I was in a hospital bed in Nigeria on September 8, instant, when a devastating magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Morocco just after 11pm, local time. The earthquake’s depth was 11.5 miles, and the epicenter was 44 miles southwest of Marrakech, near the town of Agassiz, in the high Atlas Mountains. It was in Marrakech that I spent my first night in Morocco, and the love affair between me and that country started in that city of deep tradition and absolute beauty.
Such is the depth of my affinity to Morocco that when the earthquake took place, my family members decided to keep the news away from me. They feared it would make my situation worse, and I only found out several days later upon being discharged from the hospital.
In a space of only one month last year, I was privileged to undertake an official visit to Morocco twice. On both occasions, I had experienced such high level of hospitality that places Morocco on top of the over 30 countries I have visited across the globe. It is one country I look forward to visiting again, though next time in a private capacity.
After my second visit last year, I wrote in these pages that although we always have one reason or the other to complain about Nigeria, I am one person who always eagerly looks forward to returning home after every foreign trip. But as I gave one final hug to Mr. Driss Ouahi of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, tears uncontrollably rolled down my cheeks.
This was a very warm personality who denied himself every comfort to make sure my stay in his country was as productive and rewarding as possible. In general, the people of Morocco are very accommodating and hospitable. And as indicated in this column recently, it was as if the phrase, “generosity of spirit” was coined to describe the warmth of hospitality of the people of that country. But even at that, the attitude of three illustrious Moroccans I had the privilege of meeting was extraordinarily something else.
Firstly is the Moroccan envoy to Nigeria, Ambassador Moha Ouali Tagma, a person that personifies integrity and decency at their best. Then his Deputy, Mr. Hussein Oustitane, and, thirdly, Mr. Driss Ouahi, my host in Morocco during my two trips to the country. There are of course a host of other Moroccans whose kindness and love I enjoyed during the course of these trips, and that includes the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Nasser Bourita whose infectious humility could be felt whenever there are foreign guests to entertain.
This is not forgetting, on a lighter note, the many dazzlingly beautiful girls that served as ushers in the events I had attended, many of who had requested for a selfie with me. I could see why many Nigerians, especially of northern extraction, could not resist marrying the Moroccan beauties who are reported to be excellent marriage materials. I know some friends who have done that, and all of them are living peacefully with their spouces and are very proud of the union.
Since his ascension to the throne in 1999, the country’s ruler King Mohammed VI has made placing Morocco atop the global map a major priority. It is a policy that has seen him bringing the world to Morocco and taking the country to the outside world, making it a topmost tourism and international conferences destination of choice.
In just a space of two days, I attended two major conferences, the first of which was the convergence of the 23 African countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean. That event that was aimed at boosting the socio-economic and security wellbeing of these countries, reaping from the trillion-dollar global blue economy, successfully took place in Rabat, the nation’s capital. It was followed by the Tangier Dialogue that successfully took place in the coastal city of Tangier between June 9 and 12, 2022.
Tangier, a Moroccan city on the Strait of Gibraltar, has been a strategic gateway between Africa and Europe since Phoenician times. From this city, Europe, or, specifically, Spain, is less than 30 minutes away across the Mediterranean Sea. Its whitewashed hillside medina is home to the Dar el Makhzen, a palace of the sultans which is now a museum of Moroccan artifacts. It is one of the most amazing cities I have ever been to, and which I look forward to visiting again and again.
It was in this city of beauty that I had to say goodbye to Mr. Ouahi, my ever-generous host. My flight back to Nigeria was about seven hours away. He expressed the wish to escort me on the three hour trip by road to Casablanca, an offer I rejected, since there were many other guests to attend to. But trust Mr. Ouahi. He arranged a luxurious VIP trip for me and Ms. Magdalene Ukuedojor, a senior editorial staff of the News Agency of Nigeria. Courtesy of the Moroccan Embassy in Nigeria, both of us represented the Nigerian press in the two major events.
There are a lot Nigeria could learn from Morocco, a country that has selflessly not limited its security concerns to within its borders but is doing a lot towards a more peaceful and prosperous world. In just one month, starting with the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition Against ISIS, Morocco has hosted three major events that have to do with the socio-economic well-being of the global community. And recognition for its unprecedented efforts is coming in torrents.
