“AND I HEARD THE voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8.After 57 years of independence, Nigeria is neither independent nor peaceful because a handful of people are destroying the country. We should not continue to sit down and look at them because he who claps hands for a mad man to dance is himself a mad man.

“Poor leadership at the federal level was responsible for Nigeria’s inclusion among the ‘worst failed states’ in the world. I believe however, that the country can be made to work again, as it was doing before and to become a great nation it was destined to be, and a leading state in the African continent and indeed the world. But for that to happen there has to be a change of leadership.” Prof. Ben Nwabueze.

Let there be proper diagnosis; the system fighting corruption has been corrupted by the recycled politicians who allowed army personnel (retired or serving) to rule this nation for more than 70% of our Independent period because of what they themselves will gain. The Army is trained to fight wars and not to manage the nation.  They cannot rule without crises because they are War-Lords. Crises make them strong, popular and happy.

So, those who said the Nigeria nation has not gotten her leadership compass right are correct. “If what we have tried in the past has not taken us to the Promised Land, we have to try something else” says, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He knows what he is talking about because he is part of the system. From his Otta farm library, he can decide who will contest election provided they pay homage to him.

Like a computer system, we need to install antivirus to clear all the viruses and reformat the entire system to make it work again. This time, you put in new materials completely. Ghana has done that and Liberia has started her experiment with George Weah. Nigeria, the giant of Africa should be bold to take the bull by its horn.

When we came out freely to elect MKO Abiola, the military banned him from serving the nation: a few people protested while others went to sleep. May his soul rest in peace! Will there be any such free elections in Nigeria again? No risk, no gain. If we allow the fear of death to overwhelm us, we will craw continually. Death is inevitable by the way!

The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria (the voice of the voiceless) took a bold step on Thursday, February 8, 2018 when they met with President Buhari in his office. We are proud of them for taking the lead as expected.  They told him that the enormous amount of goodwill he had for Nigerians when he came to power has depleted by some glaring failures of his government. They condemned the consistent destruction of innocent citizens and their sources of livelihood; the attempt to provide ranches for cattle owners without a plan to help other farmers whose produce is essential for our survival as a nation; the Federal Government silence in the wake of the attacks by terrorists in some states recently.

The Bishops said (among other things), “Our collective efforts must be seen in the desire to return to the fine principles of democracy, such as true federalism negotiation and consensus building, as means of achieving a more equitable distribution of the resources of our country and good governance.”

Nelson Mandela fought for the freedom of his country and when he was out of prison he ruled his people for four years and vacated the seat voluntarily! At 93, Robert Mugabe wanted to continue ruling his people after 37 years in office, because he and his cohorts were enjoying themselves. When the people woke from their slumber, they cried and the God of justice came to their aid! Nigerians, wake up!

“For the guy who was appointed a minister, and the one elected a governor or a senator, opportunity to serve in government is perceived an opportunity to loot and loom large” says Fola Ojo. Most of our politicians have no fear of God. They suffocate the good ones among them: if you can’t beat them, you join them. But that order will change now that the people have decided to cry to God who cares for the oppressed, the widow and orphan.

We the electorate on the other hand made ourselves very cheap by accepting money or its equivalent in exchange for our votes. So, we too are to blame for the role we played. If the valve meant to prevent leakage is itself leaking, then the leakage becomes unpreventable. Let’s have a change of heart and stop them from deceiving us forthwith and the change we hope for will come.

“It is time for the Lord to act, for thy law has been broken” Ps 119:126. Rise up O Lord and send men and women of your choice to save Nigeria like you did for Israelites of old. But whom shall I send?