000 naira malaria drug. You can even rest your jet or
chopper for a day and ply any of the
major roads that link most parts of the country so as to know what I am talking
about. Not to talk of some of our airports where aeroplanes land in the dark.
Nigeria is a country that is
blessed with abundant human and natural resources but sadly we have still not
found the right persons who can harness these resources for the general good of
the people. What we have as leaders are people who are very unprepared for the
challenges in our country and people who lack any vision in moving us
ahead. That is why it will be easier
for Mr. President to be annoyed about
the documentary showing this rot, even attributing it to a smear campaign against
his government rather than address the issue on ground. The President and his
aides in a true Nigerian political fashion might also argue that the decay
started long before he assumed leadership, but what they will fail to tell the
people is that he was not elected to waste our time complaining but to clear
the mess as soon as possible.
