#PollingFriday: Nigeria At 58 — An Interview with @segalink by @NOIPolls

Hello and welcome to this week’s #PollingFriday session. Do follow the thread and tweet at us @NOIPolls using the #PollingFriday. #PollingFriday

● Our guest for this week’s session is…

My name is Segun Awosanya, I’m a random ordinary Citizen of Nigeria, contributing my quota to make Nigeria a little bit better than I met it.

● What’s your thought on Nigeria at 58?

Nigeria is a 58 year old country with a contrived unity and stagnated with unfruitfulness as a consequence of the people’s perpetual sentimental choice of the worst of them for rulership in stead of focusing on the objective choice of a competent leader regardless of religion or ethnic extraction. At yet another Independence Day commemoration, we have nothing to celebrate but the Grace of God in the hope for better.

● Given the past couple of years, do you think Nigeria’s democracy has reaped dividends?

In the past years the Nigerian sociopolitical space since independence cum return to civil rule (democracy) has recorded notable dividends with mobile telecommunication being top of that list. But in the past 3 years democracy suffered a great setback with the current administration where several attempts have been made to abort us from the womb of democracy. Election rigging, nepotism, hate speeches from people in power, botany lies from people we vested power to, lack of transparency and accountability, Grand heist by core members of the presidency without prosecution, abuse of power through the balkanization of our security institution and deploying same to persecute perceived political enemies at the expense of 190Million people, historical incompetence and failure of security of the state with daily killings of innocent citizens across Nigeria. The list is endless and Nigeria has never been in such a lifeless state as we are now.

● What makes you proud to be a Nigerian?

I’m proud and will forever be proud of being a Nigerian regardless of how hopeless and hapless it may seem as our leadership crisis bites. We are an indomitable people with a resilient and tenacious spirit that guarantees that we thrive regardless of the potency of the oppression. I believe if only we can get rid of the social constructs, myths and unfounded rhetorics weaponized to keep us divided, we will appreciate the need for unity and collaborate to deliver the future of our Nation. This will happen as our common ground is known and unity in purpose is imminent.

● What are thoughts on democracy in Nigeria?

I believe our interpretation of democracy in Nigeria may have strengthen the resolve of those that are bent on keeping us hostage. Democracy in Nigeria often times don’t reflect the will of the people but the irony of choice by those playing us all as pawns and chess pieces.

When you weaponize Poverty, you dehumanize the populace and subject them to their primal state of being, where survival trumps any other rational/logical/social behavior. People begin to think of instant gratification instead of connecting the dots and studying the patterns on critical decisions that will affect the future of their wards.

Education is hopeless here as the amygdala (the grey matter inside each cerebral hemisphere) a part of the brain responsible for our experience of emotions is triggered adversely and decisions often made are sentimental and void of logical reasoning when a threat to survival is imminent.

Corollary of this is the demeaning of democracy’s original design, which suggests voting in the know based on objective understanding of what is at stake. Majority of the voters today don’t even have the safety net of prior education thus vicious impact of poverty on their psyche. This should explain the perpetual cycle of elect and regret in the politics of ethnic extraction and religious bigotry that has gotten the best of us since 1999.

● Findings from the poll revealed 74 percent of respondents from the South South stated that they are not proud to be Nigerian. What are your thoughts on this?

The south in general weren’t conditioned to rely on the communal structure of ceding. power to any individual as an overlord centrally, while being subjugated as subjects. There is an aphorism in Igbo that states “Igbo enwe ézè.” Loosely translated as “The Igbo (pretty much the entire south by nature) have no King.” An Igbo man particularly does not believe in central leadership. Everybody is a king in his home.

During the colonial era, the education given to the south by the missionary played a huge role in creating a sort of independence that makes every man grow opportunities under their feet regardless of what is happening on the throne. This wiring and culture by nurture is responsible for the reason behind the success of Nigerians anywhere else in the world except their own home (country), where they are deprived the opportunity to thrive by social-political forces in perpetual competition in a morbid North/South politics of ethnic extraction as against competence.

This is a major reason why those mostly affected by the proliferation of identity politics of hate (Populism with nepotistic twist) are not proud of being a citizen of Nigeria that feeds off the blood of its young. They reserve the right to feel this way given the reality that is obvious to the blind. The marginalization the impoverished and people from certain tribes in Nigeria by powers that be is condemnable. It is a crime punishable by death and perpetual oppression to be poor in Nigeria and it is ironic that it is the same government that weaponizes poverty as a creed for control.

● Respondents polled picked democracy, telecommunications & agric development as Nigeria’s greatest achievements in its 58 years of independence, do you agree?

