Twitter NG was Thursday abuzz with quotes of former Anambra Governor, Peter Obi, on the state of the nation; especially with reference to banditry.
The 2019 Vice Presidential candidate who was speaking at a book launch for Professor Stella Okunna, a former commissioner in Anambra, faulted the alleged payment of ransoms to rescue persons abducted by bandits in the northern part of the country.
Lamenting the criminal system which he said currently thrives in the country, Obi stressed that Nigeria is not progressing because bandits are being rewarded, while lecturers are owed salaries.
True to Obi’s assertion, it’s a sad development that an abundantly blessed country like Nigeria (both in human and natural resources) would still be stuck on local issues as banditry, farmer-herder crises, kidnapping and the likes, when it should be setting the pace for the continent in technological advancement.
We must be honest with ourselves however, that this sleeping giant would never rise to its place where it intellectuals are second fiddles to thugs and various criminal elements. One can hardly over-emphasise the urgent need for forthright leadership at this critical time of our history, but it remains a collective duty of everyone to see that these anomalies are speedily addressed.
What do we show the millions of young people in our schools as the reward for those who pursue learning instead of crime and choose to be law-abiding even when aggrieved or dissatisfied with the state of things?
Education is the bedrock of transformation in any serious society and must be given its due place, while scholars must be encouraged to offer solutions to our numerous challenges; and this has to start from paying them ‘living wages.’
“Nigeria will not succeed if we continue asking bandits to come to a meeting, and we are not calling professors to a meeting. That is why the country is where it is today,” Obi said. What’s more to be said:
Bring an end to this “teacher dey work, bandit dey chop” system now!
Temidayo Taiwo-Sidiq is a Journalist, Political Analyst and Satirist with major interest in Nigerian Politics, Governance and Sports.
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