A Delusion Called Transformation 03 Dec 2011 Dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com “Wisdom is in constant questioning of where you are…”                – Billy Connolly Fellow Nigerians, my latest advice is that we must never get tired of asking serious questions from our leaders. Even if we seem very powerless at this moment, our agitation alone will make them very uncomfortable. I now have enough evidence of what it does to their psyche each time we give them the sucker punch on the pages of newspapers. The louder most of us can raise up our voices against the recklessness of those who have ruined, and continue to ruin, our nation, the closer we’ll be to our salvation. We must therefore continue to attack them with brutal facts. We must reject their lies, and call them what they truly are, wasteful spenders. I got some mixed reactions to my weekly epistle last week, which was to be expected. There are those who lift a few words, out of nearly 2,000 that we write, and base their conclusions on just that. There are also those who would support any government no matter how useless as long as their kinsman is in charge. It matters not if they are the worst sufferers of the backward policies of that particular government. It is also incredible how some of our friends play politics with serious issues.  The fact that I said President Jonathan should not have used forces of coercion against the Governor of his own home state meant I was supporting or working for a man they want to sack from office at all costs. But it was very fine when some of us took to the streets to rally support for the same Jonathan who has become the newest oppressor in town. I never requested a thank you from him not to talk of personal gratification. Some of us act on the principle of fair-play and nothing more. As soon as my column hit the streets a week ago, I received some frantic and strident calls from those close to the corridors of power in Abuja. Any time I got such calls, the reason was always obvious. When you write what the powers-that-be consider positive, no one remembers to say thank you but when you write a few lines of what they find offensive, you have instantly become an enemy.  Truth is I really don’t worry my head if they develop insomnia because of what and how I write. They have given most Nigerians enough migraine to last us many lifetimes. They have turned us all into a laughing stock all over the world. It is worse for those Nigerians who operate in smaller African countries and can feel the impact of true transformational governments as opposed to the illusory ones we are saddled with at home. There was this particular friend who asked why I had gone all out to attack the President in the controversial article, and my answer was simply that I did not attack him personally but on the same principle that made me to demonstrate in his favour only last year. I’m of the opinion, and I will forever stand proudly on this, that the very foundation of democracy is the rule of law. A truly democratic nation must make the same laws for Saints and sinners alike. And the laws must not be suddenly exhumed for political retaliation. It was for that reason that I wrote weeks back against the supposed intimidation of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu by dragging him to the Code of Conduct Bureau. It was not because I belied Tinubu was above the laws of Nigeria. Those who spoke up then have now been vindicated. Our government operatives must rise above the pettiness of setting a whole village on fire to catch bush-meats! If we visit an armed robber with jungle justice today, the same jungle justice would be used by unscrupulous people to punish an innocent man tomorrow. A man like President Jonathan who was a victim of apparent oppression, as recent as last year, should never be the one harassing fellow citizens today, even if those being harassed are as evil as some Jonathan people are claiming. Who knows, when tomorrow comes, if Jonathan himself would be a victim of intimidation and harassment outside power? Who would have foretold what President Olusegun Obasanjo is experiencing today? He is being asked to be prosecuted for serious abuse of office and privilege in the same hallowed chamber of the National Assembly where he almost realised his dream of having a third term tenure. Such is the sad reality of life. A particular friend was really vociferous in his appeal that Jonathan deserves our unqualified loyalty. There is a certain paranoia, and veiled blackmail, in their argument. Every criticism, in their view, is a validation of the Northern agenda against Jonathan. I beg to disagree. Why not prove the North wrong by doing a few things right? He said what Nigerians should do is to embrace and support President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan warts and all to succeed. I could not help but chuckle at such wishful thinking. I replied bluntly that a man who wanted to succeed would have started showing signs of such tall ambition long ago and would have worked assiduously for it. Unfortunately, I’m yet to see evidence of such requisite seriousness in the Jonathan administration. If I did I would have been charitable enough to say so. What I see, without being a prophet of doom, is a man who has been too lucky to find himself where he least expected and is too comfortable to take any risk that would destabilise the status quo. The same enemies who did not want him in power are now his best friends in power. There is nothing wrong with telling ourselves some home truth sometimes. We are all stakeholders in the country called Nigeria and we should not abdicate our individual responsibilities. I’m angry not because I want Jonathan to fail but because he’s proving the cynics right. The internet has made