Solving Nigeria’s leadership problem

“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who should have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice, when it mattered most that made it possible for evil to triumph.”

THE above were the unforgettable words of the great late Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie Haile Selassie, a leader whom the likes of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Captain Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and other patriotic leaders took after in the call of heroism and the challenging game of revolution. These people are unforgettable because of their contributions and dedication to the development and establishment of a country being controlled and governed with peace, justice and equity even though most of their ideas were opposed by the unrelenting, unscrupulous opposing fronts. Wouldn’t it be an understatement to say they are indeed the model cat bellers?

Who will bell the cat? A familiar idiom that has turned to a rhetorical question which is still very much effective, useful and applicable to our present situation where there is a snarl in the traffic of justice and honesty whereas there is a clear roadway leading to corruption. This question is a challenge to every individual, stakeholder, student, entrepreneur, civil servant, business owner, old and young, artisan, patriotic leader. Who will bell the cat? A question that is expected to ignite a flux of sensations in us. Who will bell the cat? A question that calls for moments of reasonable thinking.

To dig the crook straight into the skin of the mother drum so we could dance in earnest to the tune it has in its infusion, the cats to bell are not the mice hunters we seldom rear in our houses but people of wicked, uncaring nature; the visionless leaders who don’t give a damn about the welfare of their own people. It is no longer news that unscrupulous people whose major concern is the well-being of their pockets do not find it hard to put themselves in the corridors of power. People who kindle the fire that fuels the travesty of justice. These cats are found almost everywhere, ubiquitous as the cloud covering. They are found in companies, educational institutions, business firms and in the arms of government. They are mostly portrayed as leaders and stakeholders in the groups aforementioned. These are the set of people that were voted to discharge the duties entrusted to their care by the masses but who have turned the table to their own side. They see their posts as a means and opportunity to increase their lots, loot funds and impoverish the nation, thinking they are helping it because, according to Karl Max, states are run in the interests of the ruling class but are nonetheless presented as being in favour of the common interest of all.

Have we been able to ask ourselves what we the masses are meant for? Most times, I think we are  fashioned to cast votes and our able-bodied men have become mere political thugs. The masses who do the voting as the hunter’s dog does the hunting are made to live on the bones of their toil! Isn’t that ridiculous? And looking at it from a holistic point of view, it isn’t really these people’s fault: it is the fault of you and I who forget that we are wallowing in poverty but take the meagre sums they spray at us during their campaigns.We sell our tomorrows because of little money backed up with vain promises. We dance to their campaign of hypocrisy as they hand us yards of cloth. Perhaps, they think these should be able to cover our nakedness for four years. They say we respect them because of their educational status, but are they not a bunch of educated derelicts who don’t care for the ‘lowlives’? Horns adorn their faces and we pretend not to realise it.

People are suffering and dying of hunger while they embezzle billions for the comfort of their own children. The streets stink with diseases, hunger and poverty, yet they don’t know what to do despite their high level of education. Doesn’t education implies problem solving? So, what is the fate of the common man? What is the fate of those who queue in the scorching sun to cast their votes, the vagrants and street toilers? Abject penury? And perhaps we think someone will come up to speak for us, or a miracle will happen to change everything. Forget that: nobody will stand up to speak for you and me if we don’t open our jaws and learn to speak for ourselves. Nobody will come to our aid except you and I rise to our own rescue. What is the essence of a life lived with nothing to strive or die for?

Captain Sankara said: “While revolutionaries as individual can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.” Sankara was brutally assassinated but his ideas live on. In your place of work, office, school and anywhere you find this kind of cat, be the one rising up to ring the bell on them. As Abraham Lincoln said, to sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men. So, rise up to speak for yourself and the coming generations. Fight for your right because I will fight for mine. Forget being expendable: it is your right and mine. So, when the question comes to you regarding who will bell the cat, be the one standing up to say “I will bell them” and let it be followed by definite action. One again, remember,  “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who should have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice, when it mattered most that made it possible for evil to triumph.”

• Oluwadare lives in Ibadan, Oyo State.