 FEATURE ARTICLE |
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Bedford Nwabueze Umez, Ph.D. (EMAIL) Baytown, TX, USA Tuesday, November 27, 2001 
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Reason: The ultimate casualty in Nigeria |
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Introduction
Questions Why is mortality rate in Nigeria so high and alarming? Why is unemployment rate in Nigeria at an all time high, so distressing and very frightening? Why is Nigeria, a country ranked No. 6 in crude oil production reduced to a land of joblessness and seekers of handouts? Why is security in Nigeria at its worse? Why are Nigerians generally afraid to move around in their own country? Why do so many Nigerian leaders and elites drive in motorcades, hire security guards and often keep secret their movements in Nigeria? Specifically, why is the rate of armed robbery in Nigeria quite unprecedented, distressing and scary? Why is "brain drain" a part of the problems of development in Nigeria? Indeed, why are so many Nigerians leaving Nigeria for foreign countries and those [residing] abroad unsure of when they will return to Nigeria to put their knowledge and talents to better and more productive use in Nigeria? Why should any leader neglect education of its own people? Why should Nigerian government condone and contribute to closure of Nigerian universities for months every year? Specifically, why are Nigerian libraries almost empty, computers conspicuously lacking in schools, research completely abandoned, teachers mercilessly starved and reduced to selling handouts to supplement their awful, meager salaries? If most Nigerian leaders and elites continue to pretend that education of Nigerians is not important, why do some of them parade their academic degrees all over the place and those without academic degrees make up some [UNEARNED] academic titles, e.g., "Doctors?" Why are so many hospitals in Nigeria incapable of treating minor diseases and sicknesses? Why do most Nigerian leaders and elites travel abroad on a regular basis for medical treatment/checkup when it is abundantly clear to them that such huge amounts of money being siphoned abroad (for such treatment/checkup) will build world-class hospitals in Nigeria? Why should any one be reminding those leaders and elites (who siphon millions of Nigerian money abroad for medical treatment/checkup) the importance of building good hospitals in their own country? Why should they provide abroad what they do not have at home? Where is the reason for this senseless behavior? Where is the common sense -- the true education? What have Nigerian leaders learned from their frequent visits to the West? Have they -- the "visitors" -- learned from the Western leaders -- their hosts -- that no Western leader will rob his own people only to enrich Nigeria? Have they learned that what the West is practicing is "charity begins at home" and not in Nigeria? Have they learned that the US, for instance, has made education (of its own people) the number one priority of the country? Have they learned from their visits that in the West, telephone, electricity and water supplies remain uninterrupted year in, year out? Have they learned from their visits that all the cities and towns in the West have good roads, telephone, electricity, clean air and clean water? As they fly back and forth, have they learned from those flights that the world-class services provided to passengers leaving America for Europe are not the same type of services given to Nigerians leaving Europe for Nigeria? Why do they pretend they do not notice that the airplanes taking Nigerians from Europe to Nigeria are much older and services therein sub-standard? Have they, for one split second, wondered why such differences in the services and airplanes exist? Have the "visitors" learned from their frequent visits to the West that the world-class reception they give Western leaders whenever they (Western leaders) happen to pass through Nigeria (which might happen once in a decade or two) cannot be compared with the second-class reception they -- the "visitors" -- are given when they visit the West? Have the "visitors" ever wondered why they are given such a second-class reception in the West? Have the "visitors" learned from the West that no Western leader, be he a President, a Governor, a Representative or a Mayor has over a dozen private cars? Have they learned that democracy is meaningless when the well-being of the people is neglected? Have they learned that no Western President, Governor, Mayor or Police Chief ever ordered his/her soldiers or policemen "to shoot" protesters "on sight"? What is democracy to them if people cannot protest against certain actions by their government if and when the need to do so arises? Needless to say, these "frequent flyer visitors" have learned nothing! Now, given what they know from their "hosts" (but pretend otherwise), why should they continue to rob Nigerians only to travel abroad thereafter to invest the loot in the banks of the foreign countries? Why should they continue to invest Nigerian money abroad when they, more than anyone else, should know that such senseless