For those who still have tears in their eyes, please, get ready to cry. It is time to weep for Nigeria. Unfortunately, there are no prizes for the person who weeps the most. There are many reasons why people should feel like crying. Crying is free. But we must keep in mind that a prolonged period of crying is not a guarantee that a nation’s predicaments would just disappear. That is not the way our world is configured. 
Some people have suggested that, rather than weep, it is better to pray for Nigeria. I do not subscribe to anyone praying for the country. There comes a time in every nation’s history when prayers no longer serve as a transformer. We have entered that phase in Nigeria. For decades, many religious groups organised Friday night vigils in which they prayed and fasted to free Nigeria from the hand of the invisible devil. Like a shooting star that appears and disappears almost immediately, the prayers and fasting did not solve our numerous social, political, and economic problems. Experience shows that prayers that are not backed up with hard work can never lead a country to that imaginary Promised Land or El Dorado.
On the eve of the return to democracy in 1999, many people danced in the streets because of expectations that democracy would bestow on Nigeria its lost glory. Everyone believed quite enthusiastically that democracy would deliver us from decades of economic hardship, poverty, ill health, poor infrastructure, falling university education, bad roads, poor healthcare system, and widespread corruption. Twenty years on, that dance has turned out to be somewhat premature.
Many pastors, bishops, archbishops, imams, and ordinary citizens have invested so much time and resources praying for God to intercede in Nigeria, to restore the country’s lost pride, and to equip political leaders with the wisdom to govern more thoughtfully in the national interest rather than in the interest of their geographic enclave. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved. Everything seems to be falling apart. The economy has defied every stimulus intended to rouse it from a long period of coma. When a country starts to crumble, everything else seems to conspire to pull it down fast. So it is with Nigeria.
For those who still believe in the power of prayers, there is no sign on the horizon to suggest that a country that prays more, receives more blessings and miracles. Prayers tend to work well in a country in which citizens practice what they preach, not in a country in which citizens wear their church robes in daytime and turn into bandits at night. When things go bad in Nigeria, everyone expects God to come down from heaven to fix our problems. God does not work that way.
Here is our national dilemma. We have all the human and natural resources sufficient to take Nigeria into the league of developed nations but, regrettably, we have frittered away those resources. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
We look at the pace of socioeconomic development in some African countries and we wonder at the sudden transformation. We wish we could overtake them. Unfortunately, countries like Nigeria that operate at the level of dreams remain delusional. While some African countries are moving forward and making progress because of the foresight and commitment of their leaders, we have no such leaders to lead us out of our problems. That is the difference between Nigeria and other countries that have made impressive marks on the global economy.
While we look for short routes to economic prosperity, we seem to forget that nothing comes easy in life. You reap what you sow. If you sow the seeds of crime, insecurity, and instability, what you get is a country on the edge of disintegration. If you spread the message that one region of the country has the divine power to produce a president forever and the other regions must play second fiddle to that one region, you are sowing the seeds of civil strife. The outcome usually is a country as broken as one that has emerged from a brutal civil war.
When you wonder why many people are compelled to commit horrendous crimes they would never have contemplated, you have to remember the human instinct for survival. In the race to keep our heads above water, everyone violates the law to remain alive. It is in that condition that some people do anything to survive. The number of people who live below the poverty line is rising. Worse still, the number of children who live below the poverty line has quadrupled. Parents cannot cater to the needs of their children, not to mention their own needs.
In the first quarter of the 21st Century, we are still tied up in debates over the region that should produce the president. That is why elections in Nigeria are fought like a deadly civil war, with supporters of winners and losers throwing punches and exchanging gunshots. When election results are announced, gang leaders erupt in anger. They do not tolerate results that do not favour their political candidates. When the Supreme Court overturned the election of Bayelsa State governor-elect on the eve of his swearing in, political thugs went on the rampage, destroying government property, including vehicles and offices of the state broadcasting corporation. That was a mindless way to express dissatisfaction over the Supreme Court ruling.
The destruction of state property will not affect the Supreme Court justices or the new governor or the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In the end, scarce funds will be used to repair or replace damaged property. People who lose their heads over election results are a danger to society. They add no value to our democratic system or to the quality of governance in their state.
When other countries talk about the beauty of democracy, we demonstrate the ugly side of democracy that is marked by violence, vote-buying, ballot box-snatching, intimidation of voters, thumb-printing of ballot papers even before election day, as well as shooting and killing of political opponents and election officials. Ours is still the primitive brand of democracy. It is the democracy that privileges politicians who disrupt election processes over those who uphold the rule of law.
Second Republic politician Waziri Ibrahim, the founder of the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP) in 1978, enunciated his political creed that advocated “politics without bitterness.” It was a slogan that quickly became popular in the public domain. Waziri Ibrahim used it not only to validate his unique style of politics but also to distinguish his party’s ideology from those of other political parties.
Waziri believed that, even in our tense political environment, it was still possible for politicians to practise refined politics without rancour, notwithstanding the abuses, yelling, taunts, and insults that symbolise political campaigns. Waziri was understandably ahead of his time. His political opponents did not heed his message but that did not discourage him from spreading his philosophy. Thankfully, his idea remains alive many years after his death.