Sir: What Nigeria lacks and should pray for are compassionate leaders desirous and genuinely intentional in their drive towards bringing lasting happiness to all their citizens irrespective of class or creed.
The difference between leaders in the advanced nations and Africa’s rapacious leaders is simply mindset. In the advanced nations, leaders ensure that all necessary machineries are put in place for everything to run smoothly without any flimsy excuses. By so doing, everyone is able to realise his greatest potential without having to go through too much stress.
There are smooth road network, which guarantees long lifespan of automobiles; housing mortgages, which makes home ownership easier for every category of income earners; adequately funded health care systems, which ensures rapid response to general health care demands of the citizens; quality education system that is easily accessible; and other social/welfare packages for children and the aged, all which are generous display of what is akin to achieving paradise on earth
On the other hand, for African leaders (with the exception of a few), everything is always about self, and promises are mere propaganda and lip service. African leaders only take care of themselves and their cronies while the masses are continually left in the lurch.
When roads are impassable and unsafe because of a combination of deep gullies and bandits, leaders resort to flying around in private choppers.
Since hospitals have become mere consulting clinics and death centres, leaders opt for medical tourism involving so much foreign exchange, which ought to be invested in the nation’s health sector to make affordable health care available to everybody.
When insecurity becomes the order of the day and human life is pitiably worthless, leaders fortify themselves with abundant security personnel while other citizens are left to their fate. With all these aforementioned common practices of African leaders, it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that their policy is always none other than
‘live and let others die.’
Jide Oyewusi is the coordinator of Ethics Watch International Nigeria.
