Any military take of government, factors usually led one thing or the other to legitimise its governance. It is either that their predecessors were corrupt or were too high handed on the civilian populace.
Military regimes have always got away with any action in this country.
Out of the country’s 27 years existence ass a nation we have experienced at least 16 years of military rule of these years. Nigeria has not been better off. We have always heard of military promises to wipe out corruption in our body politics, yet the corruption persists
The military has always arrogated to itself the clairvoyance of a corrective regime, but has always been prove wrong. The Nigeria military has the notion that it has more angels in its rank and file than the rest.
They claim to love Nigeria more but have not had the courage to probe their members since the Obasanjo days.
The military has the courage to probe imprison civilian governors but have not the same courage to probe their own kith and kin who are unexplainably wealthy.
It is amusing when people talk of human rights on empty stomach. You are a good boy or civil servant if you do not say what you see and do not talk aloud what you know is wrong with the Nigeria system.
Dele Giwa the slain Newswatch ediotor-in-chief did talk too aloud yet he got parcel bomb. Uptill today, there is no clue to his murder.
He was perhaps too vocal, too investigative and nosy in his career. He hd to go.
Alozie Ogbuguaja the one time Lagos State Police Relation Officer was suspended because he dared to voice his opinion about military personnel who engage in pastime activities when other Nigerians are not at work. He was thrown around and got deployed to where his voice would be very faint or not heard at all.
The Newswatch magazine was proscribed for publishing a government classified document as it was styled, but the political bureau recommendations which is published was financed by public fund.
All these were carried out in good faith and in Nigerians understanding of fundamental human rights. Who said we are not progressing?
Arguably, Nigeria is what it is today because we have not the men courageous enough to say te truth and damn the consequences. Nigeria has so far been unluckily to have leaders who are won’t treat criticism as hostility.
Nigeria lacks a fearless press that can take a stand and maintain it come rain and shine. I am sure that America is not better blessed in natural resources than us here, Nigeria wastes its resources while American makes better use of hers. Here Nigerians are retired from office when they would have been more useful to the nation. Down there such big brains and experienced ones are kept to make things work.
Only on Thursday, the managing director of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, Mr, Oladele Olashore presented a paper on loans to small scale industries on the invitation of the ministry of industries.
Mr. Olashore’s paper was a well thought out one that presented true to type, the banker is view of the issue.
The following day when recommendation were being passed to government based on the paper presented at the occasion Mr. Olashore was fired by government for daring to criticise its monetary policy. If Mr. Olashore had not been invited by an arm of the same government to speak on the issue he would probably have kept his job.
This is one of the inconsistencies in the policies he talked about. If government fired Olashore for giving expression to his thoughts that for sure is a fulfillment of government’s fundamental human rights policy which includes the freedom of thought.
It is people like Mr. Olashore that government should have taken more seriously than the sycophants that are abound.
In 1981, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo told the nation that the economy was heading for the rocks. The much discredited Shagari government went out of his way to pay economic professor to counter the claim.
Six months later the government openly admitted same and introduced the controversial austerity measure.
In the same vein, another economist in government now went to New York to tell the world that inflation in Nigeria has dropped by about 25 per cent where he got his statistics – federal office of statistics was merely playing at another case of falsehood to please the power that be.
It must be said here that we need men with gut, courage and conscience in public places to succeed.
To be truly great we need selfless leaders and individuals not those who in the face of truth shy away from it because they want to please their political god-father.
Mr. Olashore remains fired not because he embezzles money but because he said what was on his mind.
It is people like Olashore not the sycophants in the corridors f power that will make this country truly great.
