Help! Nigeria is under-populated

WHO else would dare say Nigeria is under-populated with an estimated population of over 160 million people spread across an estimated 910,771 square kilometres of land? While Nigeria obviously does not need more mere indigenes, the country desperately needs patriots! The cycle of leaders we produce and recycle over the dispensations has been to the best a fair representation of who we are as a people.

Nigerian leaders couldn’t be said to be treacherous, the real truth is Nigerians are treacherous and so a segment of the population got into leadership and exhibited the trait they have had in them all along. While it will be cruel to say all Nigerian leaders possess the same qualities; there are exceptions at all levels to any habit you notice but the positive exceptions are just a decimal above negligible.

For any nation to rejoice the righteous must ascend to leadership and for Nigeria where would the righteous come from? From within our people, of course! And one is tempted to ask, why haven’t they emerged in sufficient numbers all this while? Probably because we just don’t have them in sufficient number.

Nigeria critically needs patriots not only as leaders but also as citizens, patriots who will respect the flag, who will obey simple rules, who will pay necessary taxes, patriots who will maintain and jealously guard our national facilities and infrastructures. Obviously, if someone wouldn’t carefully handle the public thrash-can, he will most certainly plunder our common wealth if given access. In our citizens we direly need patriots. In leadership, like the next breath we need patriots, patriots who will love Nigeria, patriots who will not prefer personal enrichment over selfless equity, a patriot who will regard a national tragedy as a national tragedy and not the peril of some disadvantaged, unfortunate, poor masses. A patriot that will regard national wealth as national wealth and not some honey to flow down the covetous vessel of some privileged, dubious few. A patriot that will prefer to go to bed hungry than for an innocent naked child to sleep hungry up the Nigeria savannah, a patriot that will shun megalomaniac allowances so as to pay the dying pensioners their peanuts so they can have something to survive upon.

Nigeria craves for a leader that will recite the national pledge with undaunting allegiance at heart to gore the ox of whosoever will stand in the way of true development no matter what. A patriot, who will harness the senses and strengths of our youths towards nation building and enlist them in leadership to put dynamism and freshness and foresight into our system; a patriot that will defer gratifications and build the tomorrow of this nation today. We need patriots at all levels, at all fronts. We need patriots in civil service, among human right crusaders and most importantly among the security forces.

I was at the ATM gallery the other day on the queue when a lady in uniform came profusely sweating obviously in an understandable emergency, personal or official; a uniformed personnel is on an emergency. I, in my characteristic manner made way for the lady to approach the ATM machine, make her transaction and go back to the business of protecting us. She met a brick wall with a middle-aged man on the queue ahead of me right next to the ATM machine. The man defiantly whispered, all of us here have something to do with our time, too. All my pleading fell on deaf ears; she was made to queue right in front of me to do her transaction. I barely hadn’t thought the incident through, driving back home when another uniformed man drove a siren blaring official van coming right behind. He was obviously coming at his own pace before, seemingly driving for pleasure being the only person in the van. On noticing a little traffic build-up ahead, he started blasting the siren so deafeningly and he carelessly swerved out of his path to face oncoming vehicles on their own lane. It was a crass abuse of office and official privileges to say the least. My mind quickly compared the two incidents of the needy woman and the abusive man from the same uniformed security agency; who wouldn’t conclude that the unnecessary abuse of privileges has debased the honour that most national security agencies should easily command?

Nigerians most times treat the cops with utter disdain and disrespect anytime and every time they have the opportunity knowing full well the latter have always done jungle justice right on the counter exploiting ordinary citizens to the bone. Little wonder the citizens are waiting for the next available opportunity for them to also vent their anger on the next unlucky cop who may cross their path in business or on the walkway. What a country?

When traffic safety officials would abuse dutiful privileges, delay motorists just out of meaningless discretion when they haven’t disobeyed any traffic rule; they obstruct traffic on the highways asking meaningless questions, causing numerous accidents and milk motorists dry without even booking them. Where and when potholes will not slow you down on Nigerian roads, traffic officials will definitely do. Honour begets honour, they say; the day officials in uniform would learn to respect the rights and privileges of citizens in country, that day they would also enjoy the respect, rights and privileges officials in uniform are given in advanced countries.

Hear the panting of a nation crying for patriots to manage her resources and defend her treasuries. It’s over 16 years of return to democracy; it’s now 55 years since Nigerians have been directing the affairs of their country. There is no one else to blame or praise for wheresoever we have found ourselves as a nation than ourselves who have ruled ourselves, and plundered ourselves and watched our infrastructure rot in decadence due to lack of maintenance culture, colossal lack of fore-sight for the day directly ahead of our noses. Nigeria wails for patriots in citizen, Nigeria already has enough, if not too much of mere citizens, Nigeria needs patriots.

Politicians have divided us along ethnic and religious lines, they have made the baboon bath in blood, they have made Nigeria ungovernable for Nigerians, they have held on to power using every means necessary for a seemingly eternity past; we have what we have today to show for it before other nations, what exactly are we? A mockery or envy. Whatsoever it is, the credit goes to Nigerians who have ruled, led and have been ruled and led, in khaki, in caftan, in cassock, in ‘agbada’ or in ‘baba riga’. Whatever role you played or help them play to get us here, the credit of where and what we are goes to you. Take it! A country of people with paucity amidst lavish plethora.

•Esan, a youth activist, wrote from Osogbo.www.oluseunesan.wordpress.com