Toye Faleye
One
is pained beyond extreme that Nigeria today still writhes in indescribable
mutilation caused by years of wanton destruction, lack of direction and lack of
vision which have earned it a pariah nation in the world.
One
is pained that, all over, citizens still complain that the economy is in
shambles, and that the country is still being classified as a third world
country, or to glorify her ignominious status, an emerging economy, when its
mates have made landmark achievements.
One
is pained that many of its peers, which obtained independence almost at the
same time, have gone past the country in million ways, and have become giants,
tigers, movers and shakers of their world, while Nigeria still struggles to
survive.
It
baffles one while Malaysia, Singapore and many other Asian Tigers could have
commanded the attention of the world by turning their economy around so much so
that an a country like Nigeria, called the giant of Africa, still looks up to
them. No stride at technological development whatsoever. Her educational
institutions, which should be the seat of knowledge, are neglected and left to
rot away. All efforts are dissipated to inordinate wealth.
It
could not have been without the wrongs of the ignoble and corrupt privileged
few and the somewhat resilient, docile and submissive followers who never ask
questions, and who keeps adjusting and shrinking until life is being squeezed out
of them.
Do
we say the man in them has died? It is not a matter of inciting anyone. It is
not that one wants them to carry arms and ammunition and haul them to the
doorsteps of the bourgeoisies if one says they’ve lost the man in them, but it
is that they should learn to raise their voice when necessary and squeal at
obnoxious and draconian thinking from the ruling class.
You
wonder what is wrong with a country that discovered oil in Oloibiri in 1959,
and turned the same mineral resources to all sorts of altercations, pillaging
it and failing to convert the blessing from God to what could uplift and
benefit all citizens. It is pitiable that those from whose backyard the oil was
discovered, suffers environmental degradation and untold hardship till now
without successive government doing anything except now that we are hearing of
the clean up of the environment.
Nigeria
discovered oil and could not turn its economy around unlike Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and many other oil producing nations. The ruling
class gobbled up the oil and converted it to own benefit only. And here you
have a country suffering a severe haemorrhage in its educational, social-political
and economic sectors. In all facets of life, Nigeria wriggles in pain today.
The country is so mutilated that almost everybody, except the members of the
cabal that continue to axe the country mercilessly, has collapsed under the
brimstone immersed on it.
Those
who cannot cope have embraced crimes. They have now resorted to ritual
killings, murder of different shades, kidnapping, abduction, terrorism,
militancy, internet scam, among others as means of surviving the turbulence.
Nigeria
is badly wounded, and it cries for those who can take it out of the doldrums,
just like Allan Paton wrote in his book: “Cry My Beloved Country.” It cries for
the beautiful ones to be born to take her to the El-dorado, even though, the
beautiful ones have yet to be born just like the Ghanaian writer, Aye Kwei Armah
wrote in his book, “The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born.”
Now
it battles recession; all the prices of commodities are high, insurrection
pervades the air, demand for self determination and cry of marginalization from
all the ethnic groups jag the ear. How does Nigeria survive?
Politicians
have lost focus. Their tools during electioneering is subterfuge, employing
means to hoodwink the electorate, rather than offer issue-base manifestoes, and
properly articulate them with a view to making them impact the lives of the
citizens positively.
Politicians
should emerge to serve a nation, but not in Nigeria where the ultimate aim is to
loot the treasury, use power to oppress and tread rough-shod on the citizens. But
they can not serve, because service is taxing. It requires self denial,
discipline, tact and intelligence.
Service
is, as well, scaring, considering how nerve-racking, brain-racking and
energy-sapping it can be if one truly wants to serve. It is not actually
inviting as such, save a mind that covets only the pleasantries that it offers,
who off curse, when gets to power, will not serve the people.
It takes a highly determined, disciplined, a
workaholic, a good-intentioned, meek, altruistic, trustworthy and patriotic
individual to choose to serve a people. Service is seeking the well-being and
welfare of a people. But do they (politicians) have the wherewithal to serve
when all they are concerned about is how to voraciously grab the position of
power?
Where
are their efforts to empower the plebeians who lack the basic necessities of
life? Where is their determination to lift the under-privileged from the
dungeon of disrepute? Where is their compassion to free the oppressed from the
shackles and manacles of suffering? Have the widows, the orphans and the aged
any access to good life or good living? Do those who scramble for leadership
positions think of combating the astronomical rate of crimes? Does it occupy
their minds that they must wage a fierce battle against corruption? Do they,
for once, meditate on frontally tackling the socio-political and economic
disorderliness plaguing the country?
Rather
than think of wiping out the ills fore-mentioned and serve the citizens who
give them power; rather than concentrate on excellent politicking, they rent
the air with obscene words and engage in fisticuffs with one another over
positions and appointments.
They
rather forget that the positions they jostle for are a seat that demand
enormous responsibilities and service to humanity. They never think for a
moment that those positions are transient.
And
unfortunately, the citizens who should put the politicians on their toes are
docile and gullible; hence in the absence of what would hold them (politicians)
down, they ride to power easily. They emerge over and over again in different
political offices, as if they are the only ones blessed with reservoir of
knowledge in their communities and constituencies.
They
are not challenged or scrutinized. They are not engaged during meetings,
neither do they account for their stewardships. They spend their constituency
allowances anyhow in-as-much-as they are protected by godfathers whom they oil
effectively.
Nobody
calls them to order. The electorate are largely uneducated, unconcerned,
politically naïve, less demanding and highly impoverished. They do not know
that the power to hold politicians accountable resides with them. Ours is a
country colossally wounded and battered.
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