the world very tiny today. A leader who seriously plans to succeed does not even have to travel. Everything is provided for him at the touch of a button. In about ten minutes you can read up the story of the Chinese Revolution, The United Arab Emirate miracle, the transformation of Singapore from a third world country to a first, the audacity of Malaysia, the rise of Ghana from a crushing poverty, the amazing resilience of Rwanda, and so on. All human beings were created alike and endowed with similar as well as different attributes. But some things are procedural and basic. What I find is our leaders hate to obey that procedure and yet think they can perform a miracle. That is impossible. What is commonest to all great nations and the leaders that brought about changes was the willingness to do things differently. A leader who wants to change Nigeria must develop some hatred and impatience for doing things the same old way. He must assemble a new crop of intellectuals to think through our difficulties. No nation has ever prospered by assembling a band of thieves and handing over the nation to them. No revolution has ever occurred by pandering to the wishes and dictates of members of the privilegentsia. The interests of the poor must always override that of the wealthy class. The rich themselves must always show mercy for the poor in other to enjoy their riches in peace. There is nothing wrong with making money but it must not be made at the peril of ordinary people. In developed countries, wealth is not measured by how much you are able to make. It is determined by how much you are able to give out to those who have not. Bill Gates makes more money than he would ever be able to spend in several lifetimes but to maintain certain equilibrium, he would have to give away the money at equal velocity. That is what would differentiate every soul from an animal. Government policies must also follow the same pattern. Unfortunately, the Jonathan presidency is obviously for the rich. His policies are too elitist. At the end of his voyage, this would most likely be his waterloo! It is a big shame that he has not been able to learn from the mistakes of the past. He’s content to warm his presidential seat and risk the ignominy that will surely haunt him forever when it is all over, sooner than he thinks, because time flies at the speed of light. President Jonathan’s biggest risk in life is the gamble he’s determined to take on the oil subsidy matter. I have no doubt that he will regret that decision. It won’t be because we can’t remove the subsidy, it would be because nothing would change. A few PDP legislators are shocking us with their intelligence by asking the most pertinent questions. Is Jonathan absolutely convinced that he knows the true worth of the subsidies being signed off regularly to few members of the oil cartel? What makes it impossible to maintain existing refineries while building new ones? And the news just came that Niger Republic has built a modern wonder of a refinery before our very eyes! The argument that the poor don’t buy petrol is as puerile as it is callous. How can the poor who could not survive on his present salary cope when transport fares go skyrocket as it is bound to happen? Also if our citizens are not benefitting anything from being Nigerians, is it not fair that we are able to have our token sense of belonging by enjoying the so-called subsidy. There is nothing new in the argument of the Jonathan administration that we have not heard before. The Obasanjo government rehashed the same lines repeatedly and increased fuel prices severally without any commensurate compensation to the people. There is always a major snag when a government policy becomes a religion. We are being told that there is no alternative to the oil subsidy removal. And that Nigeria will perish if we fail to remove the subsidy. I predict that a bigger heaven will descend on all of us when it is eventually removed by the obstinate men and women of power who want the poor to pay the price for the profligacy of the rich. I will support the government when we are told that they will not renovate the official home of the President again till he quits power; that our money would not be wasted on building a new residence for the Vice President; that our President would drastically reduce his foreign travels to the most essential engagements; that he would only fly Presidential jet for domestic use and fly Arik to international engagements when absolutely necessary; that our money would not be wasted on the purchase of new aircrafts; that all public officers would agree to pay cuts to their salaries and emoluments by half; that government would put a permanent stop to wasteful display of affluence by an impoverished nation, and so on. That is the minimum demand that must be met. The era of “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” must end.    If President Jonathan takes us on another jolly ride like his predecessors, it would be a multiple tragedy for Nigerians. He would have demystified the myth that a younger leader is what Nigeria needs to move the nation forward. He would have shattered our hopes in the capabilities of a well-educated leader. He would have disenfranchised those who believed that the child of poor parents, who advertised how he wore no shoes to school, would always champion the cause of proletariats like himself. What would be worse is that the people of the Niger Delta who used to complain about marginalisation in matters of national significance would have succeeded in presenting a failed candidate to a nation in dire need of a Messiah. This would be the most abominable of all the tragedies because it would be understandable if outsiders waste your resources, but unpardonable if you fritter away your own glorious heritage.