The quote ‘A people get the type of leadership they deserves’ credited to Joseph de Maistre has been trending lately on social media. Our callous leaders who rigged themselves into office via the crooked Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) led by a corruptible professor, Mahmood Yakubu, continues to increase the truism of this quote in the Nigerian context. From Buhari in the presidency to ward councillors in the local government areas, most Nigerian elected officials in this republic are a product of election malpractices. If INEC had followed their guidelines for candidates, Muhammadu Buhari would have been ineligible to contest at the elections he contested in the past including the one that made him president. For many diehard Buhari supporters, his speech after the #ENDSARS protest in Lekki and other events is a painful reminder of our colossal failure as a people. In a land that boast of the Okonjo-Iwealas, and Akinwunmi Adesinas, we have a semiliterate and former coup plotter Buhari as president. We have individuals like Adams Oshiomhole as past labour leaders and political godfathers like James Ibori and Bola Tinubu in their respective states.

If you take a close look at the nations that are doing well economically and otherwise, you can easily see the straight line between competence and economic growth in terms of the calibre of individual they elect and select. If you take a closer look, you will also see the important role education play in equipping a leader. From Abraham Lincoln to Nelson Mandela and Mao Zedong education, especially selective self-education plays a great role in the building of the attributes of great leaders. Something Buhari lacks in its entirety. From the time Buhari became head of state through a coup, he has not upgraded his originally jaundiced knowledge. It is this same man, knowledgeable Nigerians like Professor Wole Soyinka, veteran journalist Tony Momoh and even highly educated clergymen sold to us. Many Nigerians who voted for him in the rigged election believed he would be able to fight corruption and insecurity that the educated Goodluck Jonathan was seemingly fighting without success. Little did they know that Buhari has always fraudulently arrived at leadership positions without merit but due to quota system and ethnic affiliations.

Today, we are collectively suffering the ill choice of a minority of Nigerians who were mostly swayed by religious and ethnic biases. Perusing the social media post that are emerging after the Lekki Shooting shows we have not learned our lessons. Many misguided Nigerians are still playing the religious and ethnic cards. Many of us have not matured to a state where we see beyond our tribal affiliations. Many Igbos still subscribe to the skewed reasonings of Nnamdi Kalu. Just as many Islamic northerners still see the kingpin of Fulani herdsmen, Nasir El Rufai as someone worth listening to. With Tinubu enslaving Lagosians and hand-picking political appointees, from senatorial candidates to ward councillors and agency officials, many Yoruba Lagosians can still maim their fellowmen for him. This is the sorry state we are, and solutions seems not to be on the horizon. Time is running out. We must act. Our survival individually, regionally, and nationally depends on our post #ENDSARS activities. We must mobilize again. We cannot continue like this. We must sanitize the #ENDSARS movement and move forward strategically to make Buhari and his administration who are mortgaging our future with Chinese and other loans a forgotten nightmare. We must use the internet to study how other nations succeeded in truncating their bad governments with peaceful protests. And come up with unique strategies to make Buhari go.

Ata Ukuta, Editor  – www.towncryyers.com