I agree with the poll but we have regressed in the past 3years of this administration. Agriculture has suffered a major decline in productivity with the brazen spate of insecurity despite the failed promises of the administration to improve the economy and do better security. Things have become historically worse than we can ever imagine. Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen kill daily and the press has been muzzled to ensure a media blackout on reportage of the casualties. Murderers walk free today because of ethnic affiliation to those at the helms and our security agencies/institutions as balkanized are impotent. Who would have thought that in a Republic, ethnic consideration would be a factor in upholding the law and protecting the people against terrorists. People are now afraid to go to their farms. Many people who came home from abroad to farm were either murdered or driven out of their investment by alleged state protected Fulani Militia.

The telecoms industry are now gasping for breath under various policies and demands from government agencies making business Hell for them to operate let alone profit. The entire private sector is hanging by a thread despite the ease of doing business campaign. Every worker across institutions is seeking to extort or implicate citizens. How can a nation thrive when it is against itself? How can we be fruitful when meritocracy is defenestrated and nepotism is the order of the day? Consider the brazen back door hires of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Immigration Service, Central Bank, Nigeria Ports Authority just to mention a few with people with relations and connection with political rulers benefitting as an entitlement.

So the ominous return to recession shouldn’t surprise anyone as we are really not progressing, productive or fruitful as a nation based on the effect of the incompetent leadership we celebrate as a virtue and repackage for continuity.

● In your opinion, what do you consider to be Nigeria’s greatest achievement since it gained independence 58 years ago?

If I point at anything else other than the Grace of God, then I would have cemented my thoughts as one of the mediocre utterances we see in the sociopolitical clime by the willfully blind cum insincere sub-literates proliferating inanities. Our telecommunication still remains one of the best thing that has ever happened to us. We wouldn’t be expressing ourselves this way today if that decision were to have been different. Democracy has been enhanced by internet penetration and the advent of smartphones. Now the hypnosis via traditional media has been given a run for its money. People will really try hard to remain stupid in this day and age because the truth is out there, right in your face.

● Interestingly about 7% of respondents felt Nigeria has achieved nothing in 58 years of independence.

I wouldn’t blame them. One reason being that even while the past administration celebrated GDP growth, not everyone felt the impact even though farmers were happier with the success with fertilizer supplies and growth across sectors but the Salaries, Spendings and Savings of the people didn’t see much impact as the growth didn’t quite target the middle class. Under the current administration, we suffered under the populist government that deliberately destroyed the economic cushion of the non-oil sector with unconscionable policies while they feed off the benefits of the Forex market responding to their militant and primitive fiscal policies.

GDP suffered and job losses followed, further ruining the initial comfort of the middle class. Savings, Spendings and Salaries got endangered if not flatlined eventually under the current administration while they kept on deploying propaganda through nebulous and pretentious social programs with a paternalistic approach that further demeans the populace.

● What are the major challenges militating against Nigeria’s national development?

Nepotism, Lack Of Transparency and accountability, impunity across spectrum, moral bankruptcy of supposed leaders, defenestration of meritocracy, lawlessness, murderous negligence of the people, police impunity, Grand heist by people in power, electoral fraud, subjugation of the rule of law, lack of productivity, injustice and General insecurity.

● Economic development polled the least (3%) in achievements accruable to Nigeria since attaining independence 58 years ago. Any thoughts on this?

I’ve answered this in the earlier question. We were once one of the fastest growing economies in the world until the people were tricked into demanding a change which ruined it all. It has been a self genocidal plunge into the bottomless chasm since 2015. Form single digit inflation to double and there is no end in sight to the economic woes.

● In your opinion, do you think the poor state of the naira in the forex market, inflation & high unemployment rate can be seen as a residual effects of the recession?

There might be a correlation but the Naira took a plunge even at the thought of a Buhari presidency long before he removed all the doubt about his being stuck in the 80s by pouncing on the free market and placing embargoes on items as done once before. Thus creating panic across sectors which led to investors pulling out their funds by all means. Another wave of divestment has been recorded recently in the market in reaction to the uncertainty of 2019 given the partisan antics of INEC which has also demonstrated its impunity in their conduct of Ekiti and Osun elections robbing citizens of their mandate. Regardless of what we are told, Nigeria is undergoing stagflation and will remain in the region of recession. There is no point using past tense on our state of recession. It is potent and the harbinger of recession are still very much in place seeking continuity. The power however lies with the people to make the needed sacrifices for their children’s sake.

● What would you advise should be put in place for a turnaround in Nigeria’s economic fortunes?

