Governance requires skills like medicine and navigation. This was the view of Plato, a philosopher of note during his lifetime.
Our challenges in this country are numerous and go beyond the issue of SARS which seems to be the only nightmare every Nigerian is having at the moment.
SARS unit was a part of the Nigeria Police Force and for our government to feel its cancellation is the solution to our policemen’s excesses in Nigeria is akin to treating the disease of ringworm and ignoring leprosy which is more deadly.
A hungry man, they say is an angry man. Poverty in the lives of our security men, especially the Nigeria Police need to be addressed by our leaders.
It will be recalled that the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi shook his head in sympathy for Nigeria when he noticed the number of patches on the uniforms and shoes of policemen when he was in the detention.
Our policemen need a better welfare package to rid their lives of hunger and frustrations. On no account should policemen be made to pay for their uniforms and shoes. It is not that our policemen do not have their faults.
They should take their grievances to the relevant authorities instead of visiting their anger and frustrations on innocent and defenceless Nigerians.
It is after we have addressed challenges facing our policemen that we can boldly hold them accountable for any evil or atrocities committed against innocent Nigerians.
The protesters too only used SARS issue as a platform to evince their disappointments of unemployment, hunger and what looks like uncertain future for Nigerian youths to our government. Idle hands we all agree are devil’s workshop.
It is not uncommon to see the pockets of our youths laden with sachets of alcoholic beverages or even cannabis, consumed to fight boredom, idleness and frustration.
The call for restructuring of the Nigerian nation after 60 years of nationhood calls for a sober reflection from our politicians. Corruption, selfishness and little or no regard for what becomes the fate of the majority of Nigerians are what brings about a call for restructuring.
Developed nations like United States of America and United Kingdom felt they had to be on their toes to prevent us from surpassing them in terms of development when they noticed the natural endowments and population of Nigeria at our independence even before the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities.
It is poverty, corruption, unemployment and low level of social infrastructure that Nigerians of today have to show for all these achievements.
These make some Nigerians feel that if we are divided into geographical zones or revert to our old regions where every region used her resources the way it felt good for its people will be the solution to our pace of development.
In the absence of restructuring we need to shun tribalism and ethnicity in appointments to the sectors of the economy that require high level of education, skills or knowledge.
We should also avoid giving the impression of internal colonisation in Nigeria. It should be a country where every ethnic group feels a sense of belonging in place of marginalisation of some ethnic nationalities in the country.
Our country is still potentially great but it depends on the quality of leadership we have. The next of kins of our policemen and the protesting youths who paid the supreme price with their lives should be compensated and the dead be given befitting burial.
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