Nigeria's Urgent Need for Renewal: A Call to Action Against Darkness
There is an extremely urgent need for a new Nigeria, as the nation grapples with profound challenges that threaten its very foundation. Currently, Nigeria is afflicted with acute privation of security, overrun by terrorists and bandits, and menaced by separatists, insurgents, and insurrectionists. Her citizens face abductions from homes and schools, attacks in places of worship by individuals chanting religious slogans, loss of farmlands to herders, and displacement as refugees in their own land.
Constitutional and Governance Failures
Nigeria is debilitated by a constitution that prioritizes sharing offices and wealth among the political elite, setting up a government that is unaccountable and more powerful than the people. In what is touted as a representative democracy, there is no meaningful conversation between citizens and their representatives at federal, state, and local levels. Despite vows and assurances after every terrorist attack, the government has spectacularly failed to rekindle confidence, with Nigerians perceiving officials as indifferent and uncaring.
This failure to secure the land and its people, the primary duty of government, has become a weapon for foreign actors who disregard international law and national sovereignty. As they issue threats of invasion, they are urged on, possibly invited by aggrieved parties, enveloping Nigeria in thick darkness.
Infrastructure and Moral Darkness
Electricity is a glaring issue, with neighborhoods experiencing prolonged outages lasting up to twelve months or more, leading some to cynically label Nigeria the "Generator Republic." This technical darkness is a symptom of a more serious psychic darkness that inhabits the souls of the nation. A nation, as an association of cities, homes, and individuals, cannot know tranquility amidst an epidemic of moral depravity.
Enlightened leadership is crucial to lead the land out of this darkness, using Plato's allegory of the cave. Leaders are the eyes of a nation, but if their vision is deficient, the nation wanders astray. Nigeria suffers from acute leadership deficiency syndrome, where leadership disables rather than enables progress. Supporters of politicians resort to ethnic and religious bigotry on social media, while politicians fail to restrain them, weaponizing diversity to divide and conquer.
Economic Disparities and Political Dysfunction
Decades of crude oil sales have not improved the quality of life for the average citizen, yet political actors grow richer. While many Nigerians cannot afford basic mobility like a keke, politicians traverse highways in intimidating convoys. Since the common good is not their concern, their conduct falls below standards of patriotism.
The electoral law commands no confidence, with institutions like the electoral commission, security agencies, and judiciary failing to demonstrate independence. Outcome of political processes depends on the political oligarchy, not the people, in a system euphemistically referred to as power of incumbency. Nigerian political parties lack philosophy, vision, and internal democracy, with membership driven by a search for "greener pastures" rather than noble ideals.
Hope and the Path Forward
In a setback for democracy, Nigeria is descending into a one-party state where political pluralism is shown the exit door by unprincipled politicians. However, there is good news: we and our leaders have the capacity to build a better Nigeria. Nigerians are industrious and talented, excelling globally in various fields. What is lacking is the volition and political will to rise from the dubious distinction of a richly endowed land inhabited by impoverished citizens.
This is no lamentation but a plea to recoil from the cliff. We must make a choice about the type of Nigeria we need, reflecting on what we bequeath to posterity—a land they will bless or curse. Father Anthony Akinwale, Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, calls for urgent action to renew Nigeria.
