Delusions of Grandeur
Eddie Mbadiwe
Albert Einstein, one of the greatest thinkers of all time said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch them without doing anything”. You are free to juxtapose world with Nigeria. Einstein was an Atheist, neither Christian nor Muslim and believed there is neither heaven nor hell and no God. His theory of relativity has stood the test of time. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 and later in life rejected the Presidency of the state of Israel.
Recently, the Minister of Finance appeared before a House of Representatives Committee and said the Central Bank did not consult her Ministry before redesigning some naira notes. The Minister has a retinue of Senior advisers plus numerous hangers on who should have advised her before going public.
The Central Bank Governor had to remind her of the relevant sections of the Central Bank act and this controversy was only doused by the intervention of the President addressing his primary constituency in Hausa. This is a clinical example of delusional grandeur.
Let us remind ourselves that Zainab only came on board when the vibrant Kemi Adeosun was wrongly advised to resign because of some infractions with her NYSC papers. Why do I say not properly advised? Simply because in Nigeria, no minister resigns and none is sacked either.
It is necessary to observe that of recent, the Minister of Finance has been appearing in complete hijab presumably to reassure her principals that she has not derailed and is still a committed member of the ruling cabal.
Because no Minister is ever sacked, all of them operate as despots. driving against the flow of traffic protected by their gun-toting army and police security. Any civilian who dares to challenge them can have his car pulverised. The only remedy seems to be to align with Dame Patience Jonathan and pray shouting; there is God -ooo-ooo. Those who have ridden rough shod on this country cannot escape Karma at some stage.
Recently America, Britain, Germany and Australia rejiged security operatives in their embassies sending home none essential workers
British Airways also changed their flight schedules so that flight staff don’t have to sleep in Abuja. The Nigerian Government says there is no cause for alarm but we also know those embassies don’t shout wolf just when there is only a Cat in the vicinity. Nigeria will be well advised to find out what they really know before it is late. Once beaten twice shy.
The Nigerian elite, lily-livered and spineless are a major component of Nigerian’s woes. They seem completely afraid to speak and are so emasculated to get involved in matters concerning our commonwealth. Whatever intervention that exists has been left to Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana and Sowore as if they have nine lives.
Nigeria is racing precipitously to an election in 2023 and yet the two major parties are thousands of miles away from putting their houses in order. Out of sheer pride, PDP is gifting the election away.
Inspite of Governor Wike’s growing public image as a bad loser, he has a valid point when he tackles the PDP leadership. The leadership of the PDP cannot in good conscience allocate all the important positions in the party to one section of the country leaving the Southern part as hewers of wood and drawers of water. The PDP is playing the proverbial Ostrich and unless it engages its reverse gear soon will inevitably come to avoidable grief.
For the APC, there is an Everest of a mountain to climb to convince Nigerians that a Muslim/Muslim ticket is viable in a secular religious country such as we have. This is a hard pill to swallow
Inspite of the bad press that the legislature usually gets (some of it justified) a certain degree of sanity and pride is beginning to resonate from the two chambers. It is comforting that some of the Committee Chairmen are beginning to wield the powers the constitution bestowed on them.
Uche Ekwunife (then in the House of Representatives) was Chairman of a committee in which I also served. When a ministry or parsastatal did not send their chief executive for budget defence, Uche Ekwenife tongue-lashed whoever was sent for at least five minutes after which they were ordered to leave the hearing room and return with their chief executive at a future date. Uche would then sometimes turn to me and ask “Eddie I hope I did well?”
If I nodded approval, she was visibly pleased. Grandeur can be a soothing balm
Rt. Hon Dr. Eddie Mbadiwe writes from Abuja
