Of Samuel Peters and
the Nigerian state
By Solomon Shaibu
Sunday,
March 16,
2008
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•Samuel
Peters in action
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Epoch history in a making was made in the early hours of
last Sunday morning in Mexico,when the Nigerain born Samuel
Peter "The Nightmare" via a TKO(Technical Knock
Out) in round six pummelled his opponent to become the Heavy
Weight Champ of the world,there by affixing Nigeria name once
again like all of the Chimamandas's,Soyinka's, Emegwali's,Achebe's,Tuface,Kanu's,Bishop
Oyedepo's,Ekele's,Dangote's,etc on the totem pole of human
civilization and world history.
We all basked in the euphoria of the victory and like success
attributed with many relatives, we were once again proud to
be Nigerians. In retrospect,we are wont to ask what have we
gotten back from a country that has continue to breed men
and women of excellence as in as diverse a fileld as any nation
can boast of.
Today,the result is leadership crisis,elite mass gap,poverty,insecurity,corruption,injustice
in the Niger Delta,unemployment,decay in our education,health-care
and infrastructures and ethnicity and religion have become
the potent source of friction in our body polity.
President Yar'Adua must radically like Hugo Chevez swiftly
begin to change the old order from the tradition of the past
corrupt government,creating the right sructures and enviroment
for the abound talents waisting to be internalize,then Nigeria
would have produced another world champion,won an olympic
gold medal,an oscar,a grammy and a nobel prize.
When this happen,the vehicle for such inrenational acclaim
and honour may be a dieing youth some where now waiting to
be use for thuggery,prostitution,fanatism,drug and robbery.
I am wont to disagree with JFK ,1917-1963,35th US President,
let us begin to"Ask what the country must do for us and
not what we can do for the country" for the Nigerain
state has been most un-fair to its citizenry post independence
till date.
If JFK were alive and here, methink it is not wrong to start
by asking my country the Nigerian state to provide us 24hrs
un -interrupt power supply,fund our education,let our votes
count,provide jobs for the youths,give us water and roads,pay
our doctors and lecturers and many more...?
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