Our Ruling Ostriches

Barely 24 hours after Hillary Clinton's visit, our ruling party and bunch of leaders are attacking her honest speech there. She has been called misinformed and out to legitimize those who have an axe to grind with the ruling party and government.

What did she say that was untrue: that our anti-corruption agency, EFCC, is no longer a force to reckon with? Is it really the same as when Ribadu was in charge. Please I do not mean to say it was perfect but everyone would admit it was not the joke it is now. She said Corruption is growing, is that untrue? All we hear about is billions being spent here and there but there is no evidence that thousands have been spent. She mentioned the fear that Nigeria could be a fertile ground for Al Qaeda to recruit from? Was she responsible for the recent Boko Haram cult or the poor handling of what could have been a PR coup for the government by the blatant killing of their leader after he had been captured. She talked about our electoral problems and the need for better laws and implementation. Even the INEC Chairman Iwu said just yesterday that the only way we can have free and fair elections is under the military. That comes from the man tasked with making the elections free and fair. He is confessing that the ruling elite or ostriches as they really are will not allow for the lawful and proper thing to be done. They would rather bury their heads in the sand as true Ostriches do than face the problems head on.

The great Albert Einstein said 'A properly defined problem is 90% solved!' Whilst we continue to chase symptoms rather than the core problems the sickness and cancer infects other parts of the body. The rosy cheeked senate president and the PDP are taking Hillary's comments personal after all they are the ones benefitting from the current chaos. They are so used to Africa diplomacy where the colour is whatever your host calls it, they cannot stomach the truth. They only need to look back to when they were campaigning, when they last spoke the truth about what the problems are.

A system where the over 100 universities are a faint shadow of their selves, where hospitals are not fit to be called pharmacies, where the roads are filled with potholes, where the first drops of rain floods everywhere, where you cannot go out for fear of robbers killing you for a car they will dump in the next 20 minutes, don't even mention electricity or the aggressive tapping of the waterbed with everyone having 1 or 2 boreholes in their compound. When was the last time the government mentioned provision of water, it is as if they have decided it can be ignored. Then we talk of diseases.

Personally, I think they should all focus more on fixing the problems and less on patting themselves on their backs for what they are being overwhelmingly paid to do anyway and are not doing.

Beware the revolution. The children whose futures are being mortgaged are not likely to be silent forever. Your own children are not in the country to defend you when the revolution begins. It will not be televised... maybe Youtubed!

Why are we so cursed?

I am currently on vacation with the family in Dubai, it's not a big one - only 1 week to spend here. It does however give me an opportunity to think of the coming years, where I have been, where I am and whether I am on track to get to where I want to be. My youngest child starts secondary school next month and that definitely brings my wife and I closer to the retirement from school fees. Of course there is still at least 10 years to go but it is a landmark all the same.

The other nagging issue is 'home'. The how and the when of a return back to our beloved Nigeria. At a recent research report representation, a growing segment of Nigerians was defined in terms of their aspirations and behavior. Apparently Nigerians now see achievement in the light of leaving the country to make something of yourself outside. We have become so devastated that staying in the country is no longer the first option but a consolation prize. Who can blame us. Our president now goes for his diabetes check up in Saudi Arabia and we should now be overjoyed that he has decided to declare it ahead of the trip, unlike the previous check up. Even Hillary Clinton ribbed us with the way we are so inefficient as the 6th largest producer of crude oil yet we import virtually everything we use of the refined product.

Even more depressing now is the reversal of the initial trend of having Nigerians in charge in the multinational organizations at home. Name the multinational now and 9 times out of 10 the CEO or MD is a foreigner. We have been shown up to be such poor managers at home. Time was when the Managing Directors of Guinness, Nigerian Breweries, Cadbury, Nestle, etc were all Nigerians. We apparently ran things so badly that the foreign owners had to come in to save the day. The sad thing is that they are now creating opportunities for middle and junior management levels as well. More and more, we are seeing people less qualified being brought into these organizations to lead Nigerians who are much more qualified. They have managed to create opportunities for their team members that may have lost their jobs due to the Global recession.

I was discussing with some other African friends recently and they wondered what had happened to Nigeria. We are now seen as having no bite. Can you believe that some of these guys are working in Nigeria without work permits? They treat us so poorly but we are caught in the rat race at home. Where are our fire-brands? Are things that bad?

Yes I know I am probably not one to talk but I refuse to keep quiet! Are there others out there who feel the same way?