individuals make up the collective

“The Black race is still at war against poverty, against disease, ethnic conflicts and underdevelopment. This must be addressed. There is the need for Nigeria and Jamaica and indeed the rest of the world, to come together to reduce the level of those artificial forces that have kept the majority of our people from making progress” - President Goodluck Jonathan.

I read this excerpt from Mr. President’s speech in Abimbola Adelakun’s op-ed today and I couldn’t help but wonder if the President’s speech writer was writing tongue in cheek. Was s/he trying to tell GEJ something? I wondered how anybody with any iota of responsibility could read that speech with a straight face.

Is Mr. Jonathan not the person in charge of a Government that oversees staggering corruption? In my view, the sheer scale of corruption in Nigeria guarantees poverty, disease and ethnic conflict. Is he not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in a country where a violent group kills and maims at will just because they can whilst our president wrings his hands helplessly and alludes to forces trying to bring down his Government? Persecution complex aside, I would have thought that somebody with the might of the state behind him would be able to take on adversaries with courage; after all he flexed his muscles when peaceful protesters were trying ‘destabilise his government’ by demonstrating against the removal of fuel subsidy.

 This is the President of the country where the citizenry do not have a right to enjoy the benefits of being from an oil rich country whilst those who are fortunate enough to get into Government either by election, selection or patronage distribute it amongst themselves in the guise of allocations, appropriations, contracts and subsidy payments! I am glad that Mr. Jonathan used the word artificial to describe the problems of the black race which means that he knows that they are man-made. The problems facing the continent and black people everywhere can no longer be laid squarely on the shoulders of the former slave and colonial masters, they may have created the right atmosphere but most of our present day problems have been created by the black race and it is time the leadership started shouldering their responsibilities. 

As the saying goes ‘charity begins at home’ and Mr. Jonathan hasn’t exhibited the will to tackle all the so called ‘artificial forces’ that have kept the majority of Nigerians from making progress. And come to think of it, Nigerians represent the majority of the African race as the country accounts for about 15 -16% of the African population and up to 25% of the black African population. If Mr. Jonathan decides to stay at home and tackle poverty, disease and ethnic conflicts in Nigeria, it would go a long way in solving the collective problems of the Black race.  

I am tired of Nigerian leaders who jet around in style from country to country to proffer solutions to the ‘black’ problem while forgetting to deal with the Nigerian problem.  I don’t know if our President has ever heard of the Latin saying nemo dat quod non habet; before going abroad to talk about collective solutions, he should remember that individuals make up the collective. He should reflect deeply on what he as an individual leader has done or contributed to alleviating poverty, disease and ethnic conflicts in his own sphere of influence.