It was interesting listening to two guests on a radio programme last Tuesday, talking on how possible a new Nigeria is at 60. For those young men, Nigeria which celebrated her 60 years of freedom from colonial rule yesterday, should not go on retirement, as a recent advert suggested, rather, there should be a renewal of the country through a positive change of the mindset of the citizens.
According to them, the vision of a new Nigeria can be realised, when individuals believe in themselves and in the country and are willing to make selfless sacrifices for the good and happiness of others; when we accept that we the citizens are the problem of the country and that the solution to these problems starts from us, the followers and not necessarily the leaders.
Indeed, how true they were! Often we have heaped the blame of the daunting challenges facing us as a nation on the handful of people at the corridors of power, forgetting that, as the saying goes, when you point a finger at a person, three fingers point at you. One is not trying to exonerate the leaders but the truth is that we the followers are not any better.
Imagine the trending story of how some citizens were destroying and stealing clips, bolts and knots on the yet-to-be-completed Lagos – Ibadan railway line. About 10,000 bolts and 50,000 clips are said to have been replaced, apparently by the construction company. It’s the same way some people steal cable wires, transformers and other property of the electricity companies. Electricity theft is now like a normal thing as both the high and low are involved in it. Even manhole covers on the roads are not spared.
In the offices, worship centres, hospitals, academic institutions, markets, among the artisans and people of other walks of life, the story is the same. Many see no wrong in committing crime including stealing from their organisations, cheating their fellow citizens, lying and other forms of corrupt practices. Our value system has completely eroded. An analyst had this to say about the situation of things in the country, “while we focus on the developing the “hardware” of life (super structures – buildings, bridges, skyscrapers), we tend to forget or ignore the software (character, moral, humanity) of the people that would man these structures.”
Yes, a new, better Nigeria is possible, but we must as a matter of priority begin to invest in human character development. The possibility of birthing a new nation starts from us as individuals. In our small circle of influence, we can elect to start that revolution and also determine to carry it into different levels of political leadership when we get the chance.  Definitely, the people we have in power will not be there forever, and if we do not begin now to reorientate ourselves and work on our value systems, the circle of corrupt, bad, self-centered, incompetent leadership we have had in the country in the last 60 years will continue and actions inimical to national unity will thrive.
It is said that it takes a people to build a nation and that when you fix a man, you fix a nation. With the abundant natural resources in the country, it takes a deliberate effort aimed at realigning our consciences, to build a nation of our dreams where our refineries shall work optimally and the issue of fuel importation and all its attendant consequences will be a thing of the past; where health tourism will not be associated with Nigeria because our health institution will be among the best in the world; where a Nigerian child in the village can attend primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in her locality and still compete favorably with graduates from other parts of the world because the money meant for education will be adequately deployed; where our roads will cease to be death traps; where clean water will flow from our taps and adequate power supply ceases to be a mirage.
However, to aid the actualisation of a new Nigeria vision, the wobbling structure of the nation must be worked on. Not a few persons have blamed the problems of the country on the type of federal system of government we run, which weakens the states and reposes enormous powers at the center. Recently, I stumbled upon an article credited to the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae, on the topic of restructuring. The incisive write-up explained restructuring as “going back to the Independence Constitution which our leaders negotiated with the British between 1957 and 1959. It was on that basis that the three regions agreed to go to Independence as one united country”.
This negotiated constitution, according to him, gave considerable autonomy to the regions. For instance, each region collected its revenue and contributed the agreed proportion to the centre.  The regions used to be federating units. Each region had its own constitution. With these, the regions were able to compete in a healthy manner. Incidentally, the military took over in 1966 and pushed aside the constitution, the negotiated agreement among the three regions, which was the foundation of a united Nigeria. They gave us the current constitution which has been faulted by various peoples and regions.
Therefore, in line with the theme of the diamond anniversary – “Together we shall be”, it is imperative that action which will truly make this unity possible be taken, one of which is restructuring along the six geo-political zones in the country. This and other recommendations of the 2014 National Conference should be implemented without delay. This will make room for rapid development of the country, quell the growing clamour for cessation by many ethnic groups and regions and give the entire citizens, members of various religious groups a sense of belonging.
Going back to the negotiated constitution will make us forge a more united and cohesive Nigeria. By our actions, both as the leaders and followers, greatness awaits this nation.

By: Calista Ezeaku