A former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has blamed the docility of Nigerians for the inability of the country to get the right form of leadership. He also criticized a former Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Usman, for allegedly putting out false narratives in her book.
Amaechi was speaking at the 2023 TheNiche Annual Lecture, themed “Why We Stride and Slip: Leadership, Nationalism, and the Nigerian Condition,” held on Thursday in Lagos, where he was a special guest.
According to him, Nigerians know most politicians are not honest but they still go ahead and vote for them during elections. He said Nigerians choose who to believe and who not to believe and do not react to anything. He wondered why he should waste his time speaking when there was nothing new to say.
The former governor of Rivers State also slammed Usman for her book titled “Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority.” He said the book contained many lies and accused her of giving waivers to prominent Nigerians without authorization. He said he had a memo from the president endorsing her removal and a panel report indicting her of various offenses.
Meanwhile, below is what @firstladyship wrote on Twitter about Rotimi Amechi’s lecture…
Rotimi Amaechi’s belated Sermon is why the Obidients fight. When you listen to that whole lecture, you quickly understand why many of us are angry, you get it immediately. That was probably (the first attempt by an Elite) at summarizing the Nigerian Situation.
It is not okay, but that’s your present situation. All he said in that video is WHY we fight & WHAT we fight for. Amaechi may not be the right messenger, but he delivered the message. He said the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
“Tell me that Buhari was a failure, without saying it.” That is what Ameachi has done. He carefully avoided mentioning names, but he delivered the message.
Nigeria could be burning, & someone somewhere is discussing the different sizes of yansh in the market. Nigerians are hardly moved by bad news nowadays. People compartmentalize, many have created a mental picture of their own Nigeria. Their coping mechanism became online cruise. Who would blame them? Nigerians grew tired of broken promises.
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However, the Obidients are the ones that never gave up; we saw the light, & marched ahead of the band, cheerleading a NEW NIGERIA that is POssible. We are the only hope of a Nigeria that became HOPELESS!
Nigeria is dying, without us? Nigeria is gone for good. Nigerians are not ready to take back their country. They’ll rather attack David Hundeyin & people like us. When presented with The Alternative, people stick with their oppressors. It’s a hard life Nigerians are living.
When pushed to the wall, Nigerians enter the wall. When presented with a plethora of evidences or cold hard facts, they gloss over it, catch cruise & continue with Wizkid vs Davido. Who would blame them? Education is gone.
If you want to systematically destroy a nation, lower the standard of education & change the value system.
This is the current fate of Nigeria as a state. Criminality is now rife. It’s the whiff of money; “get rich or die trying.” Been born a Nigerian, life already led you 10-nil. In Nigeria, life is hard, you don’t want a missed call.
Many die, others count their losses. The cross movement of statistics of horror is staggering. Our hope is that someday, somehow, our victory will trump the brutality.
Nigeria represent the many ways that people can die. ‘He’ offers you misery or death, choose, it matters not to Nigeria.
Your country is a wreckage underwater. Escape is a forlorn hope, survival is your only priority. My only hope is that someday, somehow, Nigerians will wake up & chase their politicians to Kuvikiland.
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Amaechi’s belated sermon is that of ‘Learned Helplessness.’ It represent the various ways that underdogs can lose. Nigerians are a conquered people. Humiliated, on their knees defeated, people can do nothing.
Nigerians will continue to live in peace under great fear. In what can be described as the “Pax Nigeriana,” or Nigerian Peace.
Much of the known world had Revolutions at some point. China, America, France, Germany, Russia, etc, Class War is an age-long question, as old as History itself. In the small circle of proletariat camaraderie, people began to envisage revolt. In the twinkling of an eye, age-long Dynasties came to a close.
Nigeria has never been a Democracy. A clever people your ‘political elites’ are! They did not keep all the powers to themselves. They gave back some of their powers to the traditional & religious leaders.
All arms of goverment are carefully maintained, Nigerians keep on voting, the legislature & the courts continues to sit. And that is how your Democracy died out, without any proclamation. Ruler of no ruler, Nigeria will remain a Semi-colonial, Semi-feudal state.
Until ordinary Nigerians (the lowest of the society) push for REAL CHANGE with one voice, & jettison the greed, the religious & ethnic colorations, Nigeria will remain an asylum; a menagerie for wild beasts.
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