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Forgive them…they
know not what they do. I was recently in the company of a group of
mortgage bankers who were discussing the state of access to sufficient
and affordable housing in Nigeria. One of the elder participants shared
how he obtained a mortgage from the government as a young professional
starting his first job; the same home he lives in till today.

A younger member
made a passionate appeal for understanding of WHY? He was asking for
the How and Why successors of those patriotic and humane civil
servants, who worked so hard to bring affordable and plentiful home
ownership to our citizens, were not able to sustain what they put in
place. In those days, all that was needful to qualify for a mortgage to
buy or build a house was a pay slip.

Of course, this
same lament, ‘WHY?’, reverberates in every part of our lives that is
reliant on a functioning government and watchful regulators. With that
passionate and pained appeal in mind, I posed the question myself. Why?

I believe that one
explanation is the mindset of the people who have been in position of
leadership and influence in the public sphere over the last 50 years,
and in the last 10 years it has spilled over into the private sphere
too.

One of the most
famous quotes from Abraham Maslow, the creator of Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Human Development Needs is, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you
tend to see every problem as a nail.” I would like to believe that that
is one of the major problems with our leadership.

In the run-up to
independence from colonial rule, our politicians and community leaders
were subconsciously indoctrinated with ‘Divide and Rule’ as the
leadership tactic passed on from then governor-generals who were the
available leadership role models. Our soldiers have always been taught
‘Command and Control’ as the necessary leadership strategy for managing
troops.

Consequently, our
leaders have been using those tactics that are designed for use against
us, their people. We have been waging war against ourselves! Any other
explanation seems improbable. Are we prepared to accuse the generals
who were patriotic enough to lay down their lives for our country on
both sides of the Biafran war of not loving their nation? I have not
spoken to anyone who holds those views. They are the ultimate patriots.
So, why was it under their rule that our educational system was
decimated; that our traditional values and loyalties were warped?

Let’s look at the
politicians. The great trio who led us into independence were, in fact,
members of a pan-African movement comprising of great African men and
women, including my personal favourite, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti.
Yet,after 50 years of independence, why on earth is politics still
being played along ethnic lines? If the British returned today, they
would find the country operating almost under the same regional model
they left us with.

The democratic and
military governments simply stepped into the shoes vacated by them.
They are still extracting wealth to be warehoused beyond our shores.
They are still enshrouding themselves with cloaks of privilege and the
trappings of wealth amassed on the suffering of others.

Harmful to themselves

“Forgive
them…they know not what they do,” said Jesus, (a.k.a Isa to Muslims),
while being crucified on the cross. Do we forgive our leaders for their
willful ignorance,their criminal lack of awareness and their failure to
act even in enlightened self-interest? What respect can we have for
power ministers who have to resort to generators even in their own
homes; or health ministers who shudder at the thought of submitting to
medical treatment in their own hospitals?

Let’s not talk
about petroleum or agriculture. They have not even made life better for
themselves, not to mention for the rest of us. How many of them have
true wealth by the time they are pushed out of power and in the years
after?

Democracy demands
tolerance for contrary opinion. There must be division of power,justice
for all regardless of status and hierarchy and freedom of
information.Divide and Rule, and Command and Control are not democratic
leadership styles.Yet, they seem to be the only styles our leaders
know. Just as the soldiers crushed any perceived ‘mutiny’ against their
command without considering the merit of the challenge to their
authority; just so, our legislators wish to self-perpetuate, all in our
perceived interest to command and control party politics. It is truly
ironic. Why does this scenario keep repeating itself?

“The road to hell
is paved with good intentions” As Samuel Johnson is credited to have
said, many a good wo/man has come to a bad end for employing unjust and
dishonest means to achieve a good end. So our darling leaders, take
heed. You are there to represent us, to protect our freedom even from
yourselves and to seek justice for us. Have faith that if you do your
job well, and if we elect a similarly responsible person to succeed
you, that our country will develop and our lives will improve.

Trust in the system you are part of, and allow yourself to be
limited by its structure. Avoid changing the rules of engagement
half-way through the game. You alone, no matter how hard you try,
cannot deliver what we all require. Only with three independent organs
of government, regulated by the media as the fourth estate, with an
engaged and active citizenry, and vibrant party politics can we
succeed. How do you wish to be remembered – as a burden or as a welcome
relief? The time to choose is now.