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F R O M T H E E D I T O R S D E S K
ARISE, O COMPATRIOTS!

A PERSONAL CALL TO A BETTER NIGERIA

A M U T A P E T E R A G A D A

n his speech on March 10th, 2018, the former president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari said:
"It is safe to say today that honesty, hardwork, godliness have given way to all kinds of
Imanifestations of lawlessness and degeneration in our national life. This is why we have as
our cardinal objective 'change', which implies the need for a change of attitude and mindset in
our everyday lives.... Our citizens must realise that the change they want to see begins with
them.... If you have not seen the change in you, you cannot see it in others or even the larger
society."

In spite of the fact that for a long time now, the problems of Nigeria have been solely linked to
her leaders and to the government, the fact remains that even the civilians are a part of the
country's problems as much as her leaders. The focal problem of the country hinges greatly on
the attitudes and thought patterns of the individual Nigerian, be they leaders or subjects.
Many Nigerians are personal interest-inclined, undisciplined and unpatriotic. This appears to
be the foundation of our problems as a nation. A lot of Nigerians are not ready to take the bull
by the horn when it comes to responsibility and commitment to the affairs and problems of
Nigeria. They readily hide under the pretext of "the country is bad" "the economy is unfriendly"
"our leaders are corrupt" etc. in perpetrating evils for their selfish interests, in being unpatriotic
to the good of Nigeria. But tell me: are the leaders the ones kidnapping and killing
indiscriminately? Are they the ones increasing prices unnecessarily in the market? Are they
the ones carrying out cultism, prostituting, acts of religious fanaticisms, immorality, cyber-
fraud to mention but a few? Yes, we might say these things are effects of a cause or causes;
most probably the effects of a hard economy and poor leadership. But come on Nigerians!
These are mere excuses to some extent. Two wrongs can never make a right; you cannot fight
fire with fire.

The fact is that even those who are leaders now were once part of the masses. Is it that the
assent to leadership office is necessarily the only avenue to
become corrupt, to become selfish? Someone once said the
only difference between a petty thief and a politician who
embezzles billions is opportunity. The earlier we realise that
our problems lie in our mindsets and attitudes as Nigerians,
the sooner we begin to sort ourselves and our national
problems out. Things are already hard for us, let us not make
it any harder for ourselves.

It is on this note that the Gadfly Magazine vol. 17 of 2023/2024
Academic session seeks to call on every Nigerian to begin
“change” at the individual level, to contribute their own
quota in building Nigeria, so as to make patriotism a reality.
As a popular Nigerian artiste, African China would sing: "Mr
president lead us well, if you be governor, govern us well, if you
be senator senate am well, if you be police, police well well no
dey take bribe.", I would say on a general note: "if you be citizen,
citizen well, do your part" and the country will be better. This
edition contains articles that touch on security, politics,
economy, culture, morality and much more. Iwish you
a fruitful and enjoyable reading as you voyage
through these elating ideas from great minds.