...Sans Grantie (Governance Without Guarantee--Our Nigeria)

Thunder is good, thunder is impressive. But it is lightning that does the work.

I am not bothered about IBB. I am rather bothered about this man called Mr. Jonathan. As a person he may be a nice man, like the type you meet in a beer parlour drinking gin and the locally brewed 'ogogoro' with you and discussing events in Nigeria with a quaint understanding of political affairs. But in matters of governance, he has shown total and complete ignorance for the kind of leader we need in 2011 and going forward.

I have stated it many times that governance is not merely work, pay salaries, go back to my wife, sleep, wake, eat, fly to the United States, return to Nigeria. Modern governance is solving problems. It is first having the character to effect changes in the society; the vision to say, this and that are not right, and how do I effect the necessary changes.

For instance, it is the knowledge that many young graduates are jobless, some for many years. Then, how do I effect changes and ensure improvements in the society so that we will provide employment for them. The present unemployment situation is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be a time if the status quo continues when Nigeria cannot employ even 1% of its university graduates.

Thinking out solutions for the problems we encounter in the society is one indicator of understanding of modern governance.

Nigeria has the resources that if we foist a thinking President as our leader, we will turn Nigeria around as a showpiece for the entire Africa, just like India and China have done for all Asia

If Nigeria takes advantage of America's AGOA provisions they can turn the textile industry into a veritable opportunity to address myriad of problems: unemployment, security, image rebranding and improved economy.

However, first, we have to elect that thinking leader in 2011. He is not IBB; not Atiku and definitely not Mr. Jonathan. We need leadership that can think and understand modern governance, a responsible leadership, a leadership that can be held by its word.

Leadership that would see that the stable price for rice, garri, bread and sugar is a task that must be done, not the one that would speak big, big grammar that Iya Usman cannot understand and make promises that Alhaji Emeka cannot make sense of.

With those few paragraphs it set the tone for the additions that I want to make in the next lines. We live in a society that encourages corruption, so we operate a system that has no guarantee. In the last few weeks, we have either been burdened with discussing zoning and then the bomb blast.

Rival campaign teams have been more interested in mudslinging, and we are entertained with their comics. It is rather unfortunate that there are no promises being made. The leadership, whether the incumbent or those that are aspiring there is nothing to hold them to.

Just within the last week the 'NEW' Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko in Lagos at the Airport Hotel was presented with the 2010 United Nation of Youth-Network Nigeria (UNOY) Hero of Democracy, Peace and Good Governance award. I could not help smiling...which good governance, yes maybe a hero of democracy but he is yet to govern so how did this award come about.

We are once again back to the Obasanjo EFCC era, there is so much work for EFCC to do beyond some yeye Advisory list of 100 corrupt persons. Called them politically exposed or whatever nomenclature, the fact remains that there are more questions than answers.

From that list, the sum total of monies allegedly stolen would damage a 10 digit calculator, as it runs into trillions and this is a land that poverty, lack of infrastructure torments in all corners. Because governance comes without guarantees, they just go ahead and loot.

Another question is with the amount stolen as alleged by that list why is it taking ages to get convictions. What kind of system tolerates such looting and its judiciary just keeps mute or play along. As much as we all agree that all these persons are yet to be convicted and until such are innocent. Many persons on that list are daylight rogues and we know them, they as guilty as can be.

What kind of picture are we painting especially with the ever growing disparity in the system? There is no electricity for the young man that runs a barbers' shop or the lady with the tailor's outlet or fashion shop. Yet they see how leaders openly flout ill-gotten wealth, automatic generators in houses that they hardly live.

I know a politician that has palatial residential properties in Kaduna, Lagos, Jos, Abuja, Yola, Enugu, Port Harcourt and there is no borehole water in his village. And all these houses have portable water powered by machines and standby power generating plants. These houses are almost empty except for domestic staffs and today almost 150million Nigerians battle with a paltry 3,200MW of electricity.

Until his mother died, the only access road to his village was in a terrible state. And the man was a Senate President, infact after that many a villager prayed that his father too would die so that maybe this time they would have water.

What have these comics masquerading for power through various offices have to offer, while some are known crooks, others are only coming to continue the status quo.

As a nation there is no economic security, no social security, health is at its premium with life expectancy dropping at per second billing. Infant and maternal mortality is on a daily rise. With the stress of maintaining a family, even paternal life is dropping.

Nigerians with the consent of leadership are victims and patients of extreme social and mental disorientation. When it is convenient, they make us realize that we are Igbos, Yorubas, and Hausas. Yet when they loot, it's with combined honours, no ethnic bias.

There is no timetable for progress, we just wake up on any side of the bed, what we see is what we get, these days we don't get it 'sef'. When the ordinary man errs...I mean steal, he gets 40years, when Madam Cece robs beyond sanity she gets a pat on the back.

I took a cursory look at the promissory notes of the characters personae in 1979 and these same promises remain largely unfilled. We are where we are today as a people because we are a nation that largely leave its leadership on their own. They know we can do nothing, so they promise nothing, its business as usual. If only we could do an ala France volte.

We are so saddled with many unqualified candidates and very few men and women that can deliver, that we spend time condemning them and shortly they would have ascended the office and nothing to offer is a scary reality. It's the last week in October and we do not even have a date for the general elections.

Truth is that we are just not ready to hold our leaders whether elected, selected, vote.d in, or rigged in, responsible for their actions and inaction because our democracy is best put...governance without guarantee.