END TIME FOR NIGERIA
In 1978, following bribery scandals and what the people termed corrupt practices of government, Pakistan had their amiable prime Minister and able statesman, Ali Bhutto publicly executed.
Ferdinand Marcos ruled Philippines for 20 years. In 1987, a popular revolt toppled his regime. He later died in exile in Hawaii, in 1989. Marcos was widely believed to have looted the country's treasury of more than 13 billion dollars, siphoned into Swiss banks.
Following serious civil unrests and prolonged demonstration against the harsh, oppressive and dictatorial government of Indonesia, the former President Mohammed Suharto who had ruled the Asian country for more than 30 years, was forced out of office in May 1998, by pressure from the civilian populace.
Japan is former Prime Minister, Mr. Hutaro Hashimoto and the entire cabinet bowed to public pressure and was forced to resign on 30th July, 1998. The main political party to which he belonged, the Liberal Democratic Party was left in disarray.
After years of vote of no confidence on 'madman' Mobutu Seseseko by the people of Zaire (Now Democratic Republic of Congo), thousands of lives were lost due to social disorder and civil strife in the land occasioned by wide-spread oppositions. Thus, militia squadrons drew arms against the oppressive government. Mobutu who was at this time recuperating from surgery on prostate cancer, held on to power until gunman Laurent Kabila (now late), chased him away in 1997. The (tse-tse fly) Seseseko in Mobutu finally died three months later in the kingdom of Morocco.
He was also widely alleged to have stashed away 8 billion dollars in foreign banks, and thus leaving the Central African country poorer. In the same manner, with a wave of revolution and anarchy, France sent their king, Louis XVI to the dreaded guillotine in January 1793 and was beheaded, together with his beautiful wife, Maria Antoinette. Although Louis XVI was a simple, well-meaning king who was certainly not responsible for the plight of France in his time. There again, he had suffered for the faults of his predecessors who, by their wars, mis-governance and extravagance, brought France affairs to such a condition that the French Revolution became inevitable.
Similarly, the Nigerian people are swallowing the very bitter pills of hardship, misery, torture, economic strangulation and human degradation in the hands of very wicked and callous leaders. Today, Nigerians are so wretched and hungry while starvation and disease now reign. Those who did not witness the dreaded malnutrition ailment called kwashiorkor during the civil war, or had not been born then, have now come face to face with it; as it has started afflicting and killing loved ones, relations and family members, especially children between the age of two and ten years.
Franch people did suffer for too long. But when that moment came, they held out, gathered their acts together and revolted against feudalism, against oppression and suppression, against victimization and wicked rule, and against injustice. At the end, the masses won and the French peasants gained new dignity - equality before the law, and social justice.
The story of Ghana is like the story of the biblical Moses and the Jews. It required a certain J.J Rawlings to play the role of the powerful Hebrew. It is a story of emancipation, bravery and patriotism. A story of belief, national commitment, sacrifice, hardwork and honesty to fellow citizens.
Ft Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings Liberated the west African country from militarism, mis-governance, economic paralysis, hunger, and perpetual doom when he publicly executed the likes of Gen. Afriffa, Gen Akuffo, Gen Acheampong, and all those who plunged Ghana into untold hardship. Today, Ghana is laughing loud and thankful to God for using J.J to emancipate the country.
Worse still, American congressmen have cautioned that Nigeria is on the verge of collapse and disintegration. In the last twelve months, some conglomerates have closed their plants in the country and relocated to Ghana. Among them are Dunlop and Mitchelen Plc. Only recently, more companies have informed the general public they would soon be folding operations in Nigeria to resettle in Ghana. The excuse of these companies is the same, energy crisis and political instability. Nigeria's inability to stabilize the energy sector is the cause of her dwindling fortunes.
In the Interview of an Indian citizen Mr. Mahesh Bansal, a chartered Accountant and International Business Consultant based in Ludhiana, Punjab State in the Sun Newspaper by this same writer, and published Monday, July 12, 2009, he drove the nail straight into the wall. Hear him: 'The whole world knows that the single point deficiency in Nigeria today is the electricity problem. And this is shameful for a country of Nigeria's size, and status. Once Nigeria overcomes the problem, thousands and thousands of other problems will be automatically solved. Nigeria cannot run an efficient industrialization with the absence of electricity. There's no nation in the world that has ever made it with generators'.