Executive Excuse from Naija Officials

It easy to know the Man who is going somewhere, he takes responsibility for his actions, and in-actions. So also is the country – the developed countries, they take responsibility for their action. When you see a man, woman, child, leader or follower point to the other man or situation as the reason for their failures, you have seen someone who may eventually amount to nothing. People who make excuses really don’t make progress, so also is a country that thrive of excuses.

When people are dirty, they blame others. When students fail, it is the teacher that failed them. When boys who have lost their sense of moral indulge in rape, they blame girls for dressing in provocative way….when people come late to work, meeting, etc, they blame it on traffic or one thing or the other. The truth is, there are limitless excuses around us every day. A philosopher said, “one excuse is as good as the other”.

People, countries, and individuals who want to make progress accept they may not always be right, hence the need to take personal responsibility for their failures when it does come. I love what John McCain said after he lost to Barack Obama, “this loss is mine not yours”, your guess is as good as mine if it was to be the average politician in Nigeria!

One of the benefits of taking responsibility for your actions is that it gives you the sense of ownership and the right to right the wrongs.

Lately we have been inundated with countless excuses from our political and institutional "leaders" or office holders. What do you do when you are faced with a dilemma, inevitable failures or a grave situation?

This are some of the famous cliché’s common in our country:

We are on top of the situation.
The incident was rather unfortunate and all hands are on deck to bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to book.
We extend our heartfelt condolence to the victims of this incidence.
We checked the official log and the mentioned checkpoints were not there
The incident did not take place in our school, teritory, state.
The victim has not come out.
The case has not been reported
The problem is a global phenomenon
It is the turn of our country to experience this (or be bombed)
It will be achieved by 2015 (shift the goalpost or deadline)
This is the handiwork of our political detractors
The opposition must have orchestrated this
This is sabotage
It is not the responsibility of the Government alone
Government alone cannot do it (why then did you join the government)
The last administration failed in their duty
The project was handled by our predecessors
We are making wide consultations (when experiencing a delay in setting up a team)
This is a federal road
I do not have authority to make a comment
the boss will make a statement in due course
introduce a diversionary issue (i.e tenure extension)
The xxxx sector has been neglected for ages
The equipment cannot be gotten off the shelf
We do not have enough equipment or manpower
The matter is already in court
It is taking time because we are following due process
If anyone has any evidence, he should come out
The criminals are from neighboring countries or state (who cares)

What are your personal excuses?