By Anthony Cardinal
Okogie
When a nation is in turmoil, those who have faith in God must pray. Given clear indices thatNigeria is in
turmoil, we pray: Gracious God, grant that our leaders become wise, and the
wise become our leaders. But it would be irresponsible fideism to simply pray
and fold our arms. Those who pray must think, and, having sought and obtained
answers to right questions, they must act intelligently.
When a nation is in turmoil, those who have faith in God must pray. Given clear indices that
*Cardinal Okogie |
As Nigeria
passes from one turbulent season to another, it has become inescapable to
inquire: what is the quality of leaders—of the men and women at the helm of
affairs—in our beloved Nigeria ?
Can it be said that those at the helm of affairs—at federal, state, and local
levels of government—are sufficiently competent to navigate the ship of state?
Do our leaders fit the bill?
The high level of insecurity in
our land; the abysmally low quality of life of the average Nigerian, in
scandalously sharp contrast with the opulence in which past and political
office holders live; the self-serving and malevolent demagoguery that
accompanies unitarist, secessionist, and xenophobic agitations in our country;
the propagation of the stubborn myth that one’s ethnic community is
marginalised by all other ethnic communities, when in fact every ethnic
community is marginalised by the incompetence of our leaders; the acceptance of
this myth by young, discontented but gullible Nigerians: these and many other
indices offer little or no hope to even the most incurable optimist in the
land.