As
the Cuban missile crisis raged in October 1962; the US president sat in
the White House and called the leaders of the key nations that were
members of the UN Security Council to get their support for American
position at the UN. The world was on the brink of a nuclear holocaust.
The Russians denied everything the Americans claimed and the stage was
set for a monumental nuclear confrontation. Up till this point; there
was no objective evidence as to who was telling the truth; Russia or
America. So it was simply a game of whose report to believe.
It
was reported that the French President, Charles de Gaulle received a
call from President Kennedy asking for the support of France in the
impending UN vote on this matter. The French president offered his
unqualified support for the American position. Few days later a French
minister asked the President why he supported the Americans when there
was no conclusive evidence of their claim. Charles de Gaulle was
reported to have responded boldly “The word of the American President is
good enough for me”.
That statement demonstrated that Trust
is the key to any meaningful relationship between governments and also
between governments and the people. It is not always possible to provide
clear evidence of government decisions; either due to national security
concerns; or the conclusive evidence does not exist. If there is trust
in the relationship between the people and its government; a lot can be
achieved as the citizens rally round its leaders to move the nation
forward. This intergovernmental trust was one of the unwitting victims
of the Iraq debacle. Many leaders now do not trust the American position
on many things today. This will hunt the global diplomatic scene for
decades to come. There used to be a time that the American position was
accepted by the world without any question; not any more.
The
foregoing brings us to the case of the Nigerian government and the lack
of trust by many Nigerians. Over the years; the fabric of trust has
been eroded by successive Nigerian leaders; thus creating a cynical and
untrusting citizenry.
Many expectations of the people have been dashed.
An average Nigerian does not believe anything the government says. Each
new administration is given an initial window to prove itself and as
always they all fail by unveiling their predisposition and addiction to
lies, corruption and deception. Hence many Nigerian have grown to expect
lies and sometimes the worst from their government.
Focusing
on the Jonathan administration; it is sad to see how a potentially
transformational government has squandered its goodwill and productive
expectations. Many Nigerians, including myself had high expectations of
the Jonathan administration at the beginning. But now; it is a different
story. There is a wise saying that states: if you sell-out your
relatives at a cheap price; you cannot buy them back at an expensive
amount, because once they lose trust in you and see your betrayal; that
will be it. For many Nigerians; the Jonathan administration seems to
have forgotten the adage that it is the little foxes that spoils the
vine. It is the ‘little’ acts of deception and lying that erode trust
and make it difficult to believe the big things; even if they are now
true.
For
example; when you have the President’s office telling the nation that
the First Lady was not sick but merely taking a break; despite all the
reports to the contrary. Aso Rock denied all reports of any illness of
the President’s wife. Only for a few weeks later to hear the First Lady
herself tell Nigerians that she almost died and had to undergo several
major operations in foreign hospitals. It is clear; we were lied to. Yet
no apology till date. There are several instances of these “little”
lies by the government and the presidential team. That much cannot be
disputed. So how does President Jonathan expect us to believe him on
“big” issues like the menace of Boko Haram and national security
situation when he has already lost credibility and the trust of the
people through “series of little” lies. It is indeed the little foxes
that spoil the vine. The President may indeed be telling the truth about
many of the major issues confronting the nation today; but how can we
believe him and his team when they have shown themselves unworthy of our
unflinching trust.
Hence,
honesty in “little” things is the hallmark of real honesty. It is more
difficult to lie about big and major issues due to the complicated and
multifaceted nature of such things. But it is much easier to lie about
minor and small matters; thus revealing your dishonest nature. So a
person that refuses to lie about minor issues (that many cannot verify
in any case); will tend to remain honest when the big, more verifiable
matters come up.
So,
President Jonathan has to demonstrate his openness and honesty first in
little matters. Build a “portfolio of honesty” in the eyes of
Nigerians. He should instruct his team to either give out honest
responses to all matters or simply ‘no comment’. This portfolio of
honesty will help to build goodwill with Nigerian; thus making it easier
for us to believe the leadership when big issues come up. Honesty does
not mean divulging every single information about an issue; it simply
means being honest about the thrust of an issue; even if you then refuse
to go into specifics, for good reasons. But the deliberate deception
that has been often evident in the words and actions of the Presidential
spokespersons and government officials need to stop.
We
want to be able to believe our leaders. We need to be able to believe
our leaders. Our prayer is that one-day will come, when an average
Nigerian will be able to proudly say; “The word of the president is good
enough for me”. Let that paradigm shift and process begin today.
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Yes May God Help Us and Our Leaders, thanks.
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