‘Those who would see no blot of villainy in the beloved oppressed nor grant the faintest glimmer of humanity to the hated oppressor are partisans, patriots and party-liners’ Chinua Achebe Anthill of the Savannah
Nigerians! We live in an ambience of a very deep cultural and religious influence. A vast majority of people that are joined in ways- apart from the Umbrella name Nigeria- even we, sometimes, are not aware of. The tenacity with which we hold on to our culture and the funny paradox of adopting foreign religion and making it fit to our indigenous way of life. So deeply that it is almost overriding the naturally programmed traditional religions. Children in the nearest future, might have every cause to believe that their ancestral religion has always been Christianity or Islam.
The progeny of the matrimony of traditional culture and foreign religion is the moral standard of an average Nigerian community. This has placed the diadem of clout on certain characters and labeled anybody who has them as morally upright. And as said in the aphorism: “you don’t give what you don’t have”, only a morally upright man can give good advice, can make good music, can have good insight. However, one of the many flaws our moral code has is the stereotype of judging by appearance. True, appearances are important, but should we mystify appearances in lieu of valuable contents and quality?
One of the lessons, we might have been blinded to is the insight by Nigerian rapper, Afeez Olusola, popularly known as Naira Marley in his song “Soapy”. Good lord! What does a weed smoker and a guy with dreadlocks have to tell me about the country? He is probably singing trash right? Well, that’s Wrong! Soapy is a piece that paints the image of the sick Nigeria in a dissected state. It makes the hidden horror and cause of the near death of our country very ostensible. On further analysis, it is a prophetic piece that foretells the dilapidated state the county would be in some years’ time. Let’s go on a little journey as we unravel the meaning of ‘ole ni everybody, eni ile mo ba sa ni barawo’ which is roughly translated as: we are all thieves, it is he who is caught that is the criminal. It’s the relationship of our country and the impending shipwreck of our politics.
THE THIEVES AT THE UPPER ECHELON
Power can be indeed intoxicating. Any human could easily be seduced by the aphrodisiac for the privileges an office has to offer, and the possibility of breaking rules without getting caught. Perhaps this tragedy is what has befallen our leaders. Their insights have been clouded by the immunity of their office and the clout they gain as leaders. After all, the people have elected them. Leaders have indulged in shenanigans and worse at the expense of the citizens and they can’t be caught, can they? Even if they are, money can sure make ways where there seem to be none. There have been various allegations of corruption against both current and past leaders, some of which have been proven. For instance, the billions of Naira looted by late General Abacha could have changed a lot of Nigerian Lives, but they were stacked away in his personal account. Despite this, some still regard him as a National hero.
The System which was impregnated with impunity and tribalistic ideals has produced progenies of corruption and an unending circle of political witch hunting. Abacha is definitely not the only one who has looted funds. Just like a tree infected at the root, the menace of corruption has become a genetic disease which shows up in every progeny and eventually spreads to its other part. As of this time, not only is government at the central infected, it has spread enough to get down to the local government and wards, the grassroots politicians whom are supposed to be the hope of the common man. It is noteworthy too that the menace appears irrespective of the political party in power. However it is easy to blame these people, remember, beneath the mystic facade that titles confer on an individual is a normal person that had once experienced the woes of a bad government. Someone who was an ajepako (poor born), and has travelled the bad roads of the country with us. If this be the case, where exactly is the problem from? A person who has suffered with the people shouldn’t treat them the same way, don’t you think?
THE MIDDLE AND LOW CLASS THIEVES
It is imperative that before we remove the log of wood in the eye of government officials, we definitely have to remove the speck in ours. At least that way, we would not end up like the proverbial coal pot that berates the gas cooker for its blackness. It is noteworthy that most of the leaders at the hot end of the blame game are children of the proletariat of the previous generations. So, before we call the government people wicked, we should remember when we sold our permanent voters card during elections, we should think of when deliberately we inflated the price of face masks because of the high demand. We should think of how we jump queues in Banks and pay bribes at court, we should think of how we take advantage of people’s ignorance and exploit them for the sake of big profit, we should think of how our policemen and vehicle inspection officers collect bribes in lieu of road user safety, we should think of how we use our clout to rake more benefits to ourselves at the expense of others. We should think of how we dupe others and sell fake clothes to them, how we add coloured substances to grounded peppers just to sell more. If an average individual can do all these without being in government, how much more havoc would he wreck in power.
THE ACADEMIC THIEVES
The pen is indeed mightier than the sword. The full power of the pen should be guarded like the legendary genie lamp of Ali Baba, so that it would not get into the wrong hands. A feature that makes it more dangerous than the lamp is the singular fact that the number of wishes it can grant is not limited to three. It is however saddening that the gown – the sacred order meant to safeguard this treasure- has been corrupt. The pen can be a tool for building or destroying depending on who wields its power. Its destructive power has been shown by usage by the politicians in siphoning funds. This menace also ravages the academic community. Reports of lecturers failing students that have refused to gratify their selfish needs (Sex for grades saga) have been heard. Supposed intellectuals make money from the student populace who are scared of losing their entire lives to the whims of the demons in gowns. Teachers silencing any attempts at correcting the wrongs in the academic world and so many other vices. Isn’t the gown meant to be a utopian society? Isn’t it meant to rid the community of its problems?
Worst of all, the infection of corruption has spread to the very hope of the future -the youth. The students’ political system is a perfect allegory of the country. The school itself being a micro-some of the outside world. Not to go too far, various executive officer holders in Halls of residence and faculties in the University of Ibadan have been indicted for allegations of corruption and fund embezzlement. Ironically, the most population of critics of government bodies come from the student body. In the actual sense, corrupt practices seem to be more pronounced in the youth populace. How is a body not able to manage its own affairs going to produce future leaders? If they do, what kind of leaders would they produce?
CONCLUSION
In the absence of feasible solutions or who to proffer such solutions, the blame game seem to grant the temporary gratification of letting out frustration to the people who indulge in it. However, before we blame the next man for our woes, how about we correct that act of selfishness in us? How about we utilize those lofty policies in our immediate circle? Development is a consequence of collective efforts of all citizens. It can’t be attained by arm chair criticism and apathy. It is rather attained by conscious efforts of individual bodies that make up the country. True change can only come if power is handed to the right set of people, but the right set of people do not seem to be available at all. Are there?
Akinmoyeje Timileyin Precious
