Colonialism, Military and Democratic Takeover.

It becomes hurtful and unbearable when a course fought for by certain individuals or group is treated as trash thereby, disposed to embrace mediocrity. We may not be on earth at that time but history has made it known to us that the paradigm shift from colonialism to independence was not a cakewalk, as practical, consolidated efforts were geared towards the much anticipated freedom.

Hark! Joy knew no bound as democracy overtook the unwanted military regime of dictatorship and banned freedom which was direly needful by the masses. Yet, the issues surrounding our democracy keeps hurting the citizenry which won’t make us keep mum as concerned scribes.

Driving the vehicle of this nation without mincing words, has only been and remained to the profit and aggrandizement of the leaders without concise planning cum framework for the general populace and development of the state at large. Enough of all these bony promises lacking substantial flesh that is capable enough of being feasted upon to launch this nation into one that we can be proud of in all spheres.

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Every expectation of a result-driven leadership has failed us both at the state and federal levels, and what we call for is a strategic, holistic examination of the entire notion. Leaders, it is time to stop viewing Nigeria as a mere geographical expression but a geographical expression of ideas and actions!

We Should Learn From Past Mistakes

It is disheartening however, that a nation like Nigeria lacks a philosophical idea to which it rests on or even any proposition to which it is dedicated to. Now tell me, how can a nation successfully sail on a tempestuous sea having lacked the important curriculum Vitae?

Maybe we could shy away from the little understanding that our leaders at independence failed to structure this nation on a guiding philosophy for a democratic Nigeria because they were blind by the euphoria of the attained independence.

It will be unacceptable however, to listen that at this era of political advancement full of political experienced helmsmen, we are yet to have a well-constructed, definite national guiding philosophical structure which we can run with whenever a new government comes into power, for we know it will be pivotal in checks and balances of the government.

Some mistakes have been made in the past which is not for us to complain about or compare with this time, but use as a guiding example that should prevent us from making the same mistakes, instead of coming up to just assume the state of power to do almost nothing for a whole tenure.

The Nigerian democratic state should have learnt from the victory that brought in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) into popularity in Nigeria where they did not only win the Presidential election but formed the majority in both the Senate and House of Representative. The lack of an organizing principle except to take over from the military, resulted in the political party turning out to become an “ideologically fluid amalgam of strange bedfellows” as posited by Osita Chidoka.

The Plea for a Political and National Guiding Philosophy

Let me quickly remind Nigerians if they’ve probably forgotten that the Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution aptly named Fundamental objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in 24 sections, made effort to capture the objectives and directive principles, reflect our areas of agreement and what they considered as the organizing principle of the Nigerian state but painful in this nomenclature is that all drafted therein made it non-justiciable.

You cannot possibly go to a bus shed/bus stop full of several transport company buses with definite locations and request a bus ticket going to “everywhere”; you’d only be looked upon like a mad man. The same applies to the issue of our democracy that is bereft of underlying national guiding philosophy.

I perceive an imminent chaos if this present leadership fails to fix the lens of our democratic state for clear-cut vision as a decisional exigency that will position this blessed country for greatness and lay a better foundation for the already-ready generation.

No wonder, we’ve been witnessing all manner of things portraying decline in this nation; bribery of electorates during election with onions and salt, election rigging, lack of continuity when new government erupts. We have seen states sidelining certain local governments in developmental processes because fewer votes were gotten from there; erection of statutes with less concern to national development, even in the immediate community.

Tug of war between State Governor and Senate representative; State Governor wanting to turn politics into a family coronation; corruption of the highest order. We are still suffering from dis-unity in our 3 strong ethnic groups and countless tribes which are supposed to be a deformable rock to this state. Immunity which I know is negatively used, is given to those In power even when they err.

All these and many more can simply be blamed on the lack of a proper trajectory of a pragmatic national policy framework which will put government at all levels on their toes of giving almost 100 percent in their discharge of duty which they voluntarily accepted to be called into, so as to ameliorate the anomic condition of the Nigerian State and society.

It’s also key to note how sad it is that the Local Governments have been disarmed from the political and developmental processes, leaving it just as an existing structure without its own influence.

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There is still the challenge of a practical and pragmatic policy framework that channels the recognition of the role of the youth into national development thinking and the eventual evolution of the developmental state in Nigeria. So, even with the newly signed “Not too young to rule bill”, real successful outing of youths in the Nigerian polity remains blur.

The Needed Healing For Nigeria and Nigerians.

To get out of this confusion, something simple is to be done and it proofs to work out well; a developmental and governmental inter-generational dialogue.

Tunji Olaopa, PhD has submitted that “reorienting Nigeria’s national project will involve the coming together of different generations in Nigeria, with requirement of the significant awareness of how these different generations intersect one another within the dynamics of discrepancies and possibilities, as well as the willingness to move forward through a cogent dialogic framework that brings the past, the present and the future together in critical conversation on what has gone wrong and how what has gone wrong could be translated into future progress through collective and concealed efforts”.

A programme of action that translates the idea of a dialogical interaction amongst the four existing generations in Nigeria into a viable reform framework that could instigate serious and critical policy initiatives that could be transformed into institutional foundations around which Nigeria could make significant progress in terms of her national development objectives is all that is apparently needed as a fruit from the dialogue and we are good to go as a nation.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Written by Adekunle Adewunmi.

Adekunle Adewunmi is YDC-OOPL State Ambassador. A Pulse Blogger, he's a Correspondence at Church Times Newspaper. He's also a Poet and has been featured on The Novita, Pulse NG, YNaija and others. He lives in Fb @ Adekunle Israel Adewunmi. Catch him on Twitter and IG @adekunlewrites.