Tony Marinho
COVID-19 second wave brings deaths approaching 1,300,000, infections 52,000,000, Nigerian confirmed cases 65,000 and 1,200 deaths.
Good governance is easy. Bad governance is difficult. Serve the needy. No country failed from good governance. No county fails. Politicians fail countries. How many citizens are ‘True Nigerians’ when political power has been stolen, squandered and wasted due to ‘No Supervision’ over 50 years?
Nigerians divert their attention from forcing politicians to be Faithful, Loyal and Honest [and Happy?]. Politicians must listen to the media. Are politicians acting quickly to save Nigeria, facing anarchy just two weeks ago? Only political sacrificial action can reverse the suffering. We must invest intellectually and financially. Freezing bank accounts and pursuing social media users is counterproductive. Face the issues raised.
Nigerians precipitated a tsunami of infobites on elections 8,000km away distracting from needs at home. The vociferous interest by Nigeria in US politics, happily won by the Biden/Harris ticket [congrats worldwide creating a female presidential ticket in 2024], has lessons. Over 160m voters, many weapon-bearing, but no shooting, death, or injury. A bloodless voting victory. Words, wicked words, were US weapons of election war.
Nigeria’s over-interest in ‘all things foreign’ is further manifested by Nigerian football fans’ costly interest in foreign football managers, players, policy, and predictions. Just as politicians abandon Nigerian citizens, Nigerian fans abandon Nigeria’s football teams at school neighbourhood, local and state level, fuelling youth anger and breeding anarchy. Nigerian fans of foreign football clubs should please act locally through local branches of foreign fan clubs or directly to spend 1-10% of funds and time on major support for local football activities, competitions, equipment, training and coaching, being physically present at under-bridge matches and buying local memorabilia including local team and footballer T-shirts, cups, stickers and scarves.
Yes, many of Nigeria’s brightest sparkle abroad in the ‘America Dream’ where there are millions of scholarships, easy loans and 24/7 power, and nuclear physics! Nigerians are abandoned by politicians. Policies mostly only enrich politicians, contractors, and civil servant classes, cancelling education gains. Nigerian school practicals [sport, laboratory, library, technical], scholarships, bursaries and education were wickedly cancelled, the money evaporating into exploding political budgets forcing many into educational ‘exile’ or a resentful life of angry poverty and ignorance.
Nigeria, an education profession leader, lost the ‘Politics over Professionalism’ war to politicians and bad policies, abandoned ‘Education: A Business Creator’ losing currency and human capital development. Education is a key world work creator, employer, innovator, revenue earner and creates pride in international competition, catalysing youth economic development. Nigeria’s perpetually myopic underfunded federal and even state education polices rubbish education, thus losing income, millions of jobs, youths future employment, all thrown into history’s dustbin.
Nigeria’s human exports, economic or political refugees and ‘illegal migrants’ risking desert and drowning endure culture change and family-loss. Black-white racism substitutes for Nigeria’s tribalism, foreign development in place of Nigeria’s broken promises. They endure foreign police brutality duplicated by Nigeria’s SARS/‘kill-and-go’.
Diaspora Nigerians unwillingly gave up sunshine, God’s gift to Africa, for winter because Nigeria stunted growth. Abroad, Nigerians promoted Nigeria’s international reputation, building on a foundation of Nigerians acquired knowledge but largely self-success due to effort with no Nigeria input. Even getting a passport remains an expensive hell. However Nigerian politicians claim laurels for successful Nigerian sportspersons or professionals as the same politicians under-educate Nigerians starving them of facilities and budgets. Businesses still demand 1-2 years rent, crazy bills and 25-30% interest loans. Here Fellow Nigerians faced, survive, or succumb struggling against political manipulation.
Our Nigerian Dream died as we pledged FLH – Faith, Loyalty and Honesty, words crumbled to graveyard dust, in spite of efforts by Fellow Nigerians and due to Corruption, Incompetence, Negligence, Selfishness, ‘CINS’ of Nigerian politics manifest by electricity-less-ness, business difficult, naira-collapsing, bloated governance. This creates an underdeveloped lopsided society lacking in all SDGs and people-oriented political effort, even a 75% emolument cut. Powerful Nigerian groups always say ‘No’ to corrections for the lopsidedness -Nigeria’s most dangerous injustice!
But life in Nigeria has layers of complicity – anti-people laws, legalised illegality, police or executive or political lawlessness. We have Federal, State, LGA so why do politicians ignore ‘The WARD’, the fundamental political unit for building a powerful nation, making citizens at home. Politicians set maximum, not minimum, standards for their living while rubbishing citizens. Politics and politicians are reminded of the ‘good things to do’ by all media.
For 26 years at Educare Trust and here, we demanded ‘WARD Development’ to ‘Take the WARD Youth Out of Poverty’ as a good governance and youth anti-violence strategy. Politicians and budgets ignore the fundamental unit of politics ‘The WARD’ until during elections when cows, rice and okadas are distributed as stomach infrastructure. It is ‘THE WARD’ where the citizenry youth are living or ‘dying’. ‘WARDS’ must have Youth Empowerment Inspirational Centres in rented or donated space equipped with less than N1m supported by donations and youth budgets. Every state government must elevate ‘THE WARD’ to a government/community project -a socio-economic hub. Nigeria’s politics is primarily ‘greed’ not ‘need’ driven with false federalism, false accounting, census, legal systems, promises, murdering false hope in the Nigerian Dream’. Diaspora’s generous billions cannot compensate for Nigeria’s corruption.
This is a hungry and angry Nigeria -a ‘hangry’ Nigeria. Urgently implemented ‘EVERY WARD’ Youth activities will make Nigeria safer. Politicians: Be FLH -Faithful, Loyal & Honest. The ‘WARD’ is key to peace. ‘SAVE EVERY WARD: SAVE Nigeria!
