“An individual has not started living until
he
can rise above the narrow confines
of
his individualistic demands
to
the broader concern of humanity.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
There
is no better time for this inspired and deeply researched series than now. My
late Dad, Chris Nwaokobia Snr. taught me that without peace, progress and
prosperity is distant. And he emphasized that the primary task imposed on government
by the Constitution is the protection of lives and property, as peace, progress
and prosperity will remain elusive without Security.
I was chiefly against the
past administration because it failed to guarantee the safety of the citizenry.
And I was DG of the CHANGE AMBASSADORS OF NIGERIA CAN, one of the major
campaign groups that berthed the Buhari Presidency.
As a concerned citizen, I
sent several direct messages to the leadership of the APC and indeed to the
President and his Vice before and after the 2015 inauguration. Haply the
President, his Vice, the former Chairman of the APC, amongst other leaders,
were humble enough to respond to them.
On one occasion, Mr.
President sent a reply, 'Noted, thanks my fellow Patriot'. The message that
elicited that response is the trust of this series, and by God's infinite
Grace, it is one of the reasons I shall defeat President Muhammadu Buhari at
the polls come 2019.
Considering how divisive
and cantankerous the 2014/2015 electioneering process was, I suggest we hasten
to heal the wounds of the campaign by running an inclusive government. I suggest we
make equity, fairness and justice our minimum. And I pray we uphold the call
for restructuring enshrined in the Party manifesto', I opined. 3 years on,
Buhari knows HIS OWN, as Nigeria bleeds. But all hope is not lost.
Join the redemptive cause
on www.countryfirstng.org LET'S HEAL NIGERIA.
OUR
OWN, THEIR OWN, AND WE ALL LOSE II
"True
compassion is more than flinging
a
coin to a beggar; it comes to see that
an
edifice which produces beggars
needs
restructuring."
- MLK JR.
Some
have argued that you cannot sacrifice excellence at the altar of inclusiveness.
Some have defended Mr President's appointments, seeing every critic from the
religious and the regional prism, as competency suffers. And partisans see
nothing wrong, insisting that this Govt will yet deliver. How?
The truth is that Buhari
like the 'rulers' before him, cares more about THEIR OWN, their ethnicity,
their religion, their region and their political party, as Nigeria suffers,
Buhari's may just be more evident, but such is reason we are where we are.
The dearth of equity,
fairness and justice breeds distrust, and the result is the troubled nation we
have. Our 'rulers' since the collapse of the 1st Republic are guilty, so drop
the IBB, OBJ, GEJ & PMB narrative, or the Military & the PDP/APC
comparative, and raise bar.
The Federal Character
normative is like tossing a coin at a beggar, when this edifice can be
restructured to lift him out of poverty. And why do you think that those the
President should appoint to Head the Security Architecture of the nation must
be HIS OWN, his men and those he can trust? Don't jump like you know you are
right. 85% of us have been fatally wrong on this. And that is why our national
security architecture have been comatose and mediocre.
Across the civilized
world, and this includes all nations that seek peace, progress and prosperity,
key security appointments are determined by competency and loyalty to nation,
not to the President. Do you see why successive 'rulership' has failed to
protect us?
OUR OWN, THEIR OWN, AND WE
ALL LOSE III.
“Where
the prejudice of partisanship,
ethnicity,
region and religion prevail,
the
'we' and the 'they' narrative festers,
as
the bar of excellence and competency
is
lowered to the detriment of the society,
no
one person or tendency loses,
we
all lose.” - CMN JNR.
Since
the 1st Republic, we have wrestled with a system at war with itself. We call
for growth and prosperity but are unwilling to walk the talk. How can a nation
that lowers her moral, intellectual, and professional bar to accommodate OUR
OWN at the expense of THEIR OWN, grow?
When we lower the bar in
favour of candidate “A” who scores 20% at the expense of candidate B who scores
60%, we all lose, because choosing mediocrity over excellence is the greatest
disservice anyone can do to nature. And the price we pay is evident in the
mediocre civil service, uninspiring institutions, comatose Medicare, poor
infrastructure, lack of quality education, poverty, lethargic leadership,
docile followership, and the comedic manifestoes of political operators.
Compatriots we must raise
the BAR. We must overhaul our values, and rework the ethical compass of
leadership.
I BELIEVE in Wealth
Redistribution, Resource Control, True Fiscal Federalism, Compulsory Primary
and Secondary Education, and in deepening the frontiers of national security
and the war against corruption through Commitment to Professionalism and
Patriotism, as well as investment in Human Capital Development, and
Infrastructure, such is THE NEW DEAL. And we must RAISE THE BAR for we know
that A NEW, A BETTER AND A PROSPEROUS NIGERIA IS POSSIBLE.
- Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia
Jnr., is a presidential aspirant of the 2019 Presidential elections in Nigeria.