It is his turn to sleep and snore at the presidential palace

By Omenazu Jackson

February 25, 2023 presented an opportunity to redesign, reposition and recover Nigeria from failing among the comity of nations.

We seem to have problem with 3 as a number. 1983, 1993 and 2023. These years were ample opportunity lost. We journeyed into the unknown deliberately without thinking of its social consequences. In 1983, the old brigade squandered the economic good will presented by the world through the price of crude oil. Again in 1993, another group of unpatriotic citizens blew it away like a failing cotton directed by the eastern wind. We found ourselves wobbling like a flat bicycle tyre. On spoting a good vulcanizer, we pretend the bike was okay and cool. Yet our movement still remain wobbling.

In 2023, INEC became an obstacle and parties that have made us world poverty capital surprisingly became messiahs. The gullible citizens dance around their campaign endlessly even with hunger and inability to lay hands on their hard earned cash. The banks rendered no help as the economy was helpless. We saw help but choose hell.All industries that made us productive are either sold or locked. Unemployment has become the breakfast of our youths even though most of them are unemployable due to the educational manual and its attendant lapses.

We saw a window of redemption but the shallow memory of our national agony left many wondering if it isn’t better to remain in pool of stagnant water than to bath in a clean flowing stream that is harmlessly deep.

The magic of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System(BVAS) machines turned out to be the source of our monumental set back. Crooks praised its failure while decents bite their finger in regret. Institutional trust vanished and despair took over the land.Our hope for recovery seems a mirage.

We have recovered nothing since 1983. Rather we lost our prestige, honor, respect and value among peers like India, China and South America countries.We lost our identity and become economic slaves to Asians.

How do we recover Nigeria when elders hold on to primordial ideas and refuse to let go? They tell us it is their turn to sleep and snore at the presidential Palace.

How do we recover when there’s no functional refinery? Dunlop, West African glass industry, Michelin, Volkswagen, Daewoo, Kaduna textile mill, Nigeria Airways, Nitel, NEPA, Nigeria railway cooperation, produce board, Nigeria National Shipping Line etc have been deliberately ran aground. These were engine of development and catalyst for mass employment.

Our road to recovery lies on the quality of mind elected to lead us. We have literally postpond our recovery date while the world moves on. While we wait for long and tedious legal proceedings with its myraids of jargonistic jurisprudence that is anchored catastrophically in 1999 constitution, our lives diminish and our woes endless.

We must start our path to recovery by promptly cancelling the 2023 presidential election without delay. No nation that choose their leaders in such a faulty, shabby and bizarre manner make progress.

Without sounding immodest but with no apologies, the last presidential election failed all know standards of trust in leadership. It erode’s confidence and induce disobedience to national pledge.

“The major ingredient in the menu of national cohesion is justice and equity”.

No sane citizen will be loyal to a nation that doesn’t protect his or her socio-economic wellbeing.Citizens confidence is waning daily and we must do everything to restore it.While we dangerously gloss over the injustice of June 12 annulment, we fail to see the ghost chasing us up and down.

Our failed memory has led us to forget that once one citizen is unjustly sent to the grave that our national creed is equally buried alone side. I hope we do our best to recover that buried creed by conducting a free, fare and credible election. That’s the only acceptable restitution. Though other countries has lip servicely congratulated us, they still see us as 67yrs kiddergarten. We have failed the world mostly Africa by our conduct.

All our national institutions of governance have lost their salt. We now live at the mercy of criminal manipulators of our weak institutions.

Let us recover Nigeria now before it is too late.