May 29: This road is paved with impatience

TOMORROW is another anniversary of the farce called Democracy Day in our dear country Nigeria. Justifiably, many of us don't even recognise it as democracy day, believing it was forced on us by you-all-know-who, whose trademark governing style was almost like a one-man show. Of course he is busy reaping the whirlwind he sowed while it all lasted. Do we need to say more? Anyway, happy anniversary for all it is worth. My only problem has been that there has been practically an absence of governance in the last one year the proverbial unwilling horse was forced to the river by the grandmaster. Everything appears so static one begins to wonder whether it was all worth the selection processes that characterized the general elections of April last year. The outcome has clearly put the nation at a crossroads. Should we continue to roll along with them or intensify our prayers for the messiah? Unfortunately that messiah will not come until the next three years - if at all - all things being equal.

Consider for a moment the process that threw up all the jokers who parade themselves as elected officials at all levels of governance. Should we expect more from a polity where campaigns are personality-based rather than issue-oriented? And we are complaining of lack of focus by our leaders. At least for those of them who are not being haunted by the ghost of illegitimacy of office (because many of them have been busy fighting opponents in the courts than have time to even get a focus for action). The lawmakers are not exempted. Some of the honourable men -and women - have behaved so dishonourably in just 12 months to warrant our continued support for their retention of the exalted seats they occupy.

Issues are important to a healthy debate during electioneering campaigns, to lead to the choice of a suitable candidate - and by extension a worthy, focused leader or representative. In contemporary global politics, Senator Barak Obama and Senator(Mrs) Hillary Clinton have taught us at the party level what it takes to get to an exalted office in the United States. It's been a long, hard-fought battle of wits and intellect to the extent that even when it was becoming obvious that one was having a good advantage to clinch the ticket, the other still pressed on for honours. John McCain of the Republican Party has had no less a tough ride to becoming his party's flag bearer. They all know already where they are taking Americans to whenever they have the privilege to lead the country. For us here, I doubt if it is a matter of political non-sophistication. We have indeed come a long way to be sophisticated enough to run a system that works with men of positive ambition, men with ideas.

Twelve months ago, so much was promised to a beleaguered nation. Twelve months after, so little had been delivered, if anything was delivered. All we get to hear are songs of rule of law. Yet the people are hungry just as they lack basic necessities of life. Those of our people who genuinely want to be gainfully employed even in private capacities are being denied opportunities to earn a living. Our leaders have stripped us naked in the market place, yet they are supposed to be covering us. A quick fix of electricity supply in the country would have gone a long way to fixing the economy in certain respects, like the numerous small scale enterprises to improve the people's living conditions. Up till today, we are yet to hear of any emergency declaration in the energy sector as we have been promised. So we have been sentenced to a regime of one-family-one-generating set regime. Importers of the machines are having a field day. Queues of human beings at petrol stations at night are always longer than motorists. Industries and service firms that cannot do without power supply are struggling to cope, running engines on fuel for more than 20 of the 24 hours in a day. The result: consumers pick up the bill and groan continuously or just shrug shoulders. Life goes on. Yet amid the dreary economic outlook, the nation's foreign reserves keep mounting.

Everyday we are told the economic indices are getting brighter but we are not seeing results. Whatever picture is painted of the energy sector is no different from most other sectors. For instance, I see no reason why students in higher institutions of learning should always go on forced holidays because their teachers are on warning strike. Why are we talking of falling standards everyday if this is what we have been saddled with in the name education. The complaint of the teachers has been a recurring one: the issue of the 49 sacked University of Ilorin teachers. Can't the president just do something? We are tired of hiding under the excuse that the matter is in court. Remember we cannot force the judges to rule when they are not ready and the case can last for the next 10 years! The health institutions remain "mere consulting clinics" if we care to know. The roads are still in terrible shapes in most places. The situation in the Niger Delta is scary as ever. Nigeria deserves a better image in the international community just as the people themselves deserve some peace of mind and improved living conditions. The summary is that the people have not benefited much from this administration - so far. In other words, the nation deserves a push - or is it a jumpstart - because it is not moving. At every level, except for one or two states, there is virtually an absence of governance especially at the federal level.

But I hear President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is a listening leader, very humane. And that he is even an intellectual - in fact the very first graduate to run the affairs of the country if I heard the information right. Those qualities and more yet to be revealed make it all the more reason he should wake up from his perceived slumber, shake off all those hangers-on who are not likely to help him gather enough momentum to take off. Once he takes off, then we can talk of stabilising the craft. My worry really is whether or not he is being bogged down by this talk of illegitimacy since the Supreme Court has not finally dispensed with the appeals of his opponents. In any case, must that be a hindrance to governance? Or does the inactivity have to do with his health status? It won't be a bad idea if he lays bare his status and spare us the pain of having to keep up with speculations anytime he has to see his physicians which is normal anyway. After all, U.S presidential candidate John McCain took that bold decision to reveal his health records to inquisitive Americans some days ago to satisfy their curiosity. That is the way of a public official.

This brings us to the caliber of aides the president has surrounded himself with. While there is nothing wrong in the federal character principle, he can do himself the favour of selecting the very best a state has to offer, to the advantage of the nation. What we see, however, is that political considerations weigh heavily in the choice. If the exercise is done on merit, he would have a pool of men of vision who would get the train on track, move to time from all stations and get to another station on time. He takes the credit for that. However, that is not the case at present. There are some passengers in the team already whom he should not hesitate to offload. We cannot dictate to him because he knows them himself.

The only good thing about this May 29 is that it has afforded the country another opportunity to reassess governance - beyond the volumes of congratulatory adverts in print and electronic media. The people are not deceived. So far, there is nothing to cheer about. The challenges are enormous and the road is paved with impatience.