PATRIOTISM IN THE FACE OF INSECURITY AND INJUSTICE; TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance...

First foremost, I want to nudge our minds towards a differentiation between blind hope and patriotism. Blind hope manifests in the form of selective amnesia which makes citizens to either "look the other way" when matters do not unfold according to their expectations or pretend all is, or will be well even when all indicators are pointing south. Patriotism imbues in citizens the open-mindedness to assess situations affecting their country or community as they are; the courage to discuss them openly and the love to seek for practical solutions to these adverse situations and circumstances while continuing to, not just pledge but show allegiance to the National flag.

War, like a cancer does not break out the very day a declaration of hostilities is made; events, issues and circumstances, especially those of irreconcilable nature consume the underlying fabrics of a society; in the case of a cancerous cell, the underlying tissues are eaten up before it breaks out to the surface. It is in this same stealth manner that corruption has consumed and made the Nigeria nation desolate. The widespread violence we live with on a day to day basis is a manifestation of the desolated state of our nation.  

Some of our co travellers have chosen to compare the innocent blood that are being shed on a daily basis in Nigeria militant and terrorist groups, security agents, etc, etc to the US led war on terror and most recently, the despicable, terrorist bombing in Oslo, Norway. This, to me is insensitivity of the highest order and makes mockery of the sanctity of human life. For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to point out that the security situation we face in Nigeria today goes beyond Boko Haram, MASSOB, OPC and the militia of the Niger Delta. Fear and insecurity have been weaved into the fabrics of our national consciousness.

Eleven days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed as the first Director of the Office of Homeland Security in the White House. The office oversaw and coordinated a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the US against terrorism and respond to any future attacks. Within twelve months from then, the US government have done a full integration of all or part of 22 different Federal departments and agencies into a unified, integrated Department to form the Department of Homeland security.

In the interlude between the appointment of Tom Ridge and the DHS becoming fully independent in its operations, far reaching regulations were put in place to curb the activities of terrorists within US soil. Biometrics was introduced, aeroplanes were redesigned, different and additional surveillance measures were adopted, etc, etc.

The master mind of the Norwegian massacre was apprehended and put in custody within 24 hrs of the incident. In over two decades of mass murders, accidental discharge, extra judicial killings, etc, etc in Nigeria, how many real culprits have been apprehended and brought to book?

What has the Nigerian government done differently to improve security of lives and property since the Maitasine riots in Yola in 1986? From Zango Kataf to Kano, to Kaduna, to Zaki Biam, from Jos to Bauchi and now Maiduguri, it has been sorrows tears and blood and we have a Federal Legislature that gulped N 339 billion Naira between 2007 and 2011 and they want us to pretend all is well!!!

We live in a country where the sanctuary of security, the office of the Inspector General of Police was bombed by a known group and one month later, the security chiefs are still trading blames and they want us to be patriotic and pretend it will be well!!!

We live in a country where the same group that claimed responsibility for bombing the Police Headquarters shoot and kill innocent people in the streets (the Maiduguri example) on a daily basis and go unchallenged and we must bow our heads in patriotic zeal!!!

In this same country, three governors who had foresworn to uphold the Nigerian constitution have openly apologized to the group that bombed the Sanctuary of security and serving senators from that geopolitical zone have held a Press Conference asking for the “go and sin no more” treatment for them and we think all will be well!!!

Well, we may remain in your Pimpers Paradise but someone should please help me tell our security Chiefs that no amount of chest thumping, let them reincarnate King-Kong if they like, let them breathe fire and brimstone if and as they deem fit, the suffocating spate of insecurity in the land will neither be washed nor wished away.

They need to put on their thinking caps and get proactive.

The way forward is entrenchment of justice and the principles of good governance which shall in turn engender peace. Let the government stem the stifling heat of corruption and graft so we can find the resources to invest in security, create employment and an ennobling socioeconomic climate.

The precursor for peace is equal rights and justice.

Re: President GoodLuck Jonathan vs Peoples Democratic Party

Dear Guest,

Your comments are very well appreciated, welcome to our world!

The purpose of this blog is principally to make objectively analysis of socio-political situations, issues and circumstances affecting our dear country and make attempts at providing/ suggesting practical solutions that would aim at improving our conditions, which you must agree with me, is sordid at the moment.

