'Are we Dangerously Intelligent? II: Umar Yar’Adua – The Unwilling President' - Nigerian Village Square

In The Beginning

When in 2006, at the peak of campaigning for the 2007 election, the dangerously intelligent cabal of Obasanjo and his dragons that surrounded him convinced and drafted a man – Yar’Adua - who was just content with managing the people and government of Katsina to run for president, I knew we were about to witness another era of unwilling presidency.

It was Leonardo da Vinci that said, “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” But Mr. President was never willing, he never had a vision for Nigeria, he never knew the level and gravity of enormous tasks that waits the Nigerian President, so, how could he feel the urgency? How can he apply? How can he do?

I think the biggest question to all Nigerians at this critical stage in nation building should be; “Is being indifference part of being dangerously intelligent that we take the easiest way out or worse still join the dragons in the dance of shame?” Our greatest enemies are indifference, inaction, indecision and incompetence.

Just recently, Mr. President said that $10bn had been invested in the sector between 2000 and 2007 with nothing to show for it and that is why he is not prepared to inject money in the power sector “without a stable project management arrangement”. So he deliberately left out power project in the 2008 Appropriation Bill. I hope I didn’t get that right. What this means is that we have to buckle up for a year of darkness and inactivity at improving the power supply in the country. The national electricity supply is down to 2,000MW. The required nation-wide supply is about 30,000MW, and nothing is being planned till 2009? Beautiful nonsense! Full Story