A NATION CANNOT RISE ABOVE THE PERSPECTIVE OF IT'S LEADERS:

 Its time for a new vision. It's time for a different agenda. It's time for a fresh perspective to the problems of Nigeria
CHINA OFFERS US A GOOD EXAMPLE:
China may not be a Democracy sensu stricto, but because the Communist Party of China runs an hierarchical system, it is possible to discern distinct generations of Chinese leadership. There is usually a 10 year cycle before new leaders who have been groomed and prepared for the role are given the mantle of leadership. Over the years, there has been changes in the leadership of China across generations and each generation, in defining its own vision, comes to the table with a distinct extension of the ideology of the Communist party.
THE FOUNDERS GENERATION, DEFINED BY THE IRON RICE BOWL - MAO ZEDONG AND THE ERA OF BIG STATE AND SMALL ECONOMY:
The first generation, from 1949 to 1976, consisted of Mao Zedong as core, along with Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Chen Yun, Peng Dehuai, and later Lin Biao. This was the era of the Iron Rice bowl, when the State was everything and directed everything as China was purely Communist and was directed by a stiff State policy which frowned at individualism and capitalism and pursued a communal posture and communist ideology. With the death of Chairman Mao, the weakness of this perspective as seen in the high level of poverty based on low aggregate production because the State guaranteed the iron rice bowl (in literal parlance - job security) to all its citizens regardless of whether they were productive or not, forced a new vision by a new generation.
THE SECOND GENERATION - 1976 - 1992 - THE MOVE FOR A LIBERALIZED ECONOMY
The era began with Hua Guofeng as the successor to Mao, but his position was soon eclipsed by the ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping as the paramount leader, in which position he remained at least until 1992 when he resigned from his leadership positions. This era saw the implementation of structural reforms aimed at raising China's economic fortunes. It saw the move for the control of population growth, labour reforms and the move for a better management of economic resources. This generation saw the smashing of Chairman Mao's Iron Rice Bowl and the move towards a liberal economy.
FROM THE THIRD TO THE FIFTH GENERATION: OPENING CHINA TO THE WORLD AND TAKING CHINA TO THE WORLD
From 1992, when the third generation took the reins of power, we have seen China open up to the world by joining the World Trade Organisation, hosting the Olympics and getting involved with Africa towards driving its industrial growth agenda by aligning with resource rich Countries in Africa in exchange for infrastructural and technical support. The third to fifth generation have asserted China's presence on the world stage not only as an alternate power but also a key economic bloc.
WHILE ALL THESE WAS GOING ON IN CHINA, NIGERIA HAS REMAINED STUCK WITH ITS SECOND GENERATION OF LEADERS
Nigeria has been stuck with the second generation of leaders who took over from the founding Fathers who have just been recycling themselves in the corridors of power instead of allowing a new generation of leaders to emerge. Little wonder then why Nigeria appears to be stagnating? Its time to change this trend.