GO and ask the Americans about Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq. They would tell you that they have won the war in these countries. But they wouldn’t forget to add that winning the peace require for development, regrettably, is not forthcoming.
Introduction
Now, transpose this American condition to Nigeria. Over here, Buhari and his APC Party have won the bitter “war” against the behemoth PDP. And, so, come May 29, 2015 Buhari would be sworn in as President of our country. From then on, he would begin the real “war” to win the “peace” of development. To be able to do this, everyone of us needs to support his government with a new set of values, norms, philosophy, attitude and ideology. Behavioral modification in us is imperative.
Without this radical, tangential transformation in us, Buhari won’t be able to change Nigeria. It was in pursuance of this fundamental fact that Mr. John Amedu in the WAKA Programme of April 24, 2015 on EBS, Benin noted: “Buhari is one man. He cannot do it all alone. So, everyone of us must contribute his or her quota to help him succeed if we truly love him and believe in his change campaign.”
Charity begins at home. Therefore, it is time I shed our Ostrich journalism of pretence to see how some Edo people are not yet part of the Buhari success train of change. Invariably, unless we turn a new leaf, we will not only miss the train, we will de-Buharise Edo State.
Queue Culture
Only a few of us on Edo State uphold the queue culture which Buhari would be passionate about in his new administration. He believes in: “First come, first serve. So, don’t beat the queue. Join it whether at the bank, petrol station, post office, restaurant or airport.”
But, my experience shows the queue culture is observed more in the breach here in Edo State. The other day, I was at a bank in Benin to be captured for my Bank Verification Number. At the screening port I stood on the queue patiently waiting for my turn behind two young men.
Then, suddenly, four persons beat the queue hoping to be screened before us. But I ordered them with a martial voice to join the queue. Of course, they did. What a pity!! Most of us over here love the Hobbessian state of anarchy, disorderliness, power play and brute, uncivilised conduct. E bo day?” No – ooo. Buhari is here – ooo.
Tuke-Tuke Drivers
Buhari believes so much in discipline. Yet you can never find this trait in our tuke-tuke drivers. Never.
Simply put, most tuke-tuke drivers in Edo State are among the indisciplined people on this planet earth. Just name the traffic offence!! They break it with impunity. See, they overspeed; overtake dangerously; receive and make phone calls while driving; as well as exhibit the infantile road arrogance of driving with only one hand on the wheels at most times.
This isn’t all. Tuke-tuke drivers beat the traffic lights with impunity – that is, if they are not crowding the border line of such lights with rushing, haste animalistic instinct.
Now add these nauseating mannerisms of these drivers. They always violate the lane code to the disgust of other road users. They count money as well as collect fares in some cases and give change to passengers while manoevring their febrile mechanical contraptions called buses recklessly on the road.
On April 24, 2015 Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos State on Radio Nigeria network news condemned noise pollution by vehicles who blare their horns at zebra crossings hospitals, near court premises and libraries. He emphasized that a vehicles horn is not a musical instrument of a carnival orchestra. Such a wise counsel from the governor is noise from drilling workshop to our tuke-tuke drivers for some of them even have trailer horns in their buses. Others operate loud mobile discotheques: the music played in their buses is not meant for only idle loafers fifty metres away.
Sadly enough, most of their passengers are docile and suffer from the naïve consciousness that they don’t need to protest the tuke-tuke drivers’ malfeasance. Everything is left in God’s hand even though the bible teaches that whatever you sow is what you reap. Hence, if a passenger sows indifference to tuke-tuke drivers’ road madness, it is accident and incremental deafness from loud bus music that would be his fertilized portion. Not Buhari’s disciplined sanity, decency and decorum.
Desecration of the landscape
Take a trip round Edo State. One thing you will notice is that the aesthetic landscape of the state is being violated with our ungodly behaviour. To start with, there are motor-parks all over the place. A visit to Country Home junction in Benin City is a sampler of the indiscriminate location of motor parks in Benin. Last week, I counted five motor-parks within that junction’s perimeter.
The sprawling park at the entrance of this junction is foreboding. It hinders vehicular movement to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital during emergencies requiring fast patient evacuation to the hospital.
How about our roads and walkways? They have been take over by street traders without conscience because politics is in the air. The women traders among them are happily married. But immediately their goods are seized for street trading by government officials, these women become instant widows.
Enter the land speculators and their cousins in the community development associations. They have bastardized real property development in Edo State, ignoring the government’s several treaties to give land buyers and builders peace of mind.
WAI/EDTSMA Officials
Most officials in WAI Committee and EDTSMA have their own opportunistic reasons for accepting to work for government. It is to line their pockets with ill-gotten wealth stolen from Edo people, residents, visitors or persons in transit. Out of anger for the nefarious activities of EDTSMA officials in the state, the governor disclosed that 280 out of 526 of them had so far been eased out as at November 21, 2013. He warned; “We will sack as many workers that are not willing to work and employ as many as are ready and willing to do the job. Anyone who does take his job seriously will lose the job.” Despite this threat, some of the officials.
Final word
Invariably, as you can see most of us in Edo State have indisciplined motes in our eyes. Let’s remove them because Buhari detests such motes. It is no use retaining them hoping that Buhari can succeed with their presence in us. Think not only what Buhari can do for you. Also, think what you can do for him.
President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari
