By Emma Jimo
(pix: abusidiqu) |
A writer Thomas
Carlyle defines genius as the infinite capacity for taking pains; that
is, limitless ability for perseverance and capacity for endurance. I think
seriously that tolerance, seemingly limitless capacity of Nigerians to endure
pains and yet remaining hopeful against all clear signs of lack of hope in
sight, all things being (un)equal are marks of ingenuity rather than docility.
Since it is the relationship between the governed and the government that
generated the assertion about docility, a politics – based example should not
be out of place or off-tune here.
Since Nigerian
political independence in 1960, governance or rulership has oscillated between
military and civil rules sharing almost equal number of years until 1999 when a
16–year-at-a-stretch civil rule began. In Nigeria ’s
political history, no government, whether loved or hated, military or civil,
imposed or voted legitimately has spent more than nine years, being
also the maximum spent by the General Yakubu Gowon-led administration, by far
the most economically comfortable, though arguably.
At least, the civil
servants who got Udoji award would think about economic buoyancy even if
academics would consider the same event as an (un)economically misdirected
prodigality. Anyone who has got his ears close to the political realm should
have heard, seen or read how in spite of nationally-acclaimed dribbling skills
of a military ruler was fought to a stands till by a combined civil forces
ofthe then very virile Nigerian Labour Congress and the National Association of
Nigerian Students (NANS) with patriotic collaboration of the press, including
the defunct clandestine and nocturnal Kudirat Radio, among others.
The campaign or huge
public relations gimmick by the militarised economists at promoting the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) agenda branded Structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP) was deflated by home-grown economists, although the reality
was that eventually the dictator rammed the imperial and colonial agenda
down the throat of Nigeria .
This was achieved against armoured tank rolled on the street to crush
oppositions. This couldn’t have been docility. It must have been hard core
patriotism and legitimate desperateness to break loose from the shackles
of dictatorship and imperialism.
History reminds us
that the Late General Sani Abacha frantically attempted to metamorphosed into a
‘bloody’ civilian president, but the scheme only enriched some sycophants
and ‘economic parasite cum cankerworm’, while the schemer himself was consumed
or he hastily existed from the stage before the curtain was drawn.
Somewhat, he had to
pay for his dictatorship with his life. Regardless of the five-million-man
match in support of General Abacha’s status-translation or transformation
agenda, the wish of the over 100 million other Nigerians then prevailed. The
saying that the pen was mightier than the sword was very famous and popular
then. The will of the people became more forceful and fruitful than the brutal
force of the armoured personnel carrier or armoured tank. This must be very far
from docility; it must have been resilience. In spite of the epochal
military-civilian power shift anchored by General-turned-Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo in 1979, he could not scale through the hurdle of attempted manipulative
third-terrorism.
His
appeared to be a case exemplifying the Yoruba aphorism that the man who is
being chased by a masquerade should persevere, because just as masquerades get
weary so do humans. The masquerade of Owu ran fast, far and wide but he was
wearied by the resilience of a people who could draw the line between emotion
and reason. There are African countries where their presidents have held on to
power for three decades at a stretch. In fact, Africa is
blessed with the world’s oldest and longest serving president at age 92. Third
term bid was cleverly manipulated in Burundi (the world’s saddest nation going by a
2015, University of Columbia Survey )
by Pierre Nkuruziza, who is still tenaciously hanging on regardless of more
than 400 needless deaths.
I do think that our
resilience, love for life, peace and sanctity of human life as a people
(excluding of course pockets of bloodless terrorists and cold-blooded
murderers) make it look like we are docile, but I think seriously we are not a
docile people. If you still have doubts, listen to radio station, dissect
comments, you need no further conviction that Nigerians are not docile
(stupidly quiet). Find out the response of Nigerians to government policy, you
soon find out that Nigerians are not easily pushed around for long. At
least the Maradonas of Nigerian politics or military know this.
Many dribbles have
come to abrupt and dead ends sooner than planned. If Nigerians are easily
controlled at all, it must have been the level of functional education of the
elites most of who dominate the class of commentators and reactors to
governance and government policies. Education makes a people easy to lead, but
difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave, asserts Henry
Peter Brougham. I think this is the case with Nigerians, who are resilient but
not docile in my opinion.
What do you think?
Are you a docile or resilient Nigerian?
Mr. Emma Jimo is a
commentator on public issues (saintlyemmajimo@gmail.com)
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