There is time for everything under the sun; a time to sow and a time to reap, a time to laugh and a time to cry, a time to be slow and a time to move fast, etc, etc. In my humble opinion, our national psyche requires very urgent need for a makeover.

Our problems have been serially dissected; poor educational and physical infrastructure, abysmal power generation, unemployment and underemployment, an over bloated public service, the Almighty corruption, etc, etc.

My believe is that a government which is focused on resolving issues such as these in order to take its people out of the doldrums would at least have a blueprint or an action plan which would outline the strategy and interventions required to meet expected outcomes. Beyond the interventions, a nation needs to have or develop a philosophy, an ideology which would be embodied by her President, by her leaders and from whence it will diffuse down to the "lowest" rungs of the society.

From all indications, The President Goodluck Jonathan led Federal Government, which has every reason to hit the ground running, seem to be more interested in chasing shadows and has not shown the tenacity of wit and purpose requisite to tackling the mortal problems bedevilling Nigeria.

We could have been more patient if the world was not leaving us behind; if sister nations which we were hitherto classified together as third world nations have not put their acts together and has joined or are in the process of joining the league of developing /developed nations.

A call for patience, like you have made would have been very welcome if there is any evidence that this leadership have got its priorities right and are on track to lead the nation to anywhere at all except deeper into the morass.

A leadership that wants to bequeath a legacy of profligacy in the midst of abject poverty, a leadership that is preoccupied with elongating its life span even before it commences, a government that has been rendered impotent by huge budget deficits and recurrent expenditure, a nation that has been held hostage by a group of brigands who shed the blood of innocent citizens continually, remorselessly on a daily basis is in mortal danger.

I urge all well meaning Nigerians, including you to lose your patience a little bit so we could build up the critical mass required to nudge out government to action; positive, proactive action.

We will all be the better for it.

N/B:

This comment is in response to a note on the above subject matter asking that President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP be given more time to "settle down" before we start" judging" his performance.

President Goodluck Jonathan vs People's Democratic Party (P D P)

That attempted differentiation between President Goodluck Jonathan and The Peoples Democratic Party (P D P) during the 2011 Presidential Election was the gaffe of the century made by the Nigerian electorate.

It goes to show the extent of naivety and further underscores the need for structured voter education, without which such base deceit will continue to be a recurrent feature in our political landscape and people, enlightened or not, will continue to be hoodwinked.

The scars will remain with Nigeria and Nigerians for a long time to come. 


Four years may appear to be a short time in calendar months but in socioeconomic development terms, it's such a long, long time.

What role did the military play in under developing Nigeria?

Military regimes by default rule by fiat, by suspended a country’s constitution. This makes their incursion into a nation's politics more often than not have a stifling effect on democratic institutions.

However, the Nigerian example of under development crystallizes from factors way beyond the incursion of military adventurers.

Given the length of time we have continually had a civilian government, since 1999 to date; it would be untrue to deposit Nigeria’s underdevelopment entirely at the doorpost of the military.

We seem to have overlooked the fact that good governance, social transformation, economic development are not necessarily confined to the system of government adopted as a channel of delivery but by the sincerity of purpose of leaders. George Washington, who laid the foundation for greatness for the USA and the four Presidents after him all, had military backgrounds, in most countries of the G20, a form of military service is compulsory for one to rise to the apex of the public service. Jerry Rawlings rescued Ghana from the throes of degradation in military uniforms and didn't derail until he started mixing up with politicians, Moa Tse Tung of China, Charles de Gaulle, Pancho Villa, Napoleon Bonaparte, even Robin Hood, etc, etc all had military backgrounds but the Lowest Common Multiple among these men was their love and vision for their country and the sincerity with which they pursued that vision.

China and Japan do not practice parliamentary democracy but Japan was able to recover from the ravages of the 2nd world war and a tsunami recently, China has become the biggest economy on earth, all through pragmatic dedication towards specified goals but above all, they achieved prominence on the world stage owing to the vision, love and the sincerity with which their leaders pursued and defended their national interests. This is what is missing in our leaders in increasing degrees since the demise of the first republic and that has been the corner stone of our failure as a nation to join the league of developed nation’s in-spite of the humongous resources available to us.

America with all its perfection in governance was losing it until they got a president with the moral fibre of Barack Obama. 

In the final analysis, the system of government is not all of it when the purpose is socioeconomic development of a nation. Efficiency, vision and sincerity of purpose; that is the building block of good and effective governance.