Rt. Hon. David Cameron has served as Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom since 2010, and as Leader of the Conservative Party since 2005
till date. During his tenure he advocated and implemented many economically
liberal and socially liberal policies. He has also been praised for rebranding
and modernising the Conservative Party by embracing a socially liberal
position.
I wasn’t impressed with the emergence of David Cameron as
Prime Minister when he took over from Gordon Brown. I saw him as just another
guy from a wealthy background. He was born in London to wealthy upper
middle-class parents and was educated at Heatherdown School, Eton College, and
Oxford…Okay! Being a huge fan of Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, John
Major and Tony Blair, Cameron just seemed like another privileged western
leader.
However the history of his brief, yet eventful leadership
and the events of the last few weeks have catapulted David Cameron far above
his predecessors. He is now my favourite British ‘Guy’. He may not be the best
administrator the UK has ever had (though I think he's done pretty well, with
bringing down economic deficit and managing the UK through the recession) but
his commitment as a Leader has always been to put his Nation first, before any
other personal desire and aspiration.
He had worked out a transition process for another leader to
take over the helms of affairs in the UK in a few months…October, only for him
to surprise the world by deciding to vacate the premier position in a few
days…tomorrow, in fact. I sit in admiration of a man who still has the mandate
of his people to be Prime Minister till year 2020.
Let us not forget these facts; He didn't have to call for a
referendum and He didn't have to resign when he lost by the slimmest of
margins. May we be reminded; he didn’t lose in his election that brought him to
office but an election that decided the path that the UK should follow in
social and economic relationships with its European neighbours?
He now chairs his cabinet for the last time today and takes
his Letter of Resignation as Prime Minister to Her Majesty the Queen tomorrow.
What?! Does this ever happen anywhere in the world? YES! David Cameron
considered his NATION first, the will of the people and the need for the United
Kingdom to quickly transit to the new path they chose for themselves!
This leaves food for thought to Nigerians, how many of us
are prepared to genuinely put our nation Nigeria first above personal, regional
or sectarian desires and aspirations. This is not particularly a message to our
older generation of leaders and politicians who have stirred the ship of this
country for years and decades and have failed woefully at taking this great
nation to join the committee of developed and wealthy countries, not to those
who have so sadly turned Nigeria into a country of 'substandard' everything.
From the groundnut pyramids in Kano, to the tin ores in Jos,
the coal mines in Enugu, the oil wells in the Niger Delta, gold and many
natural resources spread across the country, we cannot boast of adequate health
care, stable electric power, good roads and other basic amenities.
Ladies and gentlemen…this has nothing to do with UPN, GNPP,
SDP, NRC, PDP, APC, NCNC, NPP, PRP, or 'PSP' This loud cry is to the youth of
today who are our present day leaders, players of industries, drivers of our
social, religious and economic lives and of course, leaders of tomorrow. Should
we continue in the mediocre, uncertain, unpatriotic path we've been led through
over the decades or are we ready to say today enough is enough...NIGERIA FIRST!
NIGERIA FIRST!! NIGERIA FIRST!!!
2 Comments
Haba! Nigerian leaders Infact africa in general can't do this.
ReplyDeleteGood example but who's ready to follow.
ReplyDelete