There are a lot of good things that President Tinubu’s administration could learn from Morocco. For example, how possible is it that the entire road stretch between Tangier and Marrakech, a distance of more than 500 kilometres, does not have a single pothole, and you will not see a single broken down or accident vehicle on the highway? And how possible is it also that in this entire stretch you can choose to park in the bush and take a rest, without any criminal feasting on you?
Nigeria’s Minister of Works David Umahi, already being hailed for his focused leadership, needs to pay a visit to Morocco and see how his task could be made easier. The entire Federal Executive Council of Nigeria may do well to have a retreat in either Tangier or Marrakech and see things for themselves. All the ministers will have one thing or the other to learn from that country’s focused leadership.
There is no doubt that our security and intelligence services in Nigeria are trying their best. But isn’t there a thing or two to learn from this fellow African country that has resolved problems still looking insurmountable here? Surely, the whole issue is about leadership and facing the reality of our time.
Unlike us whose form of democracy is fashioned after some developed countries, Morocco’s democracy is in tune with its culture, tradition and other realities suiting its existence. Though it is essentially a monarchy in nature, leader after leader in that country always makes sure advancement of the society and its people is at the front burner in his governance agenda.
Is it because Morocco’s population is less than a quarter of that of Nigeria that it has been able to provide decent and affordable housing for all of its citizens? But there are countries with a fraction of Morocco’s population that have failed to provide same for its citizens, just as there are a few other countries, like China, whose populations are far more than Nigeria’s, that have also been able to attain same feat.
In the overall analysis, therefore, vision is key. It is what makes the difference. Our new set of leaders in Nigeria must be focused and fully intent in changing our story for the better. We should be the giants of Africa not only in name, but also in substance. I mean, a Nigerian living in Nigeria should be made to feel proud doing so, with our leaders genuinely doing all they could to show the way.
With military coups unfortunately becoming the in-thing in some parts of Africa, can we remodel our democracy to make that beautiful system of government more suitable and beneficial to our peculiar needs as a nation? Surely that is a constitutional matter that could be tedious and long in coming. But it is worth the wait. And even in constitutional matters there are what can be called low-hanging fruits.
One of the many solutions to our problems is the matter of devolution of power. Interestingly, that is one of the major changes promised by almost all the four leading candidates when they were campaigning for the presidency, as one solution that could FastTrack development and give democracy more meaning for our people.
But of course beyond mere semantics is the issue of realism. Humans drive development, and in the challenging world we live in, that requires intense and consistent focus. That, of course, translates to a leader with these and more qualities. And this is all the more reason why Nigerians must pray for President Tinubu to get it right, being the president of this great country of ours.
But from what I saw in Morocco, it takes more than just a leader to develop any society to an enviable stage. Citizens have almost as much role to play. There is no way, for example, one can expect any magical security turnaround in a situation where, like the case of Nigeria, many citizens will rather cooperate with enemies of the nation at the expense of our security personnel.
Today in our country, you will see pictures being shared on the social media, of terrorists moving from one village to the other without anyone reporting it. But the same villagers will call these terrorists and pass to them information about movement of our troops, thereby exposing our national forces to serious danger. Instead of serving as informants to those staking their precious lives to defend and protect us, many of us are rather helping the enemies with critical information.
As earlier mentioned, you could hardly see an accident or a broken down vehicle on Moroccan highways. How did they come about this? There is one word that is responsible, and it is called patience. Drivers in that country are always patient with other motorists and even pedestrians.
Throughout my two trips to that country, I did not hear of vehicle horn being blared. Not even once. All drivers there take driving as a matter of life and death and accord it all the seriousness it deserves. Getting drunk to drive? Try it in Morocco. The long arm of the law is readily there to make sure you do not get the chance to ever do so again.
With tears in my eyes, I condole with King Mohammed, the King of Morocco, the country’s Ambassador to Nigeria and all the excellent people making the North African country the place of pride it has been. May such a disaster never happen again in Morocco or anywhere else on planet earth.