The Nigerian social space has been filled with mixed reactions following the filtering-in of information about the alleged approval of about thirty-seven billion naira for the renovation of the National Assembly complex. It begins to become clear the reasons they were trying to ‘govern’ social media and decide what to be aired and what can be said to be hate speech. It’s safe to say Nigeria is back many years; God help us.
Every nation of influence in the world has great interest and heavily invests in education. Their investments in education paved the way for their advancements in every other sector.
Mark Zuckerberg for example. A Mark thinking of how to get early to school so he could get a front seat to stand a chance to hear anything the lecturer would say in an overcrowded lecture hall wouldn’t have had the clarity of mind to come up with modalities and technicalities to build the Facebook idea to what it is now. We know how much Mark now influence what we see and hear.
Say he didn’t follow through with his academics, but the conditions where enabling enough for him. That’s a country where security matters. Learning the old and unveiling the new matters in that clime. That’s a country fortunate enough to have had leaders who put the people above selfish and personal interests.
Nigeria had issues in 2015; so we thought. And maybe we were right then. But, compared to what obtains now, Nigeria was better: speaking as the average Nigerian. Corruption was eating real bad into almost everything Nigerian and Baba was thought to be disciplined enough to bring that to an end. Godswill Akpabio is a minister in his cabinet; res ipsa loquitur.
Now we have a Nigeria that is ruled by a ‘democrat’ who chose to be silent at the anomaly that played out in the court by an agency answerable only to him. I guess that’s an attempt to warn the judiciary of what can happen, even if it means going against the norms. Threaten them into submission; that can sometimes be counter-productive.
The legislature has, by its own leader, pledged allegiance to the President and do whatever he asks of them. Little wonder the President is ‘returning the favour’ by approving the sum of 37billion naira for the renovation of the National Assembly. One will wonder if all the money ever tied to Nigeria could build the National Assembly complex if the renovation of it cost that much.
Great countries build institutions and not just buildings over-inflated at construction and occupied by the worst of us. The EFCC chairman was asked to speak on how he was building the EFCC as an institution, he went aloud telling us how many buildings they have. Weak minds; how did we get there?
A country that budgeted 46billion naira for capital expenditure in education has the luxury of renovating the National Assembly; one can’t help but ask whose interest the leader(s) of such nation serve and seek to protect. Definitely not the populace.
Aroso Akintomide
Twitter: @tomidearoso