investments abroad are mostly the main reasons why so many Nigerians are dying daily due to malnutrition, hunger and disease? Is it not obvious that these senseless investments abroad explain why millions of Nigerians are jobless, civil servants go unpaid for months, teachers mercilessly starved, millions of jobless Nigerian graduates reduced to seekers of handouts, and millions of Nigerian children unsure of their next meal? Is it not clear that these thoughtless investments in foreign countries also explain why beggars sit almost at every corner of every street in Nigeria, armed robbery rampant, bribery and corruption at their worst, many banks bankrupt, education neglected without shame and without a second thought, hospitals thoughtlessly ignored, roads filled with endless pits, so many towns without water, tarred roads and electricity since the history of man, and so many Nigerians leaving the country daily and those residing abroad unsure of their time to permanently return to Nigeria? My fellow Nigerians, while the above questions are painful and shameful, I believe there is a simple answer to them. To that simple answer, I now turn. Answers The reason why Nigerians are currently living in a City of Destruction, and hence the above questions, is that REASON has been murdered in Nigeria. REASON is the ultimate casualty in Nigeria today because so many "educated" Nigerian leaders and elites simply refuse to reason. They refuse to think of the actions they take; they refuse to think of the consequences/impacts of those actions; and they refuse to think of the legacies their actions will leave when they leave this planet. Specifically, they PRETEND not to see the obvious, direct relationship between alarming unemployment rate in Nigeria and their increasing investments in foreign countries. They PRETEND not to see the direct relationship between their robbery of Nigerians and alarming death rate in Nigeria. They PRETEND not to see the causal relationship between their loot and the deterioration of hospitals, schools, roads, and so many other infrastructures in Nigeria. They PRETEND not to see a clear, direct correlation between their constant looting [of Nigerian Treasury] and the alarming rate of armed robbery in Nigeria. They PRETEND not to see a clear connection between such embezzlement of the people's money and high rate of bribery and corruption in Nigeria. They PRETEND that bad economy (caused by their loot) has nothing to do with escalating inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic conflicts in Nigeria. Worse still, they PRETEND not to realize that enriching the foreign banks further creates more greener pastures in foreign countries at the expense of their own people at home. My people, now you ask, what manner of men are these looters? What could be the explanation(s) for this general disdain and pure hatred for REASON and THOSE WHO REASON in Nigeria? Why is REASON hated so much and with passion among so many "educated" Nigerian leaders and elites? First and foremost, so many Nigerian leaders and elites are mostly preoccupied with how much they can accumulate from oil money -- "the national cake" -- so to speak; they are not concerned with nation building; they are not concerned with the plight of the general public. In fact, they are very happy that they are being WORSHIPPED more than God by those they starve. To better understand the mindset of the looters, here is a comment made by one of them before a group of Nigerians in Houston: They [obviously referring to some of his predecessors] have been 'chopping' [i.e., embezzling the money]; it is our turn now to chop. With this type of mentality, it is very clear that the only thing making sense to the looters is to "divide" Nigerian money and "conquer" (i.e., starve the people to death). To us at LAM (Liberating African Mind), this is a mentality of total destruction, and no nation will survive when such mentality is so prevalent among its leaders and elites.
Second, inferiority complex (which is one of the
biggest problems facing a typical African since the
days of slavery and colonialism) has clouded the minds
of so many "educated" Nigerian leaders and elites to
the point that the only thing making sense to them is
to starve their own people to death only to enrich
foreigners. Just as a typical "educated" Nigerian (no
matter where he lives) will proudly attend meetings
called by those of European descents on time, only to
turn around and attend those called by his fellow
Nigerians any time he wants (in the name of "African
time"), it has become a matter of PERSONAL PRIDE for
the looters of Nigerian treasury to proudly pile up
Nigerian money abroad -- their so-called "safe
heaven," even though they know more than anyone else
that foreign leaders have no single penny in any
Nigerian bank. Simply put, inferiority complex
produces self-hatred and self-destruction. For
details, see www.LiberateAfrica.com
It is high time we admitted that something is
definitely WRONG with most Nigerian leaders and
elites: they have abandoned REASON; they have made
REASON the ultimate casualty in Nigeria! Accordingly,
something concrete and substantive must be done.
