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The problem with Nigeria is that her people are devoted to many things but their country is not one of them. If I become the president of Nigeria I will make it clear that nothing is bigger than Nigeria in the whole world. I will make sure citizens embrace this belief and demonstrate it in the way they live their lives.
The average Nigerian is devoted to one or all of the following things:
- The god of their religion
- Their ethnicity &
- Individual success irregardless of it's impact on their community.
As the president of Nigeria I will make all other gods inferior to Nigeria as long as they are on Nigerian soil. Yes, Nigeria is a god on it's own and it demands devotion from it's citizens.
I will take steps to redirect people's focus from their tribes, religions and personal success to Nigeria.
I am not anti-religion. In fact, I love it. You cannot stop people from worshipping one God or the other. If you destroy a thousand religions today, people will create a thousand new ones tomorrow. That is the way man is. We need something to believe in and dedicate our lives to. Never mind that we might not call them religion. Whatever you pursue and devote most of your time to attaining with or without gaining anything material in return is your religion, especially if you hold on to it so much and are sometimes ready to defend it with your life. Virtually every Nigerian has something that occupies this position in their lives. Any well meaning and smart leader should take advantage of this to the benefit of their nation.
Nigerians walk around with no state formulated ideology in their heads. They are like sheep without a Shepherd. So all kinds of charlatans see them as easy game. They are like homeless children that any kind of predator can take advantage of. They are lured by all kinds of con men to devote their lives to building empires for pastorpreneurs, Islamic terrorists and fake tribal liberators. There is no national ideology that they live by so they will fall for anything out there. The only other alternative they know is to pursue personal success even at the expense of their community and country at large.
Ancient kings were very well aware of human nature. They knew that every human wants to serve and devote himself to a cause that is greater than himself. This is why a lot of them made themselves gods. The Japanese emperors were descendants of the gods. Pharoes, Ceasers and African kings were seen as divine.
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They of course did not achieve this image alone. They often connived with their priestly class and palace court officials to project a divine image of themselves. The result was often that the people were completely loyal to the state.
So in order to effect the changes I desire, if I become president of Nigeria the first thing I shall do is change the constitution so that I can stay in office for at least twenty years. It is necessary for me to be able to make the reforms that the country needs. Lee Kuan Yew, the late Singaporean leader led his country for three decades. The world today respects his achievements. Ghadafi also ruled his country for decades. In that time he transformed his country to a place where the welfare of citizens was well taken care of. Nigeria needs at least two decades of stability under one leader before leadership can change hands.
I will create a Unique Nigerian identity that recognises our diversity but emphasizes our oness. Our most valuable natural resources will not be any mineral but citizens with a strong work ethic.
People's emotional attachment to their ethnic groups have constituted a hindrance to nation building. Leaders that promote sectional interests will be exposed for what they really are- divisive and opportunistic predators. I will set up a secret agency to war against them covertly until they are all demystified. The positions they occupy will be made unattractive to any citizen who is considering following in their footsteps. I will ensure that they become irrelevant in Nigerian politics, but whenever I have to use anyone of them out of necessity, I will make sure that their image does not grow larger as a result of it. Nigeria cannot have more than one president. There is nothing malicious or selfish in this. Nigeria is a jealous country and she cannot have other smaller countries right within her territory with leaders competing for the allegiance of her citizens.
There is a lot of work to do to get Nigeria to where it should be. We need a leader who loves the country and is very pragmatic; someone who will stop at nothing to make our country great.