Last week Friday, Mr Olusegun Adeniyi was invited to the House of
Representatives at a special session to mark the mid-term of the 18th
National Assembly, during his speech he dropped this “…with such an
array of accomplished young men and women educated from the best
institutions in the world, I will like to see presidents of Nigeria
emerge from this chamber, beginning from 2019”. The Deputy Speaker Hon
Yusuf Lasun in his vote of thanks “said there is no vacancy in 2019”.
Recently, Mohammed Yakubu, a member of the National Executive Committee
of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said “Buhari should not resign,
even if he is on a wheelchair, north and people of Nigeria will vote him
in 2019”
Imagine such statements when the main occupant of Aso
Rock is in a fix trying to fix himself is given vote of confidence to
fix a complex nation like Nigeria. Tufiakwa!
This letter is a
reply to those who think they can stay in their room and decide who will
rule Nigeria and are bent and achieving it through manipulation, lying,
deceit, intimidation and thuggery and also to those who believe that a
New Nigeria is possible. Nigeria is in shackles and we are duty bound to
liberate our society from the hand these oppressors that sees everyone
as slaves. Please there is vacancy in Aso Rock.
Leadership is
defined by the responsibility it carries, abilities to tackles complex
problem, chart the course towards the future, inspire hope and shift the
boundaries of possibilities for the people. The privileges attached to a
position is just the reward for hard work. The reverse is the case
because this incompetent people are only interested in the perks rather
than the heavy responsibilities attached with the positions they occupy.
Quote me anywhere, every office occupied by an incompetent person is
vacant. Please let’s widen our search for credible, competent and
effective people to lead us. If not people who will take us one step
forward and five (5) steps backward will continue holding the forth.
Most times when we talk about bad governance, many Nigerians are
indifferent. They will always say, leave politics and face your life,
who Nigeria political matter epp (help)? They won’t vote, they don’t
scrutinize their leaders, no questions about transparency and
accountability in governance. They are not interested. Which future do
you want to leave for your children? A society where everything is
struggle and struggling, where you have to pray for everything because
of the hardness of the system. A society where an undergraduate, Corp
members are uncertain about their future. A society where doctors and
lawyers are unemployed. Where soldiers who fight for our security are
neglected by the society they protected. A society where people are sent
to their early grave because of bad roads. A society where hospitals
are neglected, and the managers of the system go for medical tourism
with their children and loved ones abroad. Even President Buhari doesn’t
use the health facilities of Nigeria. Is that the society you want to
leave for your children?
The 5th line of our national anthem
said, “The labour of our heroes past shall not never be in vain”.
Compare the policemen, Sergeants Chukwudi Iboko and Sunday Agbo that
died in the shoot-out with armed robbers in Zenith Bank Owerri and with
those who are sponsoring bill for six months imprisonment for ‘jumping
queue’. Who are our real heroes?
Do you know that a Police
constable collect about N39,000 monthly. A Police corporal and sergent
collect N44,000 and N50,000 as monthly salary respectively. An inpector
don’t earn up to N70,000. If they are slaughtered on duty or active
duty, there is no life insurance for them. The Police authority will pay
the family N500,000 and kick them out if there are living in the
barracks. The last time their salary was reviewed was in 2007. Recently
the National Assembly reviewed their budget and increased it.Is this the
kind of society you want to leave for your children? You can Google
Punch news today with the search ‘Imo Bank Robbery: Nigeria not worth
dying for, say policeman’ to read more about police welfare.
According to Unesco report, Nigeria has the highest number of out of
school children and one of the world’s worst educational system in the
world. Is this what you want to leave for your children?
If we
don’t vote for competent leaders, the status quo will remain and worsen,
remember every office occupied by an incompetent person is vacant.
These people that call themselves leaders send their children outside
the country to study after raping and castrating our educational system.
According to wenr.wes.org,
Nigeria still remains the number one country of origin for
international students from Africa. In 2015 alone about 17,973 Nigerian
students studied in the UK. Do you know that Ghana has overtaken the US
as the second most popular destination country? 13,919 Nigeria students
went to Ghana for quality education. Nigerian students are the 14th
largest group among foreign students in the United States and they
injected an estimated USD $324 million (N117.9bn) to the US economy in
2015/16. Some of the causes are poor quality of its universities and
failure of the Nigeria’s educational system to meet booming demand.
If you don’t look for and vote for competent leaders, you have given a
vote of confidence to the status quo. Remember when poverty and
frustration takes over the masses, the privileged are not safe. With the
politicians is the sin of commission, yours is the sin of omission.
If the status quo is remained in Nigeria, two thing will happen. One
will be easier and faster, the other will be slow and systematic. The
hungry, idle, neglected, abused and downtrodden will take laws into
their hands and nobody will be safe. The society doesn’t have plan for
them, therefore they will make their own plans and play by their own
rules.
The indifferent, informed, educated, concerned and
enlightened will rise up and take back their society from the scavengers
that feeds on the misery and wretchedness of the populace.
If you don’t have your voter’s card to vote, just know you’re among those that strengthen grip of these agents of destruction.
There are vacancies in leadership positions in our society starting
from Aso Rock because every office occupied by an incompetent person is
vacant.
Let’s take back our society.
Written by Obinna Osigwe