subject: LET INTEGRITY RULE [print this page] LET INTEGRITY RULE LET INTEGRITY RULE
Integrity as an attribute is synonymous with God and a relative of sincerity of purpose, clarity of vision and unwavering convictions. Integrity does not pretend and does not retract its words because it thinks before it speaks and looks well before it leaps.
Integrity has conscience hence it does not falter. It is sagacious, brave and bold. Its foundation is sure and it stands like Mount Zion. Integrity believes in itself and does not prevaricate. For the fact that it is not flippant, it hardly deceives. Integrity is as certain as sunrise and sunset, as day and night and as winter and summer.
Integrity is not self-serving and seeks to preserve equity. In any society where integrity rules, there is orderliness, purposefulness and prosperity. The reason is that it brings all the productive forces in that society into a positive synergy that propels such a society politically, economically, socially etc.
If you don't know, the glory of Europe and America is just integrity. With it, the Europeans and Americans could deal with corruption, entrench a durable democratic culture, credible electoral process, equitable distribution of the common wealth and good governance.
But this cannot be said about Africa where leaders always renege in lack of integrity. Because most African leaders lack integrity they cannot take decisions and stand by it even when they are hurt due to such. That encouraged the institution of the culture of anything goes which so far has been very unproductive.
In Nigeria presently, political activities are in top gear preparatory to next year's general election and it is wonderful the kind of pronouncements and promises being made by politicians especially the aspirants and the so-called godfathers but only if such will be fulfilled.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and political parties are also promising heaven and earth. True, quite a great deal is expected from Professor Jega but I think it would be better for him to be a silent achiever and allow Nigerians and posterity to score him than make promises that may never be delivered tomorrow God forbid.
The same is applicable to President Goodluck Jonathan. At the moment, he is busy visiting the states, dining with the so to speak, principal officers but still apprehensive because of the bomb scare. In fact, the security around him has been quite tight to the extent that he is now complaining.
While in Bayelsa State, he lamented that his security detail did not allow him to see the people he would have loved to. Well, he must learn to live with that at least as he remains the president.
That aside, he has been busy talking, making promises, changing clothes or didn't you notice for each state he visited, he will round off with a new attire that is peculiar to the state or region but that is not my problem. The issue rather is his utterances.
I want to believe that the promises he has been making are not merely spur-of-the-moment pronouncements and which stand no chance of being fulfilled.
When he visited Imo State, he promised to restore peace to the State's chapter of the ruling party but so far nothing seems to have happened in that direction and the enmity between the New Face Organization and the Alliance has deepened to the extent that the immediate past governor of the State, Chief Achike Udenwa had to apologize to Imo people for opposing Araraume in 2007 and enthroning the present Governor, Ikedi Ohakim in the process.
But is it true that without Udenwa's support, it would have been difficult for the incumbent to have crossed the bridge of Arararume? Did such support come without any appendages?
Going by his utterances, it does appear that Chief Achike Udenwa whom I respect so much miscalculated and could not establish the true nature of the present governor before giving what some now call "wholesale support." Perhaps he had personal scores to settle with Araraume then; and if it is true, has that been done? How are we sure that things will not fall apart again between them tomorrow? On the other hand, was the immediate past governor cajoled into giving Ohakim the unqualified support by certain superior powers much against his wish?
Whatever may be the case, the fact is that he supported Ohakim then and it could be that somehow along the line, Ohakim could not serve his i.e. Udenwa's interests and trouble started.
Fellow Nigerians, now you can clearly see what I mean. These politicians are there to protect their selfish interests only and in their game, there are no permanent enemies and so long as their interests are met anything goes and that is lack of integrity.
Now, what if Ohakim becomes a born-again politician tomorrow by doing Udenwa's dictates, will he still regret supporting him in 2007?
For all I know, the Alliance Group is a plot contrivance by strange bedfellows whose only uniting point is the resolve to teach Ohakim some lessons and the moment that is done, there may not be anything like Alliance again, I want to be proved wrong.
Nevertheless, I advise Governor Ohakim not to be too hard and harsh. He may have been accused of being nonchalant and this could be true to an extent. Please get reflective and understand that it is all about give-and-take while not compromising the common good.
Although, Ohakim could be right in his stance but there are operative dynamics in the political terrain, which cannot be ignored.
Imo State should be saved from this endless trouble.
At the national level, the one called Atiku is also making promises. Do you know, he is doing this in full-page newspaper advertorials but if Atiku has integrity, he should not have left the PDP to form the Action Congress (which now has a new appellation with the addition of Nigeria to its name) and yet abandoned it again to rejoin the PDP because he perceived that Bola Tinubu was stealing the show from him.
Fellow Nigerians, a man of this nature who does not have integrity in my estimation, cannot be entrusted with the governance of the nation.
At 50, Nigeria as a nation has come of age and this implies that we must learn how to do things right and as 2011 is approaching, the nation needs a calibre of leaders who will speak or decide and stand by it, whether good or bad eventually.
We must allow integrity to rule not only in politics but also in businesses, in the offices, in our homes etc if Nigeria is to become truly great.
