Nursing Nigeria back to health

THE love of money in Nigeria is growing too disproportionately against our love of country. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. To satisfy the belly, truth and honour are being sacrificed. Many Nigerians are yielding to the temptation of giving away their “pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul.” Some Nigerian rulers can give, and are indeed giving anything to retain political power, even at the peril of the nation. They inflict great damage on the nation thereby. In the religious circle, I see filthiness in their skirts. The love of money has corrupted their words and blinded their eyes.

The traditional institution, the pantheon of custodians of culture, has become the hunting ground for thieving politicians whose only reliable weapon is the people’s commonwealth, wrongly and audaciously acquired. Many royal fathers have lost their golden voices at the sight of the fat wads. In my constituency, the so-called intellectuals have forgotten the principle of philosophical piety. Men and women of letters, who should be the guide of society, have rather yielded themselves as mercenaries in the art of sophistry.

The people, the masses of Nigeria, have a choice to make. If I am trapped in a deep well, and someone comes and lets down a rope to pull me out, but rather than gladly seize upon the kind gesture, I ask: “Can you tell me your religion and ethnic group?” I should be called a fool. Is Nigeria not sick? And is there no cure? If there is a cure, why is it not administered?

I have spoken about a weak naira, which is presently, officially, exchanging at about 200 naira to a U.S. dollar. And it may reach 300 naira to a dollar. The implication is that Nigerian workers will have their fixed income cut in half. Private schools will have to raise tuition fees very highly next academic session. This will further deplete disposable income for many families. Since governments in Nigeria are finding it difficult to pay salaries, tens of thousands of Nigerians may lose their jobs in both public and private sectors. If the free fall of the naira is not reversed, and urgently so, many Nigerian professors will leave.

The salaries and allowances of Nigerian public officials are unsustainable. The only body that is constitutionally empowered to fix salaries and allowances is the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). The government has ignored the amounts fixed by the RMAFC and approved outrageous hidden allowances for public officials. This is a drain on the economy that must be fixed.

Insecurity in Nigeria is an open sore that has refused to heal. Nigeria needs a leader that understands how insecurity develops and how the cancer can be cured. We need a leader that can be trusted to lead the fight against terrorism in the West African region.

The corruption in the oil industry cannot be stopped under subterfuge: In 2012, no government official could disclose to the House of Representatives Fuel Subsidy Committee who had approved the un-appropriated expenditure on “fuel subsidy” between June 2011 and January 2012. No one in government gives a damn about questions on why annual fuel subsidy expenditures have risen to trillions of naira since June 2011. We need transparency in the oil industry and revival of our refineries.

The electricity market in Nigeria has cost the Nigerian consumers too much with little service. We need to re-examine the privatisation policy and free the Nigerian electricity consumer from the oppression of the DISCOS in spite of the existence of the NERC.

The fear of losing the throne drove King Jeroboam to introducing official idolatry in Israel, a sort of religious syncretism, a very poor imitation of the Jewish religion. In chapter thirteen, a young prophet was sent to warn the king in Bethel. God warned the prophet against as much as eating or drinking there. He delivered the message in the presence of an angry King Jeroboam, who ordered the arrest of the prophet. Instead, his hand dried up, and he had to plead for the restoration of the hand and not of his heart. He made an offer to the young prophet, who rejected it and left the town. An old backslidden prophet, who lived in Bethel at the time, brought back the young prophet to a sumptuous meal at Bethel with the aid of a lie. On his way back, the old prophet provided an ass to the young prophet for a more convenient travel. As judgment from God for disobeying his commandment not to eat or drink in Bethel, a lion attacked and killed the young prophet on the way, and remained there watching over his dead body. The lion did not harm the ass; and the ass also remained there without running away or being afraid of the lion until the old prophet came and took away the corpse (the lion did not attack the old prophet either).

That lion was an instrument of judgment only for the disobedient young prophet!

Someone close to President Jonathan told me that when a former president of an East African country (a devout Christian) told then Deputy-Governor Jonathan that he was going to become Nigeria’s president, he responded with incredulity. Dr. Jonathan became Nigeria’s president without breaking a sweat. I warned in 2013 about this lion that swallowed up the leopard. Everyone that requires a comeuppance shall get his. Mr. President should ask now for the restoration of his heart. The kingdom was taken from Yar’Adua and given to him on a platter of gold. His fear has turned him into another. It is time to nurse Nigeria back to health again.

Shilgba wrote via shilgba@yahoo.com