"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything "- Alexander Hamilton
Nigeria is a unique place. We are a nation with 250 ethnic groups. We are governed by sentiments. Religious sentiments, ethnic sentiments, family sentiments etc. These sentiments affect our perceptions and subsequent actions and in-actions in politics, work & justice.
In politics, the average Nigerian will vote along ethnic and religious lines. Do not be deceived by the approximately 6.5 million internet savvy Nigerian's on social media. With a population of 170 million, we have not scratched the surface of actual political perceptions and the non internet savvy populace that will influence the outcome of political events.
At work, we all want to employ our relatives irrespective of their attitudes, educational qualifications etc. We cover up for inefficiencies due bias, and if you kick against it, your family comes after you.
Justice; this is where sentiments has caused the must damage. Justice is denied simply because the thought of locking up a child or relative is unfathomable. Irrespective of the crime, we deny justice along the lines of bias.
These sentiments are the cradle of corruption. By whatever means necessary we protect the wrong people at the expense of the qualified. Do you know money is spent (on bribes) to deny Justice? Do you know Politicians influence the employment and promotion of wrong individuals into the force, government institutions etc? If employment was done via the proper selection process, the best of the rest would emerge & we Nigerians would be better of.
These bias translates into high level corruption. Thieves walk away, militants & terrorists are compensated with cash rewards & justice is denied the Nigerian people.
To get things right, we must be on the side of Justice and Objectivity. Religions speak of Justice so uphold it. If your child steals, let Justice be served so they can be better of. What use is a community filled with thieves and criminals? They still destroy the fabric of society and are of zero economic impact to the community. Roads remain bad, water does not flow & the schools are still dilapidated. Yet we have Senators that have done 3 terms with zero impact in their constituents but still want more tenures (Senator for life).
We must wake up.
These sentiments destroy corporate culture and the lack of justice is the reason why the international community have reservations doing business in and with Nigerians. We need a para-dime shift in mindset. We are either Nigerians or we are not. We cannot identify with the Nigerian nation but fight ourselves internally.
Can true federalism prevail?
There must be justice for the oppressed and respect for human life.
We must hold leaders accountable after their tenures in political office. Leave no room for sentiments. There is no such thing as "its our time to chop". Its either all or nothing.
Change starts with you. It starts in your mind. Change your mindset, change the world.
Till we meet again, keep winning.
David Chiaka
Twitter: @MrChiaka
