Opinion: The accident of a thinking problem

Okenyi Kenechi

Nigerians love to delude themselves and think that without a clear-cut developmental strategy, that a prosperous nation would emerge out of the woods, where all the problems – insecurity, poverty, joblessness, diseases and starvation, mono-economy would vanish and the land flowing with milk and honey. Never.

Nigeria has not projection in the area of economy, education, health, population and security. Nigeria wakes up, runs like a headless chicken and have been doing so for 59 years while countries like Rwanda lead in almost everything.

To compound their problems, the leaders ask them to pray for the country they destroy daily to be better when they, the leaders, know what to do to make the country prosperous. I’d like to call it “the accident of a thinking problem” where you fall into an obvious trap because you don’t want your brothers to get hold of you, so we have refused to think correctly about what we want and how to go about it.

It is this same accident that forced the Customs to shut down the borders in a bid to stifle smugglers but refused to make the ease of clearing goods at the ports less cumbersome and remove the criminal waivers given to the politically connected. To stifle smuggling, Nigeria is encouraging more smuggling – the accident of a thinking problem.

Weeks ago, President Muhammad Buhari presented the 2020 budget before the national assembly. The budget, in its entirety, reflects what I have always referred to as the ‘Tyranny of the minority” where the bulk of the resources of the state are for the enjoyment of the 1% who shot their ways to power. Hundreds of millions are budgeted for the president’s travels, his phone calls and entertainment. Oh, his health budget is more significant than that of 200 million persons. As long as the president is comfortable, Nigeria’s problems cease to exist.

But while the government is imposing all manner of taxes on the already pauperised, the national assembly who are not up to 500, budgeted for themselves, hundreds of billions. As if that was not enough, the head of that assembly was fingered in the ongoing Federal Inland Revenue Service job racketeering. That is aside from the fact that 5 billion was earmarked for the purchase of exotic vehicles which some of them have been collecting since 1999. When Nigerians complained, they said our complaint was an insult. I have never seen anything more insulting – the accident of a thinking problem.

Nigerians do not know what they want. Perhaps they do but do not know how to get what they want. We want steady electricity – give Nigerians steady electricity for ten years and watch the country rub shoulders with most European nations; we want better healthcare, we want security, and we want standard education. How do we get these? By voting sensible people into office, people who will declare the 1999 Constitution the biggest impediment to the development of any country. I don’t like praising politicians but let’s say a Seyi Makinde…

And while they dash you N-Power, they smuggle their children into NNPC, FIRS, CBN or Presidency. They will never be poor. You? Accident of a thinking problem.

More disturbing is the fact that the heads of the national assembly seem more interested in not offending the Presidency than putting the actual checks and balances in place – they banned journalists from the budget defence by MDAs. They don’t want the fraud to be unearthed. Yes, the same budget where the Nigerian Defence Academy budgeted 100 million for a cemetery and 50 million for the maintenance of the cemetery. The reason it gave was that 40 per cent of its cadets die during training. But it is a problem that requires a solution and not what should be accepted as the norm. However, in Falz’s voice, this is Nigeria. The academy is more interested in building burial grounds than investing in medical facilities to limit deaths of its cadets. Shockingly, the same academy then budgeted 900 million for the reconstruction of the Commandant’s quarters. I don’t know if it would Carry bomb proofs, but in all, it is an accident of a thinking problem.

Nigeria wants to be like America, but it has refused to do what America did. Nigeria still runs a centralised system where states cannot generate their electricity, and the death traps know as the governors can not repair federal roads without approval from the centre. Only a few days ago, the who Igbo political machine was in Aso Rock to beg Buhari to release money for the reconstruction of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport’s runway. The money was there, but they had to go and ask the emperor who quickly ordered the release of 10 billion. Remember the 97/5% dichotomy? That was the consequence.

It is only in Nigeria that the construction of airports, bridges, seaports, roads and railways are not seen from their economic point of view, or aesthetics, just politics and we want to be great? How? We keep ourselves down, chase away those who have the capacity to achieve into the waiting Arms of Canada, US and UK but go cap in hand to beg these countries for loans. Oh, mi gawd… Accident of a thinking problem.