Why weep for Nigeria?

n the past 25 years, at least, I have often read awful stories about our dear nation, Nigeria: Insecurity, unemployment, poverty, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, low produc­tivity, smuggling, etc. Hardly does one read any palatable stories about Nige­ria. This has left me wondering when things will actually look up for Nigeria. Are we going to lament our inadequa­cies forever? When will respite come?

Each time I sit back to ruminate on where Nigeria is and where it is supposed to be my heart becomes giddy and melan­cholic. I feel weak and disconsolate. I am left wondering what has really gone wrong with a once-beautiful and lovely country. Nevertheless, the more I think about Nige­ria and its numerous problems, the more pain I feel in my heart. Let us tell one an­other the truth: Nigeria is no longer what it used to be. Almost everybody and eve­rything has gone crazy. At times, the way we conduct ourselves, relate to one anoth­er, and treat Nigeria is very unbecoming, wicked and insensible. The worst part is we spend precious time blaming one an­other, agencies of government as if we are not aware that the problems of Nigeria are caused by all of us. Yes, all of us. If not us, who else?

We spend precious time crying over spilt milk. Nobody need tell us again that Nigeria is sick. We all know that. What we should be addressing is what should be done to redirect the consciousness of our people and build a new, united nation.

I recall with nostalgia our growing-up days as a schoolboy, when things were still very normal, not now everything seems to have fallen apart; when men were men, and could prove their manhood in very capable ways; when we used to be our brother’s keeper and treated, even, a stranger like a member of our family; when children used to be polite, respectful and deferred to their parents and guardians on every mat­ter; when there were no serious robbers, but pick-pockets; when money had value and you could build a house with just 100 pounds; when husbands and wives clung to each other like leeches and confided in each other with absolute conjugal fidelity; when education meant everything to parents and their children; when electricity and water were supplied with regularity; when death was not common and it was always very scary and painful to learn of the death of someone; etc. What has happened to those beautiful days when travelling abroad was just intended to acquire ‘Oyibo’ man’s edu­cation, and not for frolicking and jamboree as is the case these days.

Where are the cash crops – groundnuts, palm oil, cashew, rubber, etc – that served as the mainstay of our economy before the discovery of oil in 1958? Oh, my God, where are the famous Groundnut Pyramids in Kano; the rubber plantations in the then Western Nigeria; tin and columbite for which Jos and its environs were known; etc?

Where are the beautiful and altruis­tic ideals for which Nigerians were once known? The strong family bonds and tradi­tions: Where have they all gone? Why have we allowed ourselves to be used by Satan and his agents to perpetrate evil against our own nation and even relatives? Where have all the great politicians who saw politics as a means of developing Nigeria gone? Yes, some of them may be dead, but can’t we reproduce them in some, if not all, of us?

Rather what we have today are mainly opportunists and acquisitionists, who have no place in public service. All they are interested in is building fiefdoms all over the place and working to gain the whole world, without caring about the vanity and ephemeral nature of life.

Oh God! Where are all the men and women of good conscience whose pres­ence inspired hope in others? They walked the entire political spectra of this country spreading the good news of national unity without fear or shame. Unfortunately, their successors have squandered our common patrimony and left all of us desolate and disheartened.

Those who govern us do so with little care or love. The oath of office and alle­giance administered on them on the day of their inauguration no longer mean anything to them. Instead of serving the people as they pledged, the people now kowtow to them for the crumbs that fall from their tables. The majority of our people lives below the poverty line and cannot afford three square meals a day. Those who ad­minister our affairs see no cause to govern with the fear of God. After all, how many of them fear God. They serve other gods and pay obeisance to demigods. This is why they do not care where their souls go to in death.

God, are you still there? I have asked this question because it seems you, God, have abandoned us. Is it because of our transgressions? Do not kill us before we get old, for you live and reign forever. Cleanse our nation of the evil men and women who have vowed to destroy it and your people. When will you restore our na­tion, Lord? When? If you allow things to go on the way they are we will wake up one morning and discover there is no country again to call ours.

Nigerians behave the way they like, do whatever pleases them and treat Nigeria like a leprous entity. We should beware, be­cause judgement day is fast approaching.

I cannot stop asking questions until somebody provides me answers. Let me ask yet again, where were those boards that provided uninterrupted utility services to the people in the 60’s? I remember with mixed feelings the quality services pro­vided by such companies as the Electric­ity Company of Nigeria (ECN) and Public Works Department (PWD) – known today as Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and Ministry of Works respective­ly. Some of the infrastructure provided by these companies still stands till date. The roads then were built to stand the test of time and vagaries of weather. The standard of life in the good old days used to be very high. Everybody was content with what he or she had. There was no room for cheat­ing (419 and other such crimes), lousiness, slothfulness, greed and avarice. Parents were in control of their children and ran their homes with love and dutifulness. Couples led a faithful life and did things to­gether. Their children and wards emulated them with pride and reverence. Those were the days children were named after their parents and bore other such names that typified their character or depicted their family tradition. What do we have these days? People bear names that do not mean anything to them or portray their personal­ity. Imagine somebody who has looted the treasury or an armed robber naming his child after him or her.

Kalukuta Republic is what we have in many homes today, where relationship be­tween couples and their children is tempes­tuous and estranged. Trust has taken flight in many homes, and in its place we have mutual suspicion, unfaithfulness and lust.

