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Nigeria: Many Unhappy
Returns
Prince
Charles Dickson
Since We celebrated our
last birthday which was with an unhappy returns, very little has changed
infact I say with tongue in check we have moved from fair to worse and
it saddens everyone that was at our freedom party in 1960, one which our
birth was symbolized by the downing of the Union Jack flag and the
hoisting of the green white green. I recall the likes of Ahmadu Bello,
Balewa, Zik, Awo, Enahoro, and co. sermonizing on what a nation should
be and what they hoped our nation would look like. We were made to
understand that a nation is like a marriage: a relationship
between or among ethnic individuals, usually recognized by our civil
decision to respect each other not bound by the religious beliefs of the
participants but by mutual tolerance. The fact that marriage often has
the dual nature of a binding legal contract plus a moral promise can
make it difficult to manage. Yet on this note we started our whirlwind
romance, one that had a lot of promise.
On October 1st
I was asked about the Obasanjo and Atiku feud and I responded that it
was like making a distinction between misfortune and calamity...it is a
misfortune for the nation at 46, but it would be a calamity if we settle
them, let them throw the mud at each other, when kids fight, we as
parents scold them...for once let parents that fight be scolded by
public shame. And that response reflected all that our 46 years stands
for now.
What went wrong like I
often ask when the going was good, what exactly went wrong? We blame
leadership, how about followership? We seem unperturbed at the number of
our kids leaving this country for better education, better this and
better that. Bad enough some are even trafficked as prostitutes and into
child labour, a second slave trade will see our young citizens and old
alike look for the ship that would take them willingly to Clinton's USA.
Last year I had in
ending my letter titled "Letter to my wife Nigeria on her 45th Birthday"
my wife (Nigeria) to change her ways, a candle looses nothing by
lighting others, you still have the potential but… like they say a man
who wants to grow old should not dye his hair. Learn from yesterday,
live for today, hope for tomorrow. Incidentally my words were not enough
for us, because we are not wise. Days before our birthday precisely 31
of our sons managing affairs of States were accused of thievery of high
proportions and since them it has been accusations and counters.
Despite all the talk
about the aviation sector, we recorded another plane crash, men
avoidably lost due to government's inefficiency and inadequacy. We have
refused to come to grips with any part of our existence...our children
continually engage in exam malpractice with the aid of aunties and
uncles. I refuse to comment on our two brothers anymore, the President
and his Vice whose verbal engagement on their corrupt practices has
further put a black paint on our already dirty name. Their exchanges I
believe are answers to prayers of the oppressed, for one both men should
be ashamed of themselves and their actions.
This time my emphasis in
this essay is hope...Do we have hope, should we as wives, husbands,
kids, family, and friends have hope that things would be better. While
we live for today, is there hope for tomorrow. Soon Nigeria will be 50,
is this how we will get there with highway robbers running the affairs
of the nation. In my interactions with people cut across the message is
hope, hope and hope. However is there hope in the horizon?
Hope is an emotional
belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances within
one's personal life. If we follow this definition, the question I ask
is, where hope is, is she anywhere near with the events of recent weeks,
months, and since the last Independence what inspires hope. Most of us
believe that a positive outcome is still possible even when there is
evidence to the contrary. Everyday our leaders turn our hope to a false
one, one which is based entirely around fantasy. That we will be like
UK, America, and other developed nations because of the present reforms
is not hope but fantasy.
Our Judicial sector is
in a mess, security is non-existent, leadership is a meal of rice, pop
corn and yam eaten in one sitting, a constipating meal, whether rumour,
whether verifiable or it was conjured why would a Governor be associated
with a missing pregnant woman, why would a Governor be accused of having
a killer squad, why should politicians that always claim they want to
rule us and require our consent need bodyguards, touts, thugs and such
questionable characters.
The reason for which I
lay emphasis on the ills of our society even as we celebrate
independence is because I believe only the constant harping on these
ills would by mistake, error or eventuality force leadership to take
responsibility. I also believe that these are the problems of the
society and they are important and when leadership does not react the
right way, I repeat them in new essays to remind old readers and recruit
new ones to participate in the continuing dialogue.
As the President read
his Independence Day speech, I felt despondent, so also millions of
Nigeria, that bothered to watch, while some watched and did not bother
to listen to the speech because such speeches have been atrophied by
niceties that translate to nothing. I was privileged to be going through
a copy of the manifestos of the now defunct National Party Of Nigeria,
the manifesto was a product of 1979, and I picked the following and it
is the heart of this monograph, of which I ask the question again, is
there hope?
In 1979, the party, said
on law and order, that then, lawlessness, disorderliness, indiscipline
and crime posed serious problems...it promised to take appropriate
practical action, expand the police, modernize and re-equip them,
improve the training and retraining of the Police, as a matter of
urgency it promised to introduce beat policemen in all areas of
population concentration, the experiment ended in 1983, with nothing,
seven years into the OBJ/ATIKU led fiasco, it is the same story and 27
years after, we still have hope,
The NPN government like
its PDP contemporary then promised it shall observe the sanctity and
ensure the supremacy of the constitution, we saw how that ended and
today we are all living witness of the movie called third term whose
ashes still have smoke. The NPN then promised equality of every citizen
before the law, today the gift of immunity is the key to highway
thievery. The manifesto had everything outlined from defense policy,
womenfolk, social policy, the aged and disable and destitute persons
(today the same aged and disabled not forgetting the Okada riders have
been told they have no place in the nation's capital).
Then we were told public
utilities would be contracted to internationally reputed experts to
revitalize, immediate review of the monopoly of some...today, they have
sold the same public utilities to internationally reputed thieves like
the pentascope and transcorruption arrangement. In 1979 the government
of the day was seriously promising that and I quote them "An NPN
government shall work towards providing free and qualitative primary
education, free and qualitative vocational education, free and
qualitative secondary education and FREE AND QUALITATIVE UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION" the emphasis is mine. This is the same promise that the
PDP has not been able to achieve in 7 years, the only thing that has
been free and qualitative is corruption in high places.
The truth is that hate
Obasanjo as much as I do, a lot of us are unhappy that he has to go in
the next 200 or so days but the entire nation would be sad if he were
not to go, while another half would rejoice if he announces he is
leaving now. At least maybe there will be real and true hope when the
chop I chop party of Ali and Ojo Madu'keke' with their life headmaster
leaves.
I end this Independence
sober reflection by telling us that hope in Greek mythology is
personified as Elpis. When Pandora opened Pandora's Box, she let out all
evils except one: Hope, apparently the Greeks considered hope to be
dangerous as all the world's evils. But without hope to accompany all
their troubles humanity was filled with despair. It was a great relief
when Pandora revisited her box and let out hope as well. It may be
worthy to note in the story, Hope is represented as a weakly leaving the
box but is in effect far more potent than any of the major evils.
I say happy Independence
to Nigeria and Nigerians, endless hope is better than hopeless end, it
is never late, only that we just do not yet know what we are capable of.
Almighty Allah help us. The time is always right to do right, let us
start right now
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