Whatever problem we may have in Nigeria at this or any other
time, this country is sustained by the fact that we are indeed a very special
people. We have been described as the happiest people on earth, we have also
described ourselves as resilient, gifted and determined, and in one report,
Nigerians are said to have the strongest shock absorber against some of the
deadliest diseases in the world. If anyone doubted this last point, well,
recall that we won the battle over Ebola virus, and polio.
The more you look at it, the more it seems
as if there is something in the Nigerian DNA that defies defeat, that
automatically deletes any virus that can result in system shut down, there is
that X-factor in our affairs that rises when hope seems lost, and life seems
tragic. Somehow, the Nigerian spirit regenerates, recreates and reinvents
itself, turns failure into possibilities, pessimism into new expectations, and tomorrow into
an anchor for renewal.
We are at such a crossroad, right now. But in the midst of
the despair, the listlessness, the anxiety, the what-happened-to-us and
what-the hell-is-going-on, you can’t miss the fact that the average Nigerian
has not lost his bounce. The biggest tragedies that can hobble other nations
happen here and we just shrug them off. Boko Haram alone has claimed
thousands of lives. Hun hun. Herdsmen have killed men and
women in their hundreds. Hun hun. More lives have been lost to
vehicle accidents on our poorly made, badly maintained roads. Well, hun
hun. Many fingers have been caught in the national cookie jar. Ha. What is
this? Who dunnit? But, o ma se o. hun
hun. The national leaky bucket has a thousand holes. Ha, no country
can live with this? Still, hen hun hun. We voted and there
were promises of a new spirit of the age. But that spirit is yet to manifest.
So? Nothing good comes easy, therefore. No miracles in the new agenda. So,
ni igba yen wa n ko? So, life goes on.
Whatever life throws at the average Nigerian, he protests,
he complains, but he accommodates it. It is the reason why nobody will
throw stones because power supply is at the worst level in years. It is the
reason why workers who have not been paid for months after months will still
see the same Governor who is responsible for their misery, after collecting
Federal money to help them, and has refused to deliver and they will still
scream: “My Excellency, sir.” When workers go on strike, someone calls
them together, says something nice, provides something nice and everything
falls nicely in place. The late Chief MKO Abiola was quoted saying “eto
ni gbogbo e”, that is anything in Nigeria can be arranged
nicely.
The June 12 debacle sadly could not be arranged
nicely. It cost the Chief of native wisdom and martyr of Nigerian democracy his
life, but many lessons have been learnt. And one key lesson is that in
this country, the people are determined to live no matter what. They can
grumble as they wish about the public space but Nigerians are not ready to give
up their will to live, their right to live and their understanding of how to
live. And if you put your neck on the line on their behalf, you will be
shocked that you will the subject of memes and what’s app jokes. The people
laugh at martyrs and heroes because they see no reason why anyone should commit
suicide, defending Nigeria, when there is so much life to be enjoyed.
Nigeria is probably the global headquarters of
enjoyment. The way the ordinary man has complained in recent times, about
political change and the socio-cultural changes it has brought, you would think
Nigerians are in serious trouble. But that is not the case. The foreign
exchange market has gone into a crazy overdrive impoverishing the whole nation.
Parents whose children are schooling abroad are afraid that they may no longer
be able to pay fees. The manufacturing sector is abusing the Minister of
Finance-what’s-that-her-name-again? and
where-did-she-learn-finance-public-policy-and-economics, but I beg, look
around, more businesses are actually springing up and all those foreign
investors who are supposedly monitoring the Nigerian market are actually
clinging to this market. Why do you think MTN wants to remain in Nigeria
till death do them part? Why do you think all those foreign countries want
President Buhari to visit? The banks have retrenched a lot of staff but the
same banks have started recruiting again. In this country, what you see is not
what you get. There is problem with foreign exchange but activities at the ports
have not ceased. Wait till September, you’d be shocked the number of Nigerian
children heading towards Europe, North America and other parts of Africa in
pursuit of expensive, forex-backed education.
