Flagrant display of wealth

Your editorial of 14th June, 2018 refers. One of the banes of this nation has been leadership indiscipline. From First Republic till date, our so-called leaders fall short of behaviour worthy of emulation. A leader is supposed to be a role model. But alas, it seems to be the other way round. This is one of the reasons that led to military take-over in 1966. May I also say that this unwholesome attitude is one of the cogs in the wheel of our progress as a nation. It has even been discovered that this tendency to manifestly engage in open day wealth advertisement is not only done in Nigeria, the same thing is done in some foreign lands. That is, in the countries that are capable of helping us.

Late Margareth Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of Britain, even Christine Largarde of International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that our country does not deserve debt forgiveness or write-off. One of the reasons closer observers advanced was that our show of wealth abroad is enough reason for us not to be considered for such merciful gesture.

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Whether home or abroad, the world is watching us. The reason, for emphasis sake, is simple. You don’t expect anyone to have mercy on you, this time around, assist you materially – financially to be specific and what you put on can compete to a very large extent with what he wears. How can he have pity on you?

Pity is given or shown to those who deserve pity. You cannot carelessly and selfishly display wealth and expect assistance and pity from anybody.

We are the cause of our problems. Politicians that display wealth flagrantly are taking the citizens for granted. They are telling the citizens that they cannot do anything. They are too foolish that they have read and understood their psyche; they seem to be saying in their minds. Some of them say that they understand the scope of the citizens.

Nigerians are so gullible. They are easy to manipulate. What the politicians need to do is to relax after being elected and towards the end of their tenure, they will do something that the citizens will get carried away with coupled with some carrots like soap and rice. They will dangle them before the citizens, then seek their hands in election and they will be re-elected. Nigerians have short memories. To top it all, the politicians can make empty promises.

Corruption has expanded in the minds of many who greedily rush for wealth acquisition. Values have been lost. Life is all about money and materials these days.

The display of wealth in an unguarded manner is not only done by politicians, other people, including successful young men and women do it, but what we are saying is, the idea of  leaders and  representatives of  people, behaving like  ordinary citizens who are not entrusted with any public office. A public office is a public trust that has to be handled in a sacrosanct manner.

This attitude of wealth exhibition should be dropped for a better living style as the nation keeps receding every now and then because of its bad consequences. Let our leaders live exemplary lives worthy of emulation by future generations.

Chiemela N. Agu

chibagaila@gmail.com