AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA (A MUST READ)

President Muhammadu Buhari

By: Edward Ntebri Egbelo


Your Excellency Sir,

When a coin is kept under water over a long period of time, it gets rusted and losses it's charming beauty, but when kept under the sun, it shines for admirers to venerate. Every country once hard or still has it's beauty, but what was the beauty of Nigeria since the inception of her democracy?

 I can vividly recall that Nigeria once had a shining coin that is currently rusting beneath the waters. We are a nation, we are not an ethnic clan, so stop seeking the counsel of religious leaders on how to govern a county you swore an oath to protect. The whole climate still feels like we are preparing for elections, even if we still have a long way to go. As the sun rises daily, many politicians still search for desperate means of blackmailing others, all in the name of pleasing the current seat of power.

Your Excellency Sir, whether we like to admit it or not, our economy is not just threatened by dwindling oil prices but also endangered by self inflicted political vendetta. We can't survive as a country if we don't learn how to love each other unconditionally irrespective of our ethnic backgrounds. If justice must be served, it must be allocated to everybody irrespective of our lopsided political affiliations. Transforming Nigeria is a project that requires the active participation of all stakeholders of the Nigeria Dream irrespective of our individual financial capacities.

Today we are losing our once admired beauty, and yet we fail to realize the pain it is causing the minors in this once harmonious hamlet. Our diminishing beauty is "National Unity" and without this beauty we can't succeed, no matter how hard we try to deceive ourselves that all is well. Mr. President sir, have we paused to ask ourselves why almost every ethnic settlement in the country feels cheated and is trying to wage a war against our national existence? It is because the main ingredient that has been keeping the country all this while is currently rusting in a pool of water we are ashamed of owning.

As we got used to our independence, we forgot to revitalize our democracy and reshape our socio-political structure. The current fight against corruption is not achieving it's desired result because instead of enriching our treasuries, it is rather creating a new reason for national disunity and disintegration, every affected region feels the fight is bias. I am part of the minors and I know how bad it hurts when funds that are meant for rural developments are been carved out for personal enrichment, but let's always remember that monies are meant to promote cultural unity and not disintegrate national harmony. We can't get things right by fighting past corrupt leaders, because it is untimely and that's not what Nigerians need at this critical time. In a societal setting, a leader and his/her followers are like new lecturers and students, the students might rate their outgoing lecturer the best, but they still expect better and new things from the new-coming lecturer. You can't feed a child with sand just because he/she is hungry, it might quench his/her hunger at that time, but will surely create a bigger problem that is far much worse than the hunger he or she experienced earlier. Instead of prioritizing the corruption fight, I will rather recommend that other critical issues that needs urgent attention be looked into. Issues like job creation can be tackled without tackling past corrupt leaders, issues like dwindling oil prices can be addressed without tackling past leaders (hoarding of this products externally). We are not suffering from corruption sir, we are suffering from lack of unity, patriotism and commitment.

Have you asked yourself how we got ourselves to this present condition? Why do we export crude oil and yet every now and then we face high level of scarcity of same product in the country. Your Excellency they is so much hypocrisy in the present day government as headed by your humble self, and yet you expect a government that urgently needs lubricant to function smoothly?

Some of your comrades are unceasingly labeling the team players of the past administration "CRIMINALS" but have you really asked yourself the individuals that constituted that team? You can't in anyway compare your team members with those technocrats. Your Excellency you deserve better than people who only know how to point accusing fingers instead of searching for foreign investors and how to impact meaningfully to your government. Your Excellency Sir, those are the saboteurs you are not aware of, living under same roof with you and yet they act as if they are faithful to your administration.

Your Excellency Sir, you are in the right ocean, but on the wrong ship that is not taking the route the masses are yearning for. Nigerians need something better than this fight against corruption.

This approach might have worked in countries like China, but remember sir, that we are a different nation and people, the average Chinese man might have patience, but always remember that the average Nigerian man lacks patience and are always result oriented. The fight against corruption was not meant to disregard any group of individuals but to recover the country's looted national patrimony, but I strongly believe instead of waging yourself into a war, it is better you prevent it. Remember Sir, that prevention is better than cure. You can't fix Nigeria if you try to fix past events, let bygones be bygones, let's start thinking of a better future.

Instead of fighting corruption, let's block the loopholes and see how fantastic this approach works out. Corruption was not inflicted into Nigeria by Nigerians, it was inflicted by our colonial masters. A man who is well fed and educated will not pick arms to intimidate others. We cry of violence daily, but have we really sit down to examine the cause? If we still had the ingredient of National Unity, youths in the Niger-Delta will not be picking arms to protest for what rightfully belongs to them, rather they will think of how to protect this blessing from foreign bandits, if we are truly the nation e claim to be, fulani herdsmen wouldn't have been killing farmers all in the name of protecting their cattles. Sire please, try to study the Biafra story and you will understand why they are fighting tirelessly to actualize this long conceived dream. Nigeria's economy cannot be like that of America because we have failed to recognize the background we come from.

Imagine how much we are soaked in politics, we place politics ahead of governance, many youths choose politics as a career, not because they want to impact positively to their respective societies, but because they want to acquire riches, just like their political ancestors. But I don't blame the youths for searching for riches, I rather blame our controversial system.

We can't continue like this, we must stop making references to the last 16 years if we are to open a new page of history, we must stop calling our brothers and sisters criminals if we have to protect national integrity, we must stop painting others black when we know they are Nigerians just like you and me. Let's try as much as possible not to be deceived by the challenges we currently face as a nation. APC might be ruling today but what about the future? Politics can never be separated from leadership and when we start getting out politics right, we will equally get a better pace in leadership. PDP might be rusting today, but what about tomorrow?

Nigeria should not be enslaved by deceit and political hatred, it should be rather be seen as a project that needs all hands on deck. We can't be slave to our own selves, we are too much of a third world to start point accusing fingers at each other. Irrespective of our political backgrounds, we should always remember that we are Nigerians who desperately need the collaborative efforts of everybody to succeed as a nation. Nigeria was not amalgamated through the will of politics, but by the upmost will of the Divine Creator who partitioned Nigeria to be composed of six geopolitical zones from different ethnic diversities. We are Nigerians and we have to protect that singular gift we all share, which is the gift of love and harmony. We have to start writing on a new page and do away with old pages, so as to right our past wrongs.

I am a Nigerian! I am my brother's keeper!!!
Long live President Muhammad Buhari
Long live the Feder