I beg, leave matter. And if you don’t want to leave it go to
the nearest fuel station where many Nigerians are queuing up for fuel with
power generating sets and jerry cans. The people are going through the hardship
but they are laughing at their leaders. You think you can mess us up,
na lie. If you people like, sell fuel for N150, we go survive. They
stay in front of that fuel station and they review Nigeria’s history and lament
the choices they have made, but their spirit remains strong. That is what makes
them Nigerian. Go to the vendors’ stand. The crowd of poor people who cannot
afford to buy a newspaper copy, have all the same listened to the news and the
only place where they can compete as pundits is that roadside corner, where
sometimes one drunken idiot loses control behind the wheels and sheds human
blood, wasting those who have gathered not to buy any newspaper but to debate
Nigeria. This special crowd knows it all. You don’t want to get involved with
them. They will remind you that a Ph.D holder is actually a real idiot, and
that nobody needs certificates of any type to be a Nigerian, and well they add
too, that if you ever worked in government, then you are a confirmed idiot, and
a professional trickster.
Nigerians are so inventive, they find every way of beating
bad news, bad experience, or anything that tries to defeat them. Everyone
says there is no money in town, they claim things have gone from bad to worse
but the parties have not stooped. Go to any of the joints around Lagos, nothing
has been spoiled. Isi ewu, nkwobi, asun, sawa, orisirisi, point
and kill have all defied the Forex market. Yes, the price of staple
commodities has risen, but that has not stopped the people from throwing lavish
wedding parties. Nor has it stopped anybody from marrying three times when once
is enough: our people do traditional wedding – valid, they go to the registry:
valid, they rush to church- valid: rather than marry once, they do it thrice
all within a week. Nor has the austerity in town stopped anybody from burying
the dead as if the more money is thrown at the grave, the likeliest the
possibility of the dead suddenly becoming a Lazarus of the 21stcentury.
Is there poverty in town? You answer that question based on
the evidence of your eyes. What I have seen is that Nigerians are still living
as if there is too much money in the country. Take a look at the garments
Nigerians wear every week. We certainly don’t look like electricity is a
problem or that money is in short supply. Soon it will be another Ojude
oba among the Ijebus, for example. You go and check them out. As
a teacher at Ogun State University in those days, (I served later as member of
the Governing Council), we used to go from one party to the other, guzzling
free food and quaffing free drinks. Today, those lavish parties have not
ceased. Nobody eats like that in Europe or North America. When you go to all
the old joints, in Agarawu in Lagos or Tarmac, nothing has changed either. The
music still flows, the swag is on. Elsewhere, new buildings are springing up;
new cars are being “washed”, additional wives are being acquired. Leave matter,
I beg. Nigeria will survive, and these same people who are complaining about
change, you’d be shocked, they’d still vote for their stomachs in 2019.
And that is why Nigeria is one country that beats all the
textbook theories. We are just something else. There is more in the social
arena that defines who we are, than in the theoretical arena. The same
people who are complaining that they have not seen change are actually hoping
for more. They are not ready to adjust. They are not ready to make sacrifices.
If they have an opportunity to be close to government in any way, they will
jump at it. The corruption that we talk about is not just in government
corridors, it is in society, but the one inside society is so difficult to trap
because it is amorphous and inchoate in so many respects. Invariably, the snake
feeds on itself: mobius strip.
What we are left with is the image of the people laughing at
government and themselves. Have you taken time out to check what happens on
social media? Anybody who ever ventured into governance is easy game. The
people design caricatures and mock them. Nigeria produces more memes and
graphics than any other country in Africa not necessarily because of the events
that happen here but because of the people’s consciousness, and if I may add,
private greed. In that other world, political change is ridiculed, poverty is
deplored, GEJ is becoming a saint and PMB a villain, but the people are still
having fun, and blaming Nigeria and the politicians.
I tell you, the problem with Nigeria is not the politicians but the people themselves. We are very special people, but we don’t really know what we want, and because we are like that, we confuse the politicians and the nation. But for as long as we can wear those impressive attires and throw those parties and dance to old music and pay our private bills, we see no reason to care enough. Pity is: no country can ever move ahead if the people do not care enough. For us, life goes on, no matter what.
I tell you, the problem with Nigeria is not the politicians but the people themselves. We are very special people, but we don’t really know what we want, and because we are like that, we confuse the politicians and the nation. But for as long as we can wear those impressive attires and throw those parties and dance to old music and pay our private bills, we see no reason to care enough. Pity is: no country can ever move ahead if the people do not care enough. For us, life goes on, no matter what.
1 comments
Yes o. We are special and we know our worth!
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