A MAVERICK

I find it sad to see Nigerians defend this APC government on a daily basis when all it has done is to continuously make life miserable for them. A fellow once said it would take Nigeria another 200 years to get better, citing countries like America to support his ridiculous claim. I began to lecture this fellow about Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and how it took him just 10 years to lay the foundation for the economic prosperity Singapore enjoys today. This was a country that was literally described as a destitute, poor region by politicians back then. Lee Kuan Yew even came to Nigeria in the 1960s, went back home and told his people that Nigeria had everything it needed to become a global superpower, but the only things holding it back were corruption and tribalism. He even wrote about how politicians in power at the time were draining Nigeria of its resources while fellow Nigerians, impoverished by the very policies of these politicians, were busy defending them. Think about that for a moment. People who are suffering because of a government's policies are the same people defending the government responsible for their suffering. What kind of tragedy is this? How long will Nigerians continue to defend the very people making their lives miserable simply because they share the same tribe, religion or political affiliation? I am 70 years old. I am not fighting for anything again because I have lived my life. I am fighting for the future of our children and the generations to come. If we do not come together to end tyranny because of tribal affiliations, religious differences and the scraps we receive from the tables of corrupt politicians, a day will come when our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will ask us questions about what we did when politicians were destroying Nigeria. And we will be too ashamed to give them an answer. Imagine looking into the eyes of your grandchildren and having no answer when they ask why you allowed their future to be destroyed. Imagine explaining to them that you defended the people who made their parents poor because those politicians belonged to your tribe or shared your religion. Imagine telling them that you watched your country collapse and did nothing because you were receiving crumbs from the tables of the very people destroying it. If you are allergic to good governance, I feel sorry for you. If your loyalty to a political party, tribe or religion is stronger than your love for Nigeria, then you are part of the problem. No politician is worth sacrificing the future of millions of Nigerian children for. As for me, I am not allergic to good governance. And I will never defend any government that makes life miserable for the people it was elected to serve.