On the media search for a solution to the problem of political and economic demerits in Nigeria, Lawrence Egede writes.
Oh! Nigeria my country, how come did you fall from glory to grace, from grace to grass and from grass to the ground and from the ground to the grave in very Costly Executive Politics and a Wasteful Economy?
"Nigeria is no longer the same" is the main reason for writing this piece. History tells me that Nigeria is no more the same.
Of course, Nigeria is no more the same as per developments in the country so far, but there's something amiss that is crucial in terms of worsening the state of the economy by corruption.
Nigeria is no more the same and to be politically precise, the country is just managing to be as possible in pain.
Nigeria is no more the same when we tell the truth about the economy, from history down to the present time. A Revelation clarified that politics influenced corruption to kill the economy.
Therefore, If the Economy is put to death, the nation is also dead in a way and the people are likewise lifeless somehow, not lifelong anymore without the necessary ingredients that keep the Soul sustained alive.
Can you believe that the value of the Naira nosedived from a mere 68 Kobo per dollar in 1975 and one naira per pound sterling at that same time, to the present 700 naira per dollar and one thousand nairas per pound in the black foreign exchange market in Nigeria today? No cure yet.
Everywhere in Nigeria is very controversial, everything is very confusing and everybody is very concerned about how to survive.
The public is in trouble about the ugly circumstances but still manages to exist. People are suffering and smiling in agony, trying to pick pieces together to survive.
Leaders are concerned about how to survive, the leaders are also concerned about how to survive. It looks like people are tired of the poor state of the economy.
Added to the worse situation is that successful Politicians and prosperous businessmen are not sympathizing with the suffering masses in Nigeria.
They haven't lowered their Ego as to come down at the level of fighting inflation in the marketplaces, but instead, add more cost to the height of the crisis.
They buy at any fixed price only in retail, but in bulk buying, they offer less and purchase goods and services above the prices the masses can afford because they obtain money fatter, faster and easier than the underprivileged ones.
They live in opulence, creating envy in the eyes of those who are interested to be like them.
They have succeeded in giving crime a lot of chances to grow, making Nigeria insecure to the masses who are always victims of criminals of all kinds.
Successful Politicians and prosperous business people conspire to cause inflation, but hardly know the harm they do to the public beyond scope.
In Nigeria today, politics is the most lucrative business in town. Politicians are at variance with themselves because of it.
And because of the lucrative nature of politics in Nigeria, some Politicians might have probably thought that people like us, whose private sector businesses developed lesser capital strength be underrated.
There's nothing any victim of such erroneous thinking can do but leave it for God to handle, because Politics can't be God to those that are very sincere.
They erroneously believed that we were lured into serving their special interest for reasons of their riches, but were unaware that it was their good performances that attracted us to learn from them.
I am talking about those Politicians who are close to us as friends of development but don't value our contributions to them in promoting their good works. They dump our sincere services to them with careless ignominy and abandonment.
I am talking about those our young generation Politicians, who became successful from the stock of the historic efforts we made and Ebonyi State was created for them to administer, as they come on board the ship of affairs-voyage, in leadership politics. But they insult history, without knowing the spiritual cost of what they are doing.
They do it mindlessly because of the power which the masses including all of us are also part of, by voting for those in politics.
Politics in Nigeria is all about how to be one of the popular ones, but not one of the most productive people in town.
The position is all about how big it is and not how best it can be of benefit to the masses, not even how the nation will survive the scourge of security challenges everywhere and in everything.
Power is all about how to be on the bandwagon of the ones that are in command of the nation's resources, or in the club of the "Who is Who" in the society.
Politics, Position and Power are also for the players to be seen as respectable ones, by everyone everywhere at any time and in almost everything.
Politics, Position and Power in Nigeria are all about how to be in Authority and the masses be reportable to those in absolute command of the nation's life.
Based on the above light the Politicians believe that they are the only qualified persons in the right position to always address the public successfully or not, without contrary challenges.
The farmers won't be there, the artisans won't be there, the helpless masses won't be there and even the interested people invited or not may not be there, and even if they are there can't say anything except allowed.
The gap had always been kept wide between the leaders and the masses because of pride, greed, avarice, monopoly and very unnecessary arrogance on the part of the Politicians.
The ingredients of pride are the main causes of the danger in all political fights, to exercise power and authority based on the competitive business of do-or-die affairs. Nigeria is the Apex centre for such ugly practices.
In that regard, those who are competent shy away from political competition. They can be recruited to work alongside those in power, but cannot do much to improve anything.
This is because of being under control by the powers that be in the governing system, where no extended rights are given to the competent ones to perform and become productive all along.
From all indications, the things which killed the economy aren't having any competent hands to produce the best results. It is a result of tying down the hands of the competent ones, not being productive is the main cause of unproductivity.
This is major because of the presence of the unproductive power system of the Executive in Authority, which is costly to maintain in any government.
Nigeria has now run into huge external debts with nothing to service the commitments, but to keep on borrowing only for the maintenance of the high cost of the Executive system of government, which is in no way productive to pay back debts.
Not only that the Executive system is costly to maintain, but also clumsy to manage the excesses inherent in the political power dispensation effect.
On the whole, confusion will set in, the conflict will set in, power will be in chaos, everything will be uncontrollable, everyone will be in trouble, everywhere will be in controversy, nothing will be in order, and no peace can exist where there's no love amongst people, no proper security of lives and property will be guaranteed and the nation will suffer demerits.
That's where Nigeria is today and it is quite unfortunate that people are living under the law, where there is no law to control the excesses of the society and bring lasting peace to reign.
People are living every day just under probability, suspicion and confusion, guessing about what next will be their fate under the raging political controversies in the nation, as the Politicians go against one another over who will be in control of everything.
The question is how can the nation survive under this kind of ugly circumstances, with the scourge of poverty threats here and there but in a land of riches in glory, descending from glory to grace, from grace to grass, from grass to the ground and from the ground to the grave with costly Executive politics and wasteful Economic habit?
Today, who can tell me that people are not dying because of the above circumstances?
Who can tell me that people are not dying anyhow because of knowing not what next will be their fate like at home and even abroad, where nobody can tell exactly what comes on board?
Is it politics that can be trusted or is it the system or the people or the leaders, or the condition under which the masses exist, or the situation of things now, or what the economy entails, or how the Country looks like or how the cost of living continued to soar every day in everything?
Judging from what is going on in Nigeria, nobody is spared for any reason why things are the way we see them nowadays.
This is because of the leadership cost of living and maintenance in the nation, political excesses, social ills, security challenges, economic derailments and administrative problems, which have affected everything and almost everybody in Nigeria, but probably apart from the people enjoying the situation.
Finally, the question is; where else do we go from here since politics, corruption, crimes and inflationary tendencies became the order of the day in Nigeria with costly Executive politics and wasteful Economic habits
To God is the glory forever.
Lawrence Is our Guest Writer and Phoenix Public Analyst.
