I have been having very deep and patriotic reflections on our Nigerian society and I have this feeling that although we all want a just and egalitarian society where everything works for the comfort of all, but we as a people are not truly prepared to achieve the best standards of living and behavior for ourselves.
No society can achieve a good standard of comfort and development without adherence to the rule of law, fair play and justice.
No society can develop and grow where the application of the rule of law and due process are thrown overboard at the whims and caprices of those in power.
No society can develop where those who have responsibilities to do the right things do the wrong things and justify it as being right because they are in power.
No society can develop politically, economically and socially where leaders are intolerant of the truth and views of others.
No society can develop and grow where the followers see nothing wrong with what is wrong. No society can develop where we take ownership of wrongs and defend it because we are beneficiaries of those wrong things.
I see us the people as our own enemies. Both the leaders and the led have conspired to make us what we are now. The leaders are in most cases autocrats and want to always been worshipped. Truth have no place in our governance in all strata of the society. Leaders want to be praised and worshipped.
Even though we have beautiful sections in our constitution and other laws that guarantee freedom of speech and association, such freedoms exist only in theory.
In our clime, we have elevated leaders ideas which are contrary to law as better than law. In refusing to follow the law, we have set dangerous precedents for anarchy and disharmony within the system.
Check Nigerians in positions, either in politics, in religious cycles and professional associations, they have one thing in common.
They see themselves as demigods and assumes this all knowing attitude. They don’t want to be corrected. They see the rest of us as sub-humans. They are intolerant of ideas of others who do not sing their praises. Once you don’t share their points of views you are branded as enemies who must be pulled down or avoided at all costs.
Even in the professional association of learned men and women, like NBA, you see sycophancy at display. Where great ideas of others are not respected there are bound to be crisis. In a good society those who offer critical opinions for due processes to be followed are better than those who worship the leaders and see nothing bad in what is bad.
For our society to be better we must allow and be tolerant of not only the opinions of others but the persons of others too.
That is the only way we can have peace and stability.
Above all there must be an acceptable standard boundaries that must not be crossed and those who crossed it must be punished according to law without discriminations.
J.S.Okutepa, SAN Reflects On Leadership Style
