Balarabe Musa blames leaders for country’s woes

What is your assessment of Nigeria’s progress at 55?

I can say that the assessment of Nigeria in terms of all round development of the country today is only relative in the sense that we could have achieved more, given the time and the resources that became available to us during this period. But, unfortunately because of the socio-economic and political system controlling all development in the country, and in particular the political leadership produced by the system, our achievement during this period of 55 years of independence has been very negligible. And very relative, taking into account the resources available to us in terms of geographical area, population, balanced economic processes, etc, by now we would have been ranked one of the sixth most advanced countries in the world. But, of course we are one of the most backward in the comity of nations in terms of statistics of every factor. So, it is unfortunate that we have virtually wasted 55 years, because we are controlled by a wrong socio-economic and political system. If we want to really play our role properly in the comity of nations we have to change the system and the leadership structure and make ourselves relevant within the next 20 years. If we do that we could be one of the 5 most advanced countries in the world.

Are you disappointed about the journey of our country so far since independence. What could be the source of hope?

Well, the source of hope is that first, Nigerians are aware of the negative state of the nation and the need to do something about it. I think a large section of informed Nigerians are aware of this situation. Secondly, we have to get rid of the problem by democratic processes at least to arrest the negative development of the country. For example, in 2015 we were able to make sure that some form of election, some form of determining the views of the people took place instead of relying on the possibility of the military coming to check or attempt to check the degeneration or leaving things to chances. I think we avoided this by using the electoral system or recalled democratic system to give us a breathing space.

What are those things the older generation, the founding fathers did well and the present generation has messed up?

First of all, the old generation, to be specific I mean Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Awolowo, Azikiwe, Sardauna of Sokoto, Aminu Kano, Osadebe, were very principled, credible and they cared for the nation and the development of the nation. In particular, they avoided this disabling level of corruption, stealing and criminal waste of resources in the system. Which is the root of the present negative state of the country. They avoided it. For instance, all those that I have listed have never been identified with corruption the way virtually every political leader in the country from1960 to date have been identified with corruption. For instance, as it is today when you take into account everything and you are realistic, you would have no conclusion than to say thieves now rule the country. And the evidence is there. The thieves have become so dominant such that they even decide the fate of the nation when it comes to election and other things.
You cannot contest any election today in Nigeria on the basis of your popularity, patriotism4. The deciding factor is money power. This is the level we have reached.

In what ways do you think the country can now regain back itself and forge ahead in a proper manner of development and growth?

Firstly, let me go back to the root again. What is the root of the present problem? The root is the socio-economic and political system controlling all aspect of development in the country and political leadership inevitably produced by the system, which is directly responsible for the negative state of the nation. And directly based on self-interest first, and public interest. We have to change the system and the leadership, starting with bringing about the leading role of the state in the economy, to ensure peace, equality, and dignity of the human person, justice and progressive even development of the whole country. And this is very easy, because Nigeria has enormous resources for doing it.