Opinion: Leadership and Hypocrisy

No change at all

Nothing changes here. Even the nationwide protest that took many young lives didn’t solve much. I wonder what can change the mind of our leaders if the death of protesters won’t.

Each time I travel through this blessed state – I see nothing new; it’s heartbreaking that amid plenty, we can boast of nothing. I sleep most times on public transit, but today will be different. I decided to see what the so-called best governor in Nigeria is doing, so I carefully secured a seat close to the window to get a better view. The roads, as usual, are in a state of disrepair and an apparent death trap for commuters. Unworthy road vehicles still blast dangerous fumes as they ply about. At a point, raggedy road safety officials look on hungrily. There’s an environmental protection agency, but they are available when it involves their fee drive.

Apart from the tender palm tree shoots, nothing new emerges here. And lest I forget, it’s only in Nigeria that roads and bridges are built over a decade, and teachers owed salaries beyond a year in government guise that there’s no money. In Nigeria, these are tools of politics and propaganda. The tools aim to keep the masses under the leader. These wicked leaders forget that the populace pays schooling fees, rent, rate, and feed too. The worst is that as the cost of living rises, even the (seldom paid) salaries remain constant and in some cases reduced. Some leaders and their cabinet are wrong economists, and I wonder if they have qualified advisers at all. Do you see why there’s a regular increase in out-of-school children and a high unemployment rate? Is this not very shameful?

Sometimes I wonder what spurs the Nigerian leader on. How can one preach a corrupt-free society when the same is the head of corruption?

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is to ask people not to eat toad while one goes behind the scene to relish a dish made from toad.

I know that the people that run our government receive their salaries and benefits when due. But civil servants’ and retirees’ wages and pensions are withheld, some up to 20 months. No one can live in calm in such a situation. The most affected are medical professionals, and those in the education sector. I’m particularly pained that many pensioners die in pursuit of their entitlements. The only ones living above average are the government because they feed fat from the public purse.

These leaders take the commoners as toothless bulldogs that can only bark. Yes, the youth might have slept for years, but they are now interested in their nation’s governing process. Maybe another revolutionary protest will bring back our leader’s reasoning and make them act on much-needed reforms. I hope it won’t get to that point.