Right, I promised to write on a regular basis, but, well, I have to be sober most nights to do it, don’t I?
Before going into my piece, let me apologize first. I did promise myself that If I ever start a blog It definitely won’t be political, but here I am, my very second real piece, breaking that rule. This I just couldn’t resist. I really think my fallibility is justified.
This past year, at least 3 African nations have rebelled and ousted their rulers. With the exception of Ivory Coast, these nations are better than Nigeria economically. Yes, they are. Our brothers often travel to Egypt and Libya in search for greener pastures despite the strict one religion culture they practice there (well, maybe Egypt does have some Coptic Christians, but you still get the general drift), braving the hazards of crossing the huge Sahara while trying to smuggle themselves into the country illegally.
Yet, they rebelled, for reasons lighter than what we face in this country of ours.
Granted, they may have been fuelled or incited by some unscrupulous foreign powers, and they also rebelled against rulers who were iron – fisted and had clung to power for donkey years, with some of the rebels never having known any better or any other ruler. These differences are but minor dissimilarities.No. we do not have a despotic ruler to oust from power. Neither are we being hauled off to jail in the middle of the night for speaking out against the government. No, too, our women are not being oppressed and seen as child bearing tools only; they are actually given a percentage in leadership positions. So, maybe we are not a Libya, or an Egypt, or even an Ivory Coast?
No. we are not. We are Nigeria, with our problems so myriad that we have lost track of what to complain about. We have taken our rot as the norm.
What we have is a system. An unacceptable way of life that has become acceptable, a way: the Nigerian way. I can tell you categorically, that even with my best of intentions, if I am voted into power, I will be powerless to do anything owing to the sort of established practice we have here.
Big admission? It’s justified. How many of our present ministers have occupied different ministerial positions in the past? I’ll tell you: most of them. Despite their obvious failure, these men are re-cycled again and again in and around the executive positions in the country, creating a situation of “the powers that be” that we are powerless to prevent.
The calculation is simple. If I served the past two administrations and was ineffectual as minister of two different ministries or sectors, what is the probability that if I am appointed a minister in another administration I will do better?
The great Fela summed it all up when he sang that his hit (which I grew up to meet) in which he said suffering and smiling is the nature of Nigerians (or words to that effect. I don’t claim to be an avid Fela follower). However, he couldn’t have been more correct in summing up the Nigerian spirit.
A few days ago, I sat for an examination as a youth corps member, a professional exam if you call it that. The number of ‘corpers’ who sat for the same exam was very high. Normally, it could be seen as encouraging that Nigerian youths are trying to obtain professional certificates to better themselves, and ultimately, the economy. However, the underlying and more practical reason for this is more disturbing- having a first degree is no longer enough to get a job in the country. Most applicants now feel the need to obtain certificates – any certificate, in a bid to gain any possible advantage over their mates, reason being that there just are too many applicants for extremely few jobs. Therefore, one, including yours truly, has to make sure he isn’t left behind. Why, for heaven’s sake do we keep trying to work around the disgrace of a country that we have, instead of trying to cure the ills of our ailing nation?
Walk on the streets to any newspaper vendor on any given morning and you will find men of all ages converging and reading the dailies. The young men amongst them will be devouring the sport papers and the older ones, the news dailies. Then listen to the arguments and/or discussions that will ensue in their midst. These are the ones that gripe. That’s all we ever do - gripe in our comfort zones and timidly swallow all the junk we are handed down, while accepting that the high level of corruption and greed in our society has come to stay.
Now I must make it clear here that I am not in any way advocating violence or revolution – the needless waste of human life never appeals to me and it’s the only reason why I do not rejoice at the freedom the North Africans have been able to carve for themselves. I am only lamenting the ‘bend over and take it in the ass’ attitude of Nigerians (if you pardon my French). I am a bit hypocritical here because I simply have no idea what to do to change the status quo, but then I wonder, Isn’t there something we can do? Can we not overhaul this system?
Alex Ibru died last week, Ojukwu , mere days ago. This year has the highest number of senior citizens dying more than any I remember in previous years (I may be wrong), however, the old guard is slowly but surely dying. The mantle is surely falling upon us, the younger folks, the baton being passed upon us (and note that I use the term younger in a very loose way), but nothing will change if the system of the old guard is also passed on. The status quo will remain the same and we will keep sliding down the path of self-destruction, unless we do something to change it.
Since we cannot fight or rebel, I just have to ask, is there any peaceful way we can do a Libya?
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