One man can do it

2026-03-18 - 23:43

By SUNNY IKHIOYA Nigerians have developed an ‘I don’t care ‘ attitude towards governance. You can call it apathy, but do you blame them? They have waited with indifference for the actualisation of the renewed hope agenda. Some of us have become incurable pessimists who do not believe anything good can come out of our politicians. They do not listen to the news anymore as no inspiration comes out of that side. The politicians, on their part, are very happy with the situation, gloating over the complete capture of the people and their resources. It is not about the people anymore. The insatiable greed of our leaders must be assuaged. At the moment, the whole country is in darkness, except for the privileged few running on Band A, solar panels and inverters. When I read that electricity generating companies rejected the Federal Government offer to forfeit 50 per cent of N5 trillion debt settlement, I knew something was about to give way. According to the news: “Power generation companies, GenCos, in Nigeria have rejected a Federal Government proposal to pay only 50 per cent of the... legacy debts owed to them. The Association of Power Generating Companies of Nigeria, APGC, warned that this “50 per cent haircut” proposal could destroy the sector, deter investors, and force firms out of business.” This came out in the dailies of November 24, 2025. Not quite two months after that, the nation has been in continuous darkness. It happened in our telecommunications sector. We had intermittent disruptions, and everybody was blaming it on the low cost of tariff, infrastructure, and the rest of them. They even had to convince the respected Bismarck Rewane to campaign for them; and not long after that campaign, the government conceded to the request of the telecoms barons to increase tariff. We are witnessing a repeat of the same strategy. Government is being arm twisted, and unless it concedes to the request of the GenCos, the situation as regards power supply will remain the same. Nobody is talking about infrastructure, maintenance, grid structuring, revenue leakages, and others. All they are concerned about is more tariff for the people. We have said it severally: make power stable and the people will be willing to pay tariffs; you do not go about arm- twisting the government and making the whole country live in darkness to prove your point. We have never witnessed such incompetence, even in the era of the infamous NEPA. It is not about money. It is simply a question of leadership and the drive to achieve the common good for the people. For us pessimists, there is hope for the people, and this hope is anchored on the leadership of one man. Just one man can do it, and if you doubt it, go to Abia State and study the leadership model of Governor Alex Otti. He has totally debunked the belief that lack of money or resources is the cause of our problems; our challenges are purely man-made, and until we put the right leadership in position we will continue to chase shadows. I have never met Alex Otti before, and neither have I been privileged to have any communication with him, but his works speak eloquently for him. This is a message I received from my South-East Oga, Mr David Amadi. “My dear Sunny, I visited Aba today to check on my late brother’s family. This is happening after my last visit of five years ago. I could not easily believe what I saw. Aba is now a big and very beautiful city, all over. The whole thing is like a snake that has sloughed itself of the old or dead skin. This achievement by the governor was done in less than three years in office. One can easily see how criminal leaders had short-changed the people and greedily enriched themselves beyond imagination. Extending this to the entire country, one can see where, by now, the whole country should have been if well managed. How I wish you were in Aba yourself to confirm what I am saying. May God help this country from rogue leaders.” This is a message from somebody who is far removed from governance and politics, an unbiased assessment. I had not fully digested that one when I saw another one in the social media titled “I Am Ashamed” by someone who claims to have written from Wahala Reports. This is what he wrote: “I am ashamed. Not because Nigeria is poor. Not because we lack oil, farmland, or brilliant minds. I am ashamed because one state has just proven that compassion is possible—and 35 others have been caught naked in their indifference.....While Abia State’s Governor Alex Otti signs into law a historic Senior Citizens Welfare Law—guaranteeing every Abia elder aged 60 and above a monthly stipend, free comprehensive healthcare, annual medical check-ups, and dignified support until death—what are the rest of you doing?....Do not insult us with ‘we don’t have money.’ “Abia doesn’t have oil. Abia doesn’t have seaports. Abia doesn’t have the federal largesse you enjoy. Yet Abia chooses humanity. Abia chooses memory. Abia says: ‘Those who built this land shall not die forgotten.’ This is not charity. This is justice delayed. For decades, our elders paid taxes, raised children, farmed land, taught in schools, and kept faith—only to be discarded like used wrappers when their strength fades. And we watched. We normalised it. We called it ‘Nigerian hardship’. But Abia has shattered that lie. Governor Otti did not wait for Abuja. He did not blame inflation. He did not hide behind committees. He looked at his people—his mothers, his fathers—and said: ‘You deserve dignity.’ So I ask again: Where is your law? If you govern a state, collecting billions monthly—as most of you do—then your silence is not oversight. It is moral treason. To every governor reading this: Your legacy will not be your flyovers or your new secretariat. It will be how you treated the voiceless. The wrinkled hands that once held this nation together now tremble in hunger while you commission bronze statues of yourselves. Abia has drawn a line in the sand. On one side: leaders who serve. “On the other: looters who rule. Choose your side. Because I am ashamed—not of Nigeria, but of the men who wear power like a stolen agbada while our elders sleep hungry. I AM ASHAMED. And I end with this: If your state can fund a new governor’s lodge, a fleet of SUVs, or another vanity flyover—yet cannot guarantee food, medicine, and dignity for its elders... then whose blood is on your hands?” All we need at the top is just one man who can do the job. •Ikhioya wrote via: www.southsouthecho.com