The Burden of Personal Responsibility

The burden of being passionately committed to the cause of Nigeria is not biologically possible nor should it be forced on our children, who in their rights deserve to reserve their God-given free will to decide (for or against) in that regard when they come of age.

As a father, leader (from where I stand), and mentor to most I haven’t even met, it remains a duty for me to inspire people and hopefully play a catalytic role in catapulting them into their God-ordained purpose/destiny but their choice/free will play a huge role in that equation.

Our youth must be intentional in the decision they make in the know and must be able to take responsibility for the consequences of the choice they make. It is sad to admit that the world they were prepared for by the assembly line literacy program deemed as education, no longer exists and they must claw their way out of such a mindset that any paternalistic government laden with policies of welfarism has insurance that covers them.

It would be cruel for any responsible parent to mandate their wards to limit their aspirations to Nigeria or condition them to the peaks and troughs of the undulating, volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous clime, especially when there are visible indications that they are Global Citizens in a connected world and the need to be GLOCAL (though local in geography, but strategically positioned globally) is indeed instructive.

We are often driven to excoriate leaders for sending their children abroad as though their service cum oath of office included their family, when indeed we frown at any act of nepotism that include the appointment of their wards as aides. We must free the children, who by equity and fairness are citizens with the right to make their own decisions in the know.

I may have pledged allegiance to my Country, to be faithful loyal, and honest, to serve her with all my strength and to defend her unity and uphold her honor and glory under the Grace of God Almighty, but that may not make much sense to my children that are yet to experience a Nigeria that functions like a Democratic Republic.

I benefitted from Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s education program and was inspired by the untainted history of our heroes past but all those values are endangered in our society off now especially when education is now synonymous with indoctrination globally and what is left in our country is a pseudo republic rigged against itself and rulership that is hell-bent on ensuring our children do not have a future.

There is a reason why patriotic Nigerians are treated with disdain and ostracized as insane folks in our society that prefers a Mexican standoff as a means of engagement under the tenets of mutually assured destruction. But the allegiance of true patriots has nothing on what they stand to gain but that which they stand to contribute for the sake of inspiring and influencing the choice of their children and generations unborn. It is about the LEGACY we hope to leave behind.

Some people may live to see the legacy of their fathers and grandfathers and others may even be honored enough to see their father/founding fathers’ image on the money they spend, which concretizes the need for them to build on such a foundation.

For as long as I live, I will continue to push for the holistic reformation of the closest authority to the people (the Criminal Justice System) beginning with the Nigeria Police Force, and in my lifetime, it would be an institution my children will be proud of no matter where they may live in the world.

The foundation has been laid already with legislations passed and laws assented to, the collaboration of Civil Society Organizations in this regard as a template for other reforms to come with the cooperation of the arms of Government and the execution of the needed amendments, while our organization (Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation —SIAF) monitor implementations keenly and evaluate the outcomes for expeditious oversight.

The welfare of our security operatives is critical and their children and family deserve better attention. As they risk their lives to enforce our laws and maintain law and order, their pensions must be guaranteed and their take-home must be driven to a decent level. Promotions need not be pleaded for and meritocracy must be the order of the day.

There is no use for vacancies in new ranks when deserving officers are languishing in the same rank for over 10 years. Police need not make contributions to any pension and independent private authorities will need to be appointed to handle the critical aspects of police welfare and the administration of their Trust Fund. We MUST bring to an end the culture of reinforcing the problem via the appointment of people who are part of the problem.

There are new global collaborations we must take advantage of as an intervention for the development of our Police institution and things must get better from 2023. These and many more criteria will be my basis for supporting any candidate going forward.

Nigeria must work for all and the future of our children must be secured. Internal security has already been compromised by the ethnoreligious divide and the politics of difference (identity politics of hate). That need not be worsened with the adoption of jungle justice as law. The focus must be on the shakers of our cookie jar and we must not capitalize on our diversity by seeing our differences as the basis for enmity, enough to fight ourselves to death over needless issues owing to any divisive political instigation.

An ideology that brings the people together inclusively with a sense of ownership will ameliorate the internal agitations and the insecurity caused by those forced to take up arms against the state will dissipate. It begins with the Rule of Law being sacrosanct. No one must be above the law in Nigeria. Poverty is not the only motivating factor for civil disobedience but injustice must also be considered as a major cause.

I believe it is time we take personal responsibility and resurrect in the spirit of the season with a new mindset, while avoiding any form of fatalistic escapism. Nigeria will only work when our objective thinking faculties are triggered to function towards Nation Building via the collective drive of fixing and building strong institutions in unity.

We are all in this together and we are all that we need to birth the Nigeria of our dreams. #RiseAsOne 🫵🏽