Give Us A Churchill By Olusola Ajiboye

When a Nation is derailing from the path of order, citizens scout for a leader to bail her out of troubles. The fools among them resign to fate, while beneficiaries of the rot or evil, work against restoration of order and good government. The evil enablers rather prefer the status quo to remain while the rest of the people perish in poverty and despair.

It is clear that Nigeria is in deep shit today as all irdices of good government are fast disappearing, while the well-being of her 250 billion population hangs in the balance. Who can rescue Nigeria from deep troubled waters as her ship flounders forwards the Iceberg? Who do we beckon on, to get Her ill-navigated ship to a safe harbor?

It does not appear that Nigeria is in short supply of men and women who can fix her, but it is apparent that access by capable hands to leadership positions is constantly buffetted by powers that are intransigent to responsibility and patriotism.

The story is a constant denial of commitment and courage to defend the country against interests that are inimical to her progress and survival.
As millions of Nigerians are ridden rough-shod by few mindless oligarchs, cries of a beleaguered citizens radiate and attract global pity and shame to an otherwise prosperous Nation. Hope for progress is running dim and casting serious doubts on the country’s survival. Beg your pardon if I sound alarmist, but do not dismiss my worries. This is not a summation of a country in doom, but do one assess the quagmire into which Nigeria has been rail-roaded, particularly in the last seven and the half years?
Experts are confused as they rack their egg-heads for diagnoses of the problems that now expose the country to existential threats. The economic indices are bad such that the future of Africa’s most populous Nation is gloomy. In a span of seven years, Nigeria’s economy has tumbled down the ladder of prosperity to abject poverty
A saga of Africa’s largest economy to that of poverty capital of the world. A tale of unprecedented foreign divestment by companies with major foreign contents closing shop, where sizeable number of Indigenous investors have either relocated to better climes and in the process, push the economy into greater recession.

A good example is the Aviation sector currently being stiffened of finances with the result that major players have scaled or shut down operations over government default in remitting Six Hundred Million dollars ($600,000,000) ticketing revenues.

The Nation’s external reserve has plummeted to Fifteen billion dollars ($15,000,000,000) with excess Crude Oil revenue daily reduction to a paltry Three Hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) from Twelve Billion, One Million dollars ($12,100,000) in 2015.

The Federal Government is like the proverbial “Debt dresser” shopping the globe for additional credits even with a staggering debt stock of Fifty Trillion Naira (N50,000,000,000,000) without the capacity to service due interests on loans obtained, even as second quarter loan interest are due for service while government is likely to default on honouring the interests.

The economic quagmire is more than a Trojan Horse for a country without the capacity to service due interests on loans obtained, even as second quarter loan interests are due for service while government is likely to default on honoring.

Nigeria sinks into deep holes of debts incurred to meet domestic and external expenditures – The Nations Reserve Bank (Central Bank of Nigeria) has within the two term-span of the Buhari Administration become a spring of insolvency rather than an Institution of financial balancing and fountain of wealth for Nigeria.

The CBN is no longer a replenishing vault to keep the economy alive and healthy. No thanks to a staggering Twenty Trillion Naira (N20,000,000,000,000) incurred debts by the Federal Government with debts on intervention programmes accounting for Four Trillion, Seven Billion Naira (N4,700,000,000,000).

The Federal Government’s financial management incompetence has reversed all the economic gains it inherited and instead, turned the country into a global debtor, fast losing the capacity to fend for herself.

A whopping Thirteen Trillion, Seventeen Billion Naira (N13,017,000,000,000) eaten up in debts servicing, an unprecedented hiper – Inflation rate of 19.64%, {the highest in eighteen (18) years}, and unemployment rate of 33.3% percent in the 2nd quarter of this financial year have further compounded the misery of Nigerians and made the country the world poverty capital.
Nothing can be more disheartening and hope-erroding as government exhibits its incapability and non-commitment to salvage the deplorable situation it puts Nigeria today.

Hope dims on the Nation’s path to recovery largely because the Buhari Administration is most unaccountable – Massive thefts of Crude Oil revenues average One billion, Nine Million dollars ($1,009,000,000) per day, with Eighteen Billion, Three Hundred and Ninety seven Million Naira (N18,397,000,000) spent daily subsidy on domestic consumption of petrol which has become a subject or doubts and controversies.

A demonstration of the government crass management incapability is the reckless handling or recovered loots to the tune of Three Trillion, Five Billion Naira (N3,005,000,000,000), which it claims were expended on public infrastructure in flagrant violation of Due – process and accountability without commensurate derivables.

Serial pillaging of resources, genocidal extermination of citizens, large scale destruction of properties have continued unabated and every day, Nigerians are pushed into poverty and hopelessness.
The bizarre style of governance which has failed to answer the serial challenges by a government on its exit point bring to bear, the urgent need to search for a leader that is adequate to the situation.

Who is the man so desperately needed at this trajectory of Nigeria’s history? Does the stuff exists at the moment? Can this system produce such a leader?
Nations which have experienced or passed through desperate situations similar to ours had searched and gotten such unique men to salvage them from crashing down to destruction.
Nigeria is not in a war situation but in the grip of Internecine religious and ethnic conflicts that have pushed her to the precipe/Cliff.

Great Britain at the peak of desolation unleashed on her by Nanzi Germany prayed, searched and got a leader in Wiston – Churchill, who was a man possessed of rare adaptive qualities or attributes.

A military genius, an intellectual diplomat, and Administrator, Wiston – Churchill fitted the bill and got Britain out of the harrowing quagmire of economic decimation that the Hitler Invading Aramada brought. With Wiston – Churchill as war time British prime minister the Queens’ Imperial Nation survived the German onslaught.
I believe Nigeria in dire straits now needs a Wiston – Churhill to salvage her floundering ship. Am however compelled to revisit my initial questions bothering on whether such a man of stern – Qualities like the British prime Minister exists in Nigeria at the moment and if the system can produce him.

The next president of Nigeria surely has more than a Yeoman’s job to assuage Nigerians who have been brow-beaten into a state of socio-economic and political subterfuge by a government that is a victim of its own weaknesses.
Nigeria surely requires a Man – Machine who may not slumber nor sleep and who is expected to marshall all his faculties to confront daunting challenges at every sector.