UMAHI AND THE NIGERIAN SHIP

As fierce storms continue to assail the Nigerian ship, it appears that Ebonyi State Governor Mr. Dave Umahi lives on another planet. From utterances that curdle the blood to actions that make the stomach churn, the governor goes about doing his stuff not minding whose ox is gored.

Ordinarily, this would not have been a problem but the fact that Mr. Umahi occupies one of the more struggling states in Nigeria`s volatile south-east which has become the hotbed of resurgent IPOB agitations.

Mr Umahi swept to power on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015 but for many years he gave off the impression of one who runs with the hare and hunts with the hound. He has since officially decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress from the opposition PDP, and only recently, he paid glittering tributes to Nigeria`s president Mr. Muhammadu Buhari and prayed that come 2023, the country will be blessed with a leader of similar sapience. The comments rankled not a few Nigerians.

Feelers from Ebonyi State say that Mr. David Umahi is transforming the infrastructure of one of Nigeria`s poorest states. If that is true, then, he must be bringing to bear his training as an engineer to governance which is a good thing. But Nigerian leaders do not lack in technical expertise and what Nigerians lack is not just infrastructure.

In fact, as events in the country continue to unfold at breakneck pace, leadership in Nigeria is crying out for those who know the truth about Nigeria`s truly precarious situation and are willing to say it freely and fearlessly.

As Nigeria has wheeled towards the precipice especially in the last 22 years, truth has become harder to come by. Those who by virtue of their positions and power have a unique opportunity to live and speak the truth in service of Nigeria`s poorest prefer the shelter of lies and falsehood. Those who have found themselves in situations to administer truth to Nigeria like a medicine have cited survival and convenience as reasons to cower behind the flimsiness of falsehood.

So Nigeria suffers from a leprosy of lies. Under the heavy gunfire of Boko Haram terrorists, swirling allegations that they have active and passive sympathizers in the highest places are swept under the carpet. In the flood of falsehood threatening to sweep away the future of Nigerian children, communities are ripped apart by killers and the perpetrators never brought to account. In the hail of hubris and hypocrisy threatening to tear out the heart of the country, even some religious and traditional leaders prevaricate. Their counterparts in the media take to mendacity, electing to read into lines things that are not there. In the legislature, legislation has become a lance with which imaginary enemies are pierced. In the judiciary, justice has become a jamboree for the unjust.

So Nigeria struggles. With leaders like Umahi who claim to speak for the people but in reality are in total disconnect from them, Nigeria is stretched to breaking point. A stifling lack of accountability for actions that gravely imperil the poorest children and their families suffocate the country. So does the treacherous lack of transparency that makes it easy for public funds to feather private nests.

Nigeria has lived a lie for far too long. This lie has sprouted roots in the questions it asks of the country`s cohesion, coexistence, federalism, security and international relations. It is time to confront the truth about Nigeria`s viability and continuity as a country. This salubrious confrontation can only be done under the harsh searchlights of truth and justice. To do this, Umahi and his fellow governors must abandon the Utopia where they live and enter the trenches where the battle for Nigeria`s soul must be waged vigorously.

Kene Obiezu, Abuja