Me, You, President Buhari And Change

This latest attempt to re-brand Nigeria, I’m not sorry to say, is dead on arrival. We’ve been through this road over and over again and it beats me why we are still doing this like we don’t already know how it will end.

The last time we re-branded, complemented with a logo, was during late President Yar’adua’s regime.

I remember we were told not to view it as another ceremony or ‘exercise of sloganeering’ by the then Vice President. Where is ‘Great people, great country’ today? It turned out to be what it was-an effort in futility. A charade-ditto President Obasanjo’s ‘heart of Africa’ project.

It was Albert Einstein who defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Here we go again wasting the same time and resources like yesterday.

Change begins with me? That’s not totally true.

There are elements that are critical to durable change and providing them do not rest with the people. These elements are, but not limited to, Investing in human capital, building strong partnership, developing existing infrastructure as well as creating new ones, providing basic sound education to the masses, investing in technology and trying out new initiatives.

As is, Nigeria does not have these. Putting these things in place is where change begins and providing them is not the responsibility of the people, it is government’s.

Change cannot begin with a civil servant who earns 18k, feeds his family, pays rent and still sends his children to school from that meagre pay. It is almost like a miracle how they do it, especially in today’s Nigeria. I promise you, Mr. President, these ones will need no persuasion to change once they see an increment in their salaries and can afford their basic needs.

It will work like magic. It behooves this government to make this happen.
The living condition of your average Nigerian policeman is a blot on the landscape. It is disgraceful for someone whose job it is to protect the rest of the citizenry. I’m sorry Mr. President, but change cannot begin with these ones.

I promise you they will need not be wheedled into change from their roger norm. Just watch them, this time for real, become our friends once their standard of living begins to improve.

It’s time to realize our aspirations and for that to happen, it is vital that good roads are put in place so that the farmer can take his produce to the market. It is vital that electricity is made available to the citizenry so they can be more productive-so that they can get to their full potentials. So that businesses and factories can function unimpeded.

It is vital that basic education is provided to our children, so we do not have to have to battle with Boko harams and NDAs tomorrow. It is vital that people get access to clean water so they do not get ill from consuming contaminated water.

To realize our aspirations, it is important that people feed. Mr. President, change cannot begin with a people who lack most of the basic necessities of life. It behooves you to change this status quo and watch them whip in line-change with ease.

A public servant needs not be told to change if he sees a corrupt colleague pay dearly for thievery. Now, this is not to say that this government is not doing anything as regards the war on corruption. Matter of fact, it’s on the right track as regards this, but more needs to be done if we are to stump out corruption.

For instance, the FIRS and CBN recruitment saga needs to be revisited.
Change cannot start with the people, when trucks and trucks of grains meant to feed the helpless and hapless in our IDP camps go missing without explanation. Without anybody brought to book.

Make an example out of these cold blooded thieves and see change. People will think twice before robing the feeble.
We are in an increasingly complex world where the pace of change is accelerating. I hope that the government knows it must re-invent the way of doing business.

The patience of the man on the street is wearing thin and this is a statement of fact. This government has to start to provide what the people want and when they want it, irrespective of whatever pressure it faces.

We are in a dire straits. We are not blind to that fact and the fact that this government is facing enormous challenges. Everybody saw this coming what with the kleptomania of the last 6 years. The question however is is the government responsive, flexible and creative enough? Is the government seeking opportunities and developing strategies to confront the barrier? These, if they exist, are yet to be felt.

What the government needs to do, especially in today’s Nigeria, is build relationships with the people, not upset them with some utterances. This re-branding, is out of order.
That is not to say we, the people, do not have a role to play.

It is our duty to support this government in whatever way we can. If it fails we bear the brunt. We all have a stake in this. For example, I find it somewhat ludicrous that people who contributed to putting us where we are today are being hounded and the same citizen who bore the brunt of their atrocities most, stand in their defence.

It defies logic! I mean, we cannot be self-appointed defenders of the corrupt and expect a better today and tomorrow.

We are a mono-economic society and some hoodlums for no just cause wake up to destroy the one thing that gives us breath and some of you are spurring them on. With the activities of these bandits, our oil output is dropping ditto our earnings and the best some of us can do is encourage them? It is loony!  Aiding and abetting criminality in every sphere of our lives is getting to be a norm. We need to be better people so our country can achieve its bounteous potentials.

I am and remain an ardent supporter of this administration and pray it succeeds. I have never been this optimistic about any Nigerian government. I know it means well, but just meaning well is not enough.

It is time to start to provide the change that was promised the people, not the other way round.

Chiechefulam Ikebuiro
@thalynxis
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  1. I wish the deff man could read this piece since he don't have ears to hear the cry off the masses

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  2. PMB cannot change! A leopard cannot change her spots. See what is happening to Edo elections. Is that change? When elections can hold in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States peacefully and they use security agenciesr crudely to unashamedly tell us that Boko Haram will strike if elections should hold in Edo. This is someone who has just finished preaching CHANGE STARTS WITH ME. If it hasn't started with Mr. President l don't see it starting at all.

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  3. This government lost the momentum when it failed to ride on the overwhelming tide of it's popularity at the onset. No one would listen to them now when hunger is ravishing the entire nation and people are dying in droves as a result!

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  4. When a woman marries two husband ,she will be able to decide the one that treated her better. This useless clueless wicked clannish incompetent sadists and their party APC has destroyed all the things that has been achieved in this country since colonial era. Nigeria has become Somalia and South Sudan where people are dyin of hunger in less than 2 years of this power hungery fools- Amaechi, Thief ... Ubu, Parrot Ali Rufai, etc... May ALLAH save us ! Ameen

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