By Dan Amor
It is the biggest question of the day! Does Nigeria really
matter? Like an inscrutable nightmare, the ponderous mystery of the Nigerian
national question, which is ultimately the nation's enduring essence, is still
at issue. Jolted by the scandalous and shocking display of of the obvious
limitations of the human evolution, the unacceptable index of human misery in
their country, and willed by a recent memory of oppression inflicted upon them
by discredited soldiers and their quislings, Nigerians have been singing
discordant tunes about the state of their forced Union .
This has further been exacerbated by disarming pockets of inter and
intra-communal clashes, wanton killings by Fulani herdsmen, senseless Boko
Haram bombings, violent robbery and mindless kidnappings across the country.
Therefore, the matter for regret and agitation is that a supposedly giant of Africa has suddenly become the world's most viable
junkyard due to the evil machinations of a fraudulent
ruling class and the feudal forces still determined to keep the country in a
permanent state of medieval servitude.
*President Buhari flanked by wife, Aisha and political associates mark his 73rd birthday |
The stagnant situation in which
the country finds itself and the helpless ambivalence of the Nigerian people,
more than justify critical considerations. President Muhammadu Buhari's New Year
message to the Nigerian people has added salt to injury. In a feat of arrogant
military praxis and condescension, Mr. Buhari rejected the clamour by a
majority of Nigerians for restructuring which is simply the devolution of
powers from the centre to the federating units so as to engender competition
amongst the states or geopolitical zones and trigger development across the
country. Buhari who had been begging the issue by shifting the responsibility
for the restructuring debacle to the National Assembly now assumed the
dictatorial powers from nowhere to assert that Nigeria 's problem is more of
process than structure. This is typical of a barracks code than of a democratic
dispensation. As president of Nigeria
on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo also
exhibited such absolute powers. Like Obasanjo like Buhari. Like PDP like APC.
The vicious cycle of human stupidity continues unabated in this God-forsaken
land.
To say that the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) was once the dominant party in Nigeria and other parties were like
the women and youth wings of that party, is to underscore the obvious. What PDP
was under the watch of former President Olusegun Obasanjo is what the All
Progressives Congress (APC) is currently under the watch of President Muhammadu
Buhari. But there is something augural about the ceaseless predilection for
retired military officers or Generals to join the babeldom which their
indulgence in the nation's partisan politics has become. By their training and
temperament, they are, arguably, strangers to politics. And this is why our
constitutions since independence in 1960, mark them out as praetorian guards of
the nation's territorial inviolability. As warlords who are not experts in the
intricate calculus of social engineering, they are bound to be absolutely
insular from the daily nuances or jabs of partisan politics. Unfortunately,
this is not the case. We are in almost the same situation we found ourselves
when General Sani Abacha was on the throne. The only difference is that in the
Abacha era, Nigerians saw food to feed their children and were able to pay
their children's school fees. Also, things were a lot better during the
Obasanjo administration as the Naira exchanged between 120 and 160 to the
dollar. Now, the nation's currency has collapsed completely in Buhari's hands.
It is the reign of hunger and fear.
During the traumatic
administration of General Abacha, between November 1993 and August 1998,
several kilometers of thick forests shut our land from the sight of the
civilised world. And the voice of the hungry and powerless masses of the people
was overpowered by the intimidating din of the forces of tyranny while the
echoes of machine guns and bombs overshadowed the voice of reason. Dissent was
decreed out of existence in this soulless land. Now, the unimaginable
deprivation, the loathsome and strange diseases, wounds, captivity, pestilence
and despair, were the lot of the popular masses. Alas, the rule was that
silence should be adored as the goddess of survival. Hence, they had rolled out
armoured tanks and other deadly weapons bought with proceeds of oil from the
Niger Delta to enforce their decree that all was well provided no voice was
raised against their nefarious rule. Those were, indeed, times when history
mocked the efforts of ordinary mortals to subvert its supreme will. Today, we
demand freedom for this democracy to matter.
As we watch religious leaders
being invited for questioning by agents of the State, we must remind them that
it is decreed by the Supreme Being, that His anointed should not be touched nor
His prophets harmed. We must remind them of the goals of our founding fathers.
All Nigerians must be emboldened by the knowledge that the goals we seek in our
beleaguered country are of the first rank. These goals include, first and
foremost, true equality and justice for all Nigerians. We seek this goal
because we are determined to build a truly great nation in which all citizens
must feel at home, one in which a selfish cabal will not have a veto power over
who rules, what happens and who gets what in the country's vicious
spoils-and-booty system. We demand egalitarian democracy for Nigeria to
matter. We seek an end to authoritarian rule. We are no longer anamoured of the
presumed wisdom of soldiers. We do not want to be ridden any more by ambitious,
intemperate and seedy generals. We have created more than enough retired
generals who are merely idle, indolent billionaires and who cannot even sign
their signatures. We are fed up with being barked at , being told when we can
assemble or associate with one another. We have had enough of the arrogance of
unaccountable power. We are sick and tired of mindless decrees rolling out like
a torrent. We demand liberty for this democracy to matter.
In this land of mutilated cultures and religious intolerance,
development is often seen in the dividing line between savagery and barbarism.
It is a place where delicate pedantries and dilettantism are preferred to
indigenous cultures. What exists is rather a culture of violence in which
defenseless citizens are daily intimidated with engaging impulsiveness as in
the case of Southern Kaduna , Agatu, Odi, Zaki
Biam, Odioma, etcetera. And there is nowhere to run to as Nigerians appear
surrounded by a misty ocean infested with a multitude of crocodiles. It is a
turbulent moment with a red face when the whole society is turned into an
unusual lairage or slaughterhouse where the haggling goes on unabated in high
pitch amidst the din and the babble. In this concentration camp where noxious
gas has reduced the people's lifespan to barely 45 years, the poor masses are
defenseless victims of the vagaries of the weather and the reign of darkness.
We demand enlightenment and constant light for this democracy to be meaningful.
For, in this God-forsaken land essential amenities and public infrastructure
are never enjoyed. There is no potable water to drink, no motor-able roads, no
hospitals with drugs, no employment for our teeming graduates, etcetera.
Indeed, there is simply no nothing here. The only things in abundance are brute
force, disobedience of court orders, religious bigotry, nepotism, tribalism, political
repression and recession. We demand accountability and fairness for this
democracy to matter.
*Amor is an Abuja-based journalist and public affairs analyst.
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