Attitude begets dignity, dignity begets respects. Mental attitude encompasses thoughts, perception, world view, rationality and the likes. It is an essential ingredient necessary for the upliftment of a nation. Without it, life is meaningless and unrewarding, somewhat sluggish, if not stagnant. The core of a nation’s destiny is how her citizens think and act. If they act rationally, the nation is on course to eldorado, if not the nation is doomed.
Our leaders despair, people we call our leaders exhibit traces of leadership fatigue. Nigerian leaders smell no aroma of a yielding hope for the present and future fate of this country. So, what should the led do? There is in Nigeria, outright pessimistic complacency by our leaders who will always see, think and act nothing good about our great country Nigeria. Some Nigerian leaders from their speeches and actions appear to be waiting for Nigeria’s dooms-day. May God embarrass them. In Nigeria, leaders at local, state and federal levels in their various political nomenclatures-President, Governors, Senators, House Of Representative members, Ministers, Commissioners, Local Government Chairmen, Councillors etc heap senseless vituperation on the fate of this great country without any sense of remorse. They cannot defend, protect and uphold all that Nigeria stands for as they swore to do. What should the led do?
To them, nothing seems to work or will ever work as far as the Nigerian entity is concern, which is why they approach and tackle fundamental situations with an acute sense of cavalier. The aftermath of this is a creeping condition. Leaders who should be beacon of hope have now metamorphosed into harbingers of vacuum. Have they no shame? In 1976, the then Obasanjo regime came up with an altruistic policy popularly known as Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), it could not account for the purpose it was set up because cynics see no future in it; Shagari's Green Revolution did not see the light of day simply because Nigerians, nay even the formulators had doubt that it will work. Then military president Ibrahim Babangida (as he likes to be called) postulated yet another fine programme he called Directorate for Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) as well as his economic policy of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) geared towards reviving an ailing economy and improving the living condition of Nigerians both at the urban and countryside, but yet again, the negative thoughts, attitudes and words of most Nigerians crash-landed the policy. Remember, words are life with invisible powers. How on earth will i forget how the vindictive civilian, former president Olusegun Obasanjo who promised Nigerians the heavens, especially giving Nigerians stable power supply but failed to do so because Nigerians and even himself saw it as impossible, so it became a wishful fantasy. Last December, the Federal government targeted 6000MW of electricity to ensure an improved power supply for one hundred and forty million power- thirsty Nigerians, it turned out to be just a pipe dream because of sense of doubt from the leaders and the led (Doubting Thomases). Nigerians see Prof Dora Akunyili's pet project of branding and rebranding the nation as a child's play that will lead to nowhere. Whereas, professor Akunyili’s rebranding initiative has a long standing positive result on this country, just as it was experienced in Nyerere’s Tanzania,Sankara’s Burkina Faso and Rawlings’s Ghana. Overtime we have perpetually seen ourselves as corrupt, dubious and notorious because our mental values have been encoded with negativity. Sadly so, this is how the world sees us.
Sometime ago, I was privileged to watch live proceedings in the House of Senate on NTA, but was shockingly disappointed in how some hopeless and leaderless senators cunningly uttered blasphemous, guile and silly things about this country. A country they swore to protect, defend and uphold at all times. Have they no shame? I was however consoled by the patriotic and sagacious Prof.Jubril Aminu, Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs who rebuked their foul-mouthedness. There is no country in the world where the led, let alone leaders openly abuse their country, not in the US, South Africa, Ghana, Afghanistan, or even earthquake- torn Haiti. Why must Nigeria's case be any different?
Year 2010 presents yet another opportunity for change, Nigerians (leaders and the led) must learn again to fly. We must start now to shape and reshape our sense of values and attitudes. Our mentality and judgements should begin now to undergo refurbishing for posterity sake. As the English Philosopher William James rightly states: "Humans (Nigerians) can change their lives through their mental attitude". Nigerian must know that their thoughts dignify them. Despite recent happenings, Nigeria is the conscience of Africa and a land capable of germinating great transformation. Nigerians (home and diaspora) , should, this year and beyond consciously imbibe the words of the French Philosopher and Sociologist Edgar Morin which says: "in the core of our singularity, we(Nigerians) carry not all the humanity, all the life, but also all the cosmos, including its mystery, present in the heart of our being. We(Nigerians) are creators, creator being, and in all sense, we(Nigerians) can create and recreate ourselves "Let us put this to test.
Mr.Lexzy Ochibejivwie,

Jeddo, near Warri.

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