When Slogan Replaces Real Nation-Building

When Slogan Replaces Real Nation-Building

Restructuring becomes Another Scam...

Don Kenobi Argues: A problem well defined is half solved.

But when a society lies to itself about what the problem is,
the problem doesn’t wait

It multiplies.

Nigeria’s political obsession with “restructuring” has become a substitute

for real planning and nation-building. This essay argues that restructuring

is now a hollow slogan—no different from past policy scams

—used to avoid accountability, delay hard work, and preserve elite

harvest cycles while citizens remain trapped in poverty. 

Nigeria’s leaders do not genuinely plan to develop Nigeria.
They show no love for the country, and no concern for the struggling masses.

This indifference is visible in every major economic index.
Over the last 30 to 40 years, exchange rates and GDP per capita have steadily declined.

• The percentage of citizens living in abject, crushing poverty has risen to more than half the population.
• We remain dependent on extractive industries.
• For decades—though we were at the time the 6th largest exporter of crude oil—we imported refined petroleum products. Make that make sense to a 10-year-old!
• Manufacturing is weak.
• Electricity supply is anaemic.
• Our per-capita electricity consumption—kWh per person—for a nation of nearly 250 million people is roughly on par with that of the city of London.

Should I go on?

But the leaders are not alone.....

...The long succession of bad governments— with the exceptions of Presidents Gowon and Obasanjo—forces me to confront an uncomfortable truth:

The problem may lie less with government alone, and more with the people who repeatedly produce and tolerate it.

But here's where government people are guilty:

In their minds, the developed West—and the rapidly developing East—are their real homes. Nigeria is not a home to be built, but a resource to be harvested.

A mine.
Gold. Bauxite.
A farm heavy with low-hanging fruit.

They THINK NOT of stewardship.
RATHER, extraction.

And so they invite outsiders:
“Come, my brother. Bring a big basket.”

And the outsiders come....

.... With their INVITERS, they harvest Nigeria’s wealth and leave to Dubai, London, Mumbai, Johannesburg.

When the baskets run low, they return to refill them and off they go - to Beirut, Rio, Paris—name any global city.

Nigeria has quietly become a breadbasket for the world’s wealthy, while its own people sink deeper into poverty.

(Sadly, the ordinary people on the streets would do exactly

the same if you replaced those in government with them.)

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The Vineyard Illusion

Our leaders do not see themselves as nation-builders.
They see themselves as harvesters.

To them, Nigeria is a vineyard, its branches heavy with grapes.
They imagine they are merely helping with the harvest.

Scripture says:

“The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few.”

But Scripture also says:

“Pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest.”

We are meant to be the labourers.
Not the grapes.

Instead, our leaders preside over a cycle of harvesting in which only they—and their associates—eat.
Their wealth grows.
The people’s poverty deepens.

A Simple Mathematical Insight

Permit a short mathematical digression.

I am not a mathematician.
But even basic mathematics teaches something useful: relationships matter.

Specifically, proportionality. What we observe is this: As their cycle of harvest increases, the people’s cycle of poverty deepens.

In simple terms: Their Abundance (TA) = k / Our Deprivation (OD)

Where "k" is a constant they protect fiercely. This is not accidental. It is systemic.

Assignment: What is "k"?

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The Promise of “Restructuring”

So how do we change this?

Many insist the answer is Restructuring.

Ask them a simple question: “What exactly should we restructure? And how do we begin?”

The answer is usually this: “That will happen after restructuring. Let us restructure first!”

Press further: “So what is restructuring? How do we start it? Why can’t we begin on Monday, on July 1st, or on Independence Day?”

The reply changes in tone, not in meaning: “The cabal is stopping us.”

Go further ask, "Which cabal?"

This is likely to be their answer: “Are you not in this country?”

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Why Restructuring Has Become a Scam

At this point, clarity is required. Restructuring has become a slogan, not a solution.

It sounds intelligent. It feels profound.
But it explains nothing and commits us to nothing.

It now functions exactly like past national distractions—especially the fuel subsidy debate. We were told:

• Removing subsidy would stop smuggling.
• Higher petrol prices would lead to new refineries.
• Pain today would bring prosperity tomorrow.

Decades later, none of that is true.

Restructuring is following the same path—
endless debate, zero accountability, no action.

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No Shortcuts

Nigeria is not one election away from salvation.
Not one policy away.
Not one restructuring away.

Not one 'political saviour away....

The truth is simpler and harder: Nation-building takes time. It requires discipline, planning, and persistence. There are no shortcuts.

The sooner we stop searching for magic words, for good-hearted politicians, the sooner real work can begin.

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Shamans and Totems

This obsession with restructuring reminds me of shamans dancing around a totem—elaborately dressed, loudly chanting, claiming to heal disease.

But we already know what causes illness.
And we already know how healing works.

Political slogans are not medicine.

Let no political shaman deceive you.

Don’t be a MUGU: A Problem Well Defined Is A Problem Half-Solved

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I rest my case.

Don Kenobi

#BigAgendaAfrica 

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