SAFAR 25 1431 A.H.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2010.
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Nigeria leadership crises: The Paul Dike option (II)
By O.S. Aniagboso
Contd from yesterday
Their stewardship will only lead to more of the same thing and Nigerians certainly do not want things to remain the same. We want an urgent change, a complete overhaul of the polity. Nigerians need someone that will shake the system and dislodge the evil rogues in power.
It is true that we have had the misfortune of being ruled by a succession of leaders who have woefully failed the country. But that doesn’t mean that Nigeria cannot produce a good leader or good legislators. There are lot of credible and honest candidates who can improve the fortunes of this country and the lot of the masses if given the chance.
Most Nigerians are discerning enough and can sepeate the wheat from the chaff. In other words, if there is a level platform, Nigerians wil be able to elect good leaders. But our past experience has shown that having a credible electoral process in this country is an uphill task. President Umaru Yaradua failed to live up to his promise of reforming the electoral system. The Justice Muhammad Uwais led panel on electoral reforms made viable recommendations that would sanitize our electoral system but predictably, the executive and legislative arms have deftly swept the report under the carpet.
In the absence of a transparent electoral system, good governance no economic progress would be unattainable. The man that presided over the worst elections in the history of this country is still comfortably on the saddle, getting ready to pull another stunt in Anambra state in a few days time.
Transparency and good governance will not come on a platter of gold. It is becoming abundandtly clear that Nigerians have to employ drastic measures to reclaim their birthright. The fat pigs that have been running the affairs of this nation for decades will not willingly relinquish their hold to power.
Forty four years ago,precisely on the 15th day of January,1966, a group of young military officers led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu carried out a coup against the first republic which led to the killings of some top government officials and army officers. The coup triggered series of bloodbath and violence that culminated in the Nigerian civil war which has remained a blight in the history of our nation. The military officers were rightly fed up with the excesses and rising corruption amongst the political class. Their reasons were patriotic and idealistic but their means was ruthless and it backfired.
Sadly, those same issues that compelled these young military officers to embark on the perilous mission are still rife today. The greed, embezzlement, corruption, and misrule of the political class have risen to phenomenal proportions coupled with the impunity with which they ride rough-shod over the citizenry.
Today, more than ever before, we are in dire need of a saviour who will rescue the masses from the thieving political class and sanitize the system. The dangers of military intervention in governance is widely acknowledged and it might sound foolhardy for anyone to imagine us going down that route again given our past experience. But the truth is that these are no ordinary times; these are desperate times and desperate times call for desperate measures.
The implications of doing nothing and sustaining the status quo will be far worse. We have a ruling party which have done nothing but cause tremendous hardship and economic deprivation for the masses of this country while cornering all the wealth for themselves . This same political party has sworn to hold on to power for sixty years and they have the means to keep their promise: a corrupt INEC that has a dubious chairman and an ailing police force.
If they have succeeded in leaving us in this pitiable condition after just ten years, I shudder to imagine what will be our fate after 60 years. We may be worse than Somalia and Sudan or worse still, disintegrate completely and disappear from the world map. We have to reflect on the urgency of the present situation :
Nigeria has been on a downward spiral most especially, in the past two years. Our infrastructure remain comatose, the education sector is in shambles and the economy has dwindled. Instead of creating jobs, we are losing them as the few industries we had have continued to move to neighbouring countries.
The financial institutions which have always provided the bulk of the jobs for our graduates is in distress and thousands are losing their jobs. Our external reserve is being depleted and federal and state governments have resumed massive borrowing to finance their white elephant projects and boost their campaign warchest .
Security is at an all time low as criminals and kidnappers are having a field day terrorizing the beleaguered populace with impunity. Our profile in the international community has plummeted steeply and we are being treated with scorn and contempt. Nigeria has never had it worse and our prospects has never been so bleak. We need urgent help. We need someone that will sanitize the polity, dislodge the carnivorous cabal, engineer the much needed constitutional reform which will include the implementation of the Mohammed Uwais electoral panel report. The present legislative body has shown that it is in no position to do this. The political landscape should also be reorganized and the political parties trimmed. Then we can have a credible poll organized by a truly independent and credible electoral body. If this is done, I believe strongly that Nigerians will elect people who are competent,responsible and responsive to the needs of the masses. These new set of genuine leaders will now set out to tackle our avalanche of problems with the unanimous support and cooperation of Nigerians.
We are now left with the question: who is in the best position to salvage this nation and implement the agenda I have just listed above. My personal opinion is that the present chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike is best suited to carry out this mission. Several people have made the case for a people’s revolution in Nigeria but such a revolution without the support of the armed foces will be catastrophic and futile. It might have worked in Thailand and the Philippines but Nigerian ruling cabal is ruthless and would kill millions without bating an eyelid. I have taken my time to diligently study the profile of the present Chief of Defence staff and I was greatly impessed with his track record. Paul Dike is miles apart from the military rulers we have had in the past. His antecedents show that he is someone who will not be carried away by the trappings of power; he is someone we can count on to rescue us at this difficult time. This is a well educated, urbane and patriotic officer. He is a consummate professional in every sense of the word and has served this nation diligently. He has an unblemished track record and has handled several vital and sensitive government assignments in an excellent manner. Through sheer dint of hardwork, he diligently rose to the pinnacle of his profession. Air Chief marshall Paul Dike, the first Nigerian to attain the rank of Chief marshal in the Airforce is eminently qualified and can be trusted to assume the mantle of leadership at this difficult time and pilot the overhaul of our crooked polity. Once the necessary reforms are in place, credible elections can be conducted and we will start afresh as a nation on a journey to attain greatness. Nigeria and Nigerians need to start again because the current system is unfair,crooked and evil ; nothing good will come out of it. We need to start again on the platform of equality, respect and fairplay. And Paul Dike is the right man to engineer this process.
The most striking thing about this officer is the fact that he is a Nigerian in every sense of the word. He hails from Delta state, was born in Maidugri, schooled in Ogbomosho and Ilorin and is married to a lady from Abeokuta. He is fluent in all major Nigerian languages. I believe that Nigerians have every reason to call on this bright officer to rise to the occasion and save Nigeria from impending ruin and perpetual perdition.