Politically, there can never be a turnaround of national economic fortunes under an administration that is not visionary. So the very first step is to change from rulership to leadership by ensuring we drop all ethnic and religious cum partisan sentiments and vote competency in 2019. This will begin to ensure the best hands are engaged to plug into the opportunities created by the competent, credible, capable, empathetic, emotionally intelligent and perspicacious leader that emerges. The idea is to put Nigeria back to work and this can only happen if we grow the citizenry. The growth must be bottom up.

● Given the spate of insecurity in the last one year, would you consider the nation more secure now?

No Distinguished. Nigeria has never been this insecure. Our strongman theory failed us again. It was assumed that with the rulership of a former dictator things will change but we forgot that ethnic and religious bigotry are far more destructive than the threat we hope to counter. Things have since gone from bad to worse. Human lives is not worth much in Nigeria and the sad part is that the rulership don’t really care and have not hidden their insensitivity. I believe and very much hope Nigerians will respond at the polls in 2019 to this unconscionable breach of trust.

● Victory was recorded in the push back against harassment and you were at the forefront of the #ENDSARS campaign, how did that feel?

I believe it is an example and litmus test of the power of unity of purpose. There is a lot we can achieve if we jettison sentiments and divisive rhetorics. The EndSARS campaign was built on common ground of Nigerians despite our diversity. We came together to fight for the future we hope to bequeath to our young and generations to come and we recorded a resounding success after consistent work over one year. This however is not the end of that battle but a milestone. The focus is on sanitizing the criminal Justice system of which police, Judiciary and Prisons are part. The process of of Police Reform is in progress and we have a long way to go. Testimonies on the streets are very encouraging and would only get better as we proceed.

● To what extent do you agree that Nigerian youths have a role to play in hastening Nigeria’s socio-economic development?

Just like the future of every sector is the private sector, the future of Nigeria reside in the youth of the nation. They are the dormant acorn of now that holds the Oaks of tomorrow. And genuine leaders have to ensure that there is favorable environment for them to prosper and thrive for all our sakes.

● Having said that, what are the long term effect of achieving this given the current rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria?

Nations are sometimes adjudged great based on the size of their labor force. Look at the size of the youth of Nigeria in population running into a hundred million and simulate the potentiality of Nigeria with the natural resources we are endowed with. Opportunities are abound and we must begin to engage our youth. Genuine leaders must unlock opportunities within the sociopolitical space enough to create an environment for the teeming youth to find expression. The revisionary life and constructs of the Industrial Age must be jettisoned and innovative ideas cultured to help the populace find purpose. We can not afford to normalize our leadership crisis by selling our votes and hoping for a miracle. It is time we pace way for competent and visionary leadership which will put Nigeria to work in order to achieve the New Nigeria Of our dreams.

● Given your comment, what is your position on the belief that, 58 years after, youths are still excluded from taking active part in governance & decision making.

I have a school of thought that suggests that political offices are not the only means through which leadership can be expressed. We are all leaders by design as God Almighty gave us all dominion over the earth without prejudice but based on the comprehension of purpose and acquisition of skills, we all have different capabilities and should not need to get an approval before we express ourselves by doing meaningful work that will impact and influence society. I believe there will come a time when people will recognize competencies and capabilities enough to engage them objectively for public service even without them seeking office. EndSARS was achieved based on this principle by ordinary Nigerians who are not members of political parties nor hold public offices. Yet they impacted their world and made society safer and better without asking for anything in return or making posters to seek election based on their feat.

● What are your expectations for Nigeria in the next few years?

Regardless of what happens going forward, we must understand that nothing can be changed without being confronted and what we allow continues. We are stronger than we know and our determination and doggedness in unity will always hold fruit. We are not cursed but blessed beyond our imaginations. We just need to leave our comfort zones and trust God with the unknown that we fear so much. The future is bright for Nigerians and Nigeria and we only need to go through the process of earning that future. For Gold to command its value it must go through, crushing, firing, cutting and polishing before its glory can shine through. We are not where we used to be and we will surely get there. Crisis breeds leaders and there is no loss for us here. We either win or learn.

● In your opinion, can Nigeria be reinvented? Can the hope and promise that greeted independence be rekindled?

Affirmative. Nigeria can be reinvented. It is already happening with the kind of youthful leaders bourgeoning on the daily even in the midst of the crisis. I’m not given to living a revisionary life thus our joy. upon the manifestation of our youth across the country towards the New Nigeria will be incomparable to any recorded in history. I believe we will get there and the Nigeria Of our Dreams will be achieved in our lifetime for the sake of generations to come. It will however come at a price which we must be more than willing to pay. We must continue to galvanize a critical mass of credible youthful leaders and enlightened followers who are easy govern, difficult to rule and impossible to enslave. This is how we grow the people to grow the nation.