Most parents hardly ever communicate filially with their children. Communication between most husbands and their wives is a mere luxury. Many children themselves have grown to cater to themselves as their parents lack the financial or moral capabil­ity to discharge their duties to them. Most of our female children have lost the moral fibre to live an upright life. They resort to all kinds of atrocious things to make ends meet. Their parents are even handicapped to stop them from doing whatever they like, since they have suddenly become the breadwinners. You ask them why they engage in these ignominious acts to keep body and soul together and they tell you ‘man must survive’.

Are these girls to blame? I do not think all the blame should be heaped on them. The society, which is expected to take care of them and has failed to do so, should par­take in the blame. Why would a young girl not engage in prostitution when she has been abandoned by her parents or nega­tively influenced by them or their peers? She no longer listens to her parents and does not care a hoot how anybody feels about her actions. What of our young boys? It is the same story. They have the world at their feet and resort to self-help when they find themselves in a tight situation.

How did cultism and other such mis­demanours find their way into the lives of our young ones? The answer is very sim­ple: The society created the enabling en­vironment for them to be so indoctrinated. The ills that plague our society would not have got to this embarrassing level if the society had played its own role dutifully. Most of our schools are dilapidated and suffer from dearth of qualified teachers and teaching aids. Many students are so poor they can barely afford money for their ex­aminations, let alone pay the exorbitant fees charged by their schools. What results from all of these is cultism, prostitution, robbery, drug abuse, etc. What happens to all the billions voted annually for edu­cation? Who pockets the money and who supervises the supervisors.

So, how culpable is each of us in the mess into which we have submerged Ni­geria? The crises besetting every nook and cranny of this country are caused by us. No other person. The direction Nigeria goes is predicated on the attitude we exhibit toward Nigeria and to one another. Some of us treat Nigeria like our personal prop­erty or, better still, like a piece of furniture that can be tossed around anyhow. We lack patriotism and morality and have always shown penchant to acquire wealth even to the detriment of our own lives.

The religious and political crises that have become the order of the day in Ni­geria have their root in indiscipline and injustice. In the 60’s, despite the differ­ences in tongue, we still co-existed as one, indivisible people. Though we belonged to different political affiliations we did not allow that to constitute an impediment in our avowed determination to make Nigeria a great nation. You could hardly tell from where any one came. Igbo and Yoruba liv­ing in the north co-habited in peace and mutual respect. The same situation ob­tained for Hausa living in the east and west of Nigeria. Your religion and status did not quite matter. What was paramount was that you were a Nigerian.

It was this bonding that gave rise to Ni­geria’s independence. The fighters for our freedom – the Great Zik and his colleagues – did not allow ethnic or religious cleav­ages to becloud their vision to take Nigeria to the next level. That was why their con­tributions to the liberation of Nigeria from the clutches of colonialism will not easily be forgotten. They carved their names in gold through their altruistic services to na­tion and fellow citizens.

That was the vision of our forbears. How things suddenly went out of hand is what I cannot understand. The rich are get­ting richer and the poor poorer. Those that enjoy the perks are less than one per cent of our overall population. From among the remaining 99% they pick their acolytes and stooges who collude with them to fleece our dear country. This one per cent con­trols our financial resources, security agen­cies and other juicy perks, leaving the rest of us impoverished and at their mercy. It seems all of us have been intimidated and coerced, as nobody is asking questions any longer. Might has become right and many have been forced to resign to fate out of frustration. Those who summon courage to challenge them are bullied, castigated and hauled into detention for one flimsy reason or another. Everybody must dance to their tune; Section 36(1) of our Constitu­tion means nothing to them. They believe that in spite of the guaranteed freedom of speech by the constitution nobody should hold a contrary opinion. By so doing and for fear of any reprisals, the weak choose to keep quiet.

Today the once-peaceful north has been turned into a killing field. Thousands of our compatriots have been dispatched to their early graves for no fault of theirs in par­ticular. Worst of it, everybody is confused on what can be done to stop the carnage.

But I pray God to grant those of us who have offered to fight for the weak, voice­less and oppressed the courage to continue to do so. Though the powers that contend against us are formidable, we believe there is nothing impossible for God to do. He will surely see us through. After all, no condition in life is permanent.

Nigeria cannot continue the way it is go­ing, otherwise we all will be imperiled. We must stand up and redeem Nigeria from the clutches of the forces of darkness that are assailed against it.

The restoration of Nigeria is a task we all must embark upon individually and col­lectively, no matter your religion, status or political alignment.

The present regime owes Nigerians a duty to tackle the myriads of problems confronting it. We cannot continue to la­ment and bemoan our woes. This is time for pragmatic steps to be taken to reposi­tion Nigeria and make her truly great.

The global economy is in dire straits and this makes our people vulnerable. The level of poverty in the land is such that we need to cooperate with the government to make things happen. That was why I sug­gested two weeks ago for the federal gov­ernment to give between N10 billion and N20 billion loans to individuals at the rate of 2%-4% to embark of massive agricul­ture to fight hunger and stop importation of essential food items.

It will be a great tragedy if our govern­ment failed to capitalize on the current op­portunities before it to boost the nation’s economy and fight poverty.

I do not believe we should continue to weep for Nigeria when we can do some­thing to salvage her from self-perdition.