Nigeria Crawling and Wobbling At 52
Posted On : October 1st, 2012 | Updated On : October 1st, 2012
keywords
job title or skills
location
city, state or zip
Jobs by JobinAfrica
18
tweets
retweet
By Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Daily Trust
“Do not swim in shallow waters if you do not want your back to show.” Malawian Proverb.
The meticulously-planned 50th Independence Anniversary of our nation was blasted into infamy two years by criminal elements who wanted to make a statement to the effect that they have a large chunk of our political space. Since then, our independence anniversaries, events which had been marked by two generations of Nigerians with deserved pomp and pride, have been hushed affairs. Leaders who used to inspect school children parades with military fanfare now release statements and retreat further behind barricaded official residences. Now the loudest sounds we hear are those of citizens who choose to blast their grievances, or criminals after millions in banks, or of security agents who run after them. A nation which started its journey on a confident trot is now crawling and wobbling. It is uncertain how long it can stay on all fours; and it is even more doubtful if our leadership has the capacity to prevent it from collapsing on its belly.
A few years ago, comments which suggest a perilous future for Nigeria would have been roundly condemned as doomsday prophesy. Even when the foundations of our nation began to be exposed to massive assault by corruption and impunity, Nigerians thought we could still turn our nation around. When our political system began to resemble everything else but a democratic system, with massively-rigged elections, non-accountable leadership and power produced by a combination of cynical manipulation of our structural weaknesses, violence and corruption, those who thought they could tell when a nation was sick enough to set alarm bells going began to warn of dangerous slides.
Via
Charles Tiayon
Your new post is loading...
