TheCable

Ramaphosa did cut shot an official visit to Egypt over a mere electricity crisis, something that Nigerians have been romancing for decades. When presidents of the nations of the earth cut short their official visits to foreign lands over issues that Nigerians have been courting for decades, I am usually in awe of them. Even if 1000people are killed in Nigeria, official visits can never be cut short, because politicians in Nigeria are rarely in power for the common man.

It is amazing and astounding that Cyril did cut short his official visit to Cairo as an effect of “load-shedding” in the past six days! Not long, I was talking to a friend who has been on generator for about four years in Ogun State, Nigeria, West Africa. If Nigerians can have what South Africans are complaining and agitating about, we would have truly become the giant of Africa.

The truth is; it is the kind of unfavorable environment that Nigerians grew in that makes them succeed wherever they find themselves. South Africans are agitating that “scheduled power cuts” pose a threat to their economy whereas Nigerians have been running their businesses under the weight of unscheduled power cuts and complete power-outage that lasts for weeks and months! Like my religious people would say, South Africans truly do not know what God has done for them, justifying evil and mediocrity.

When White people were in power in South Africa, I doubt if what’s happening now did happen then. For the umpteenth time, I opine that Black folks cannot lead themselves. Apart of Rwanda that has a semblance and appearance of leadership, show me another country in Africa that is doing well. Since the Black man took over the rein of power in South Africa, I doubt if that country is as solid as it was when the White man was in power.

Until you either travel or read through what’s happening in other sane countries, you wouldn’t know that we are being led as animals in Nigeria. What citizens of other nations complain and agitate about, Nigerians go to religious centers to share testimonies about them.

What is causing traffic gridlock in South Africa is load-shedding, not the kind of ugly-looking-roads we are having in Nigeria. If we do have the kind of roads they are having in South Africa, with “scheduled power-cuts,” we would be fine. I think South Africans need to come to Nigeria to come learn how to run businesses without electricity.

John Steenhuisen, leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance led a picket outside Eskom headquarters and it is not in the news that they were brutalized by those who work with Ramaphosa. Also, Steenhuisen should thank his star for not being a Nigerian, because it is those who are living in ‘darkness’ who will first tell him that he should even thank God that baba has decided to have mercy on us to lead. After this, if Steenhuisen were an Igbo man, Hausa folks would have risen against him that he is protesting because he hates baba, being a Fulani man. This is the evil we have been living with since the birth of Nigeria. Shallow-Politics, ignoble-tribalism and dead-religion tower above patriotism!

Nigeria will never truly move forward until the voiceless people of Nigeria get to realize that our professional-politicians have succeeded in dividing them along many unproductive and infertile lines. Until we all come together as one, we will never have true arrow-heads to lead us as a people into our pre-ordained destiny. Until we come together as one, we will continue to worship our enemies, kicking against our friends.

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa responded to criticism by cutting short his official visit to Cairo, showing that he respects his people. And yesterday, he began to meet with relevant people on how to solve the problem that is threatening to throw South Africa into an uncontrollable crisis. Being in Cairo while his house was burning would send the wrong signals to the whole world. Other world leaders may not say it, but they will know that he lacks empathy and anyone who is not empathic is not fit to be a leader in this day and time. I think our president needs to pick a lesson from what’s transpiring in the Republic of South Africa.

It is clear as water that our leaders do not respect our people a hoot. This is the major reason our people are not being respected beyond the shores of Nigeria and this also speaks volume about the breed of people in leadership here. Like baba, Ramaphosa also has people in-charge of their electric power supply, but he still needed to return home to honor his people. I expected PMB to also let the ‘dead bury their dead’ in Cairo, returning home—as an effect of the whole country being thrown into total darkness because of the strike action that was discontinued in the wee hours of today. But like we say it in Lagos, it seems baba do not send anyone. When leaders do not respect those they are leading, it will be fraudulent to ask those they are leading to respect them. In nation building, respect is usually reciprocal!