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On October 1st 2002, Nigeria celebrated her 42nd Independent Anniversary in a grand style with nothing to actually prove our existence as a sovereign nation. Since Nigeria independence in 1960, we have virtually got nothing to juxtapose the Nigeria of today and of the 50s. Gone are the days when we had leaders that actually ready to look after us: the days to reckon with in the history of Nigeria’s development and advancement: the days when the first television station in the whole continent of Africa was commissioned in Ibadan: the days when Papa Awolowo (of blessed memory) introduced first and ever best free education throughout the Western Region of Nigeria. The days when without oil, government had enough money to better the lives of Nigerians: the days when our economy was almost in the same pace with that of England and many other developed countries, when one naira equalled one pound. But since then, what have we got from our new bred and hungry politicians? Have we got any one to consolidate the feat achieved by the likes of late Pa Awolowo, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe and others? The most painful aspect of it all is that our present politicians who are supposed to plan the way out of this mess are only legislating and executing projects meant for their stomachs. Our present political leaders are too insentive to lead people and are not ready to save the life of millions of Nigerians dying of starving. No wonder all these calamities are befalling the country. And still, they are seeking for means to contest for second term despite the fact that they all performed below par. It always leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth to know that both Federal Houses of Assembly (Upper and Lower) harboured the crème-de-la-crème in corruption and robbery industries. From analytical point of view, government should always look back to see where they have gone wrong. Most of the government officials including Obasanjo himself who were seen travelling all over the world just like locust should stop as from this moment. They should for God sake, stay at home to address the mounting domestic problems of the country because the situation in the country needs urgent remedy. We produced oil just like pure water and yet there is nothing to justify the millions of barrels of oil Nigeria exports on daily basis. How are we going to survive when our buccaneer leaders are not ready to look after us---but just dabble into the ventures that can fetch them money meant to be pocketed. Most of our emerging politicians are corrupt, criminal etc and they belong to aristocracy of Nigerians, the ones I severely despise and the kind of breed we need to kick out of our country’s political arena just like the France did in French revolution of the 18th century. Our politicians endorsed corruption, embezzlement and mismanagement, and then wondered why Nigeria has not moved forward since independence. They looted our fund and milked our treasury to dry, and then turned a blind eye to the striking poverty in Nigeria (of which they are the major cause) and acted like poor and innocent people. They are vermin---the main enemies of the country.Nigerians though, had planted corruption long ago and now are consumed by the result. No doubt, the wind of corruption that is blowing in the country is affecting all the states in the country and I keep on thinking, how and when Nigeria will move forward while these “criminals” are still in the system. The inability of our present political leaders to find solutions to the problem of corruption in Nigeria is a “big failure”. And, it will remain with us, since our past leaders have inadvertently overlooked them.Taking a look at education in Nigeria, it is so cheap that it’s worth paying for and exorbitant amount of money is always charged on students before they graduate. Not only that, they encounter the problem of unemployment immediately they completed their one year National Service, and this and other factors enabled them to indulge in robbery and other offensive and outrageous activities. Many of the armed robbers are graduates of recognised institution of learning with good command of English but there is no place for them to work and put what they have been taught into practice. How are they going to survive having written applications time without number and never be considered even once?Social amenities in Nigeria are insufficient for the people. There is no good running water, good health care, good road and communication network in most of our cities. Our people depend not even only on second-hand goods but “fourth-hand” goods to sustain their life. While people at the helms of affairs are physically and mentally sound and having their meal three times in a day, millions of ordinary Nigerians in most Nigerian towns and villages can not proud of having their meal even twice in a day. It is never done anywhere in this modern world. The moment political leaders of developed countries discovered mismanagement and inefficiency, they resign and hand over the government to those considered capable enough. But the reverse is the case in Nigeria, as our leaders will not resign but devise means of re-contesting and winning the election for the second term despite the fact that they all performed below average. Who will save us from these hungry politicians?It is high time we stood up and forced government to look back to see where they have gone wrong. As Nigerians prepares towards the forthcoming general election, we should learn from our past mistakes and vote for competency, efficiency, ability, honesty, transparency and accountability.Hafiz Adisa.