Solution: Give Reason A Chance
To move Nigeria forward, REASON must be given its
proper place. Most Nigerian leaders and elites MUST
start thinking and start putting Nigeria and Nigerians
FIRST; their minds must be liberated, pure and simple.
To start the process of mind liberation; to give
REASON its proper status, Nigerian leaders and elites
must start with a series of National Economic Summits
to discuss and stop the craziness of starving Nigerian
people only to enrich foreign countries. In fact,
these Summits should be considered as a part of TRUE
education campaign to move Nigeria forward.
Also the Summits should be used to map out strategies
and develop networks geared toward COLLECTIVE and
MASSIVE investments in Nigeria. In plain language,
Nigerian money must be invested in Nigeria as the
leaders and elites of the countries we call
"developed" and "civilized" are doing in their
respective countries. "Charity begins at home," i.e.,
NIGERIA FIRST, should be the overriding theme of those
Economic Summits. In fact, questions similar to the
ones below must be raised and answered in those
summits.
What makes a man "civilized" or "developed"? What
makes another man "uncivilized" or "underdeveloped?"
Is it not clear that in "civilized" or "advanced"
countries, leaders and elites take care of their own
people FIRST? If foreign leaders we call "civilized,"
e.g., Swiss leaders, American leaders, Japanese
leaders, French leaders, Italian leaders, German
leaders, Canadian leaders, Russian leaders, etc, DO
NOT own houses, lands or private bank accounts in
Nigeria, why should a substantial number of Nigerian
leaders and elites continue to rob Nigerians -- their
own people -- only to invest and enrich foreign
countries with ill-gotten gains?
What is the REAL meaning of patriotism? What is
leadership without patriotism? What is leadership if
leaders cannot put their country and their people
first? Where is the common sense -- the real education
that really counts? No doubt, other crucial economic
issues should be addressed in these summits.
[For the record, I have written to President Obasanjo
on several occasions entreating him to organize a
series of National Economic Summits in Nigeria so that
these concerns I have raised in this paper and
elsewhere could be properly and intelligently
addressed. To this day, we are still waiting for such
Summits].
Conclusion
My fellow Nigerians, we are currently living in a City
of Destruction created by some men of irrational
ambition. Fortunately for us, we have the natural
resources -- the wealth -- to get us out of the City
of Destruction. All that is needed is the common sense
-- the real education -- to invest Nigerian wealth in
Nigeria as it should be. That is, if the bulk of our
oil money is not invested in Nigeria; if Nigeria does
not make use of its oil wealth NOW; if the mentality
of "divide" and "conquer" continues among so many
"educated" Nigerian leaders and elites, I am afraid
that Nigerians will continue to live in a City of
Destruction. In fact, things will get worse in
Nigeria.
Nigeria does not need SAP (Structural Adjustment
Program) of the IMF or World Bank; Nigeria needs mind
adjustment -- liberated minds -- that will put NIGERIA
and NIGERIAN PEOPLE FIRST. REASON must be given a
chance for a better Nigeria, and to give that reason a
chance, Nigerian leaders and elites must invest
Nigerian money in Nigeria. There is no other way!
*Dr. Umez is a Professor of Government, Lee College,
Baytown, Texas and the Founder and Coordinator of LAM,
Liberating African Mind
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n this article, I am going to raise and answer a
number of questions to simply prove, once and for all,
that the reason why Nigerian people are currently
living in a City of Destruction is because REASON has
been murdered in Nigeria. Below are those questions
and answers.
