Hero or VILLAIN
Recently I witnessed why we, a great nation in Wonderland; a corrupt
nation at heart; and a weakling in reality, continually blaming more
serious nations for our inadequacies and military deficiencies, cannot
but be right where we are: aimless, voiceless, dying... our
legislators collecting exorbitant salaries; our executives looting our
treasury, and complicit in the evanescence of our oil; and our Naira
falling, in need of 0.5% of the crooks' take-home pay to stabilise
itself, and yet not likely to get it.
For some things do happen ONLY in Nigeria: It is only in Nigeria that
a whole ship disappears with oil despite the existence of the Navy,
NIMASA, Intelligence services, et al! It is only in Nigeria that BH
gets rescued and the military advancement gets scuttled each time we
are going to win the war. It is only in Nigeria that our sovereignty
is dependent on the US, and her aid- if you ignore Israel, Germany,
and, lately, France, that is... First Ebola vaccine, then military
weaponry. Why can't we be self-sufficient in the latter as we were in
the former?
We are anti-truth... We are afraid to die for what we believe in, if
at all we believe in anything... We are hypocrites criticising others
for a trait we all bear, an act we all wear, a flaw we all share...
And what is worse? We are not even bothered!
Recently i saw how a class that will not agree to appoint a leader
quickly resorts to begging the unwanted one once the villain shows
promise of winning. No, they must have the lesser of two evils, if at
all they must have evil. It did not matter if the villain could do the
job, and do it well. It did not matter if a willing hand was better
than a forced mind. It did not matter that they all refused to pick
the gauntlet. The villain just must not be appointed, shikenah! Alas,
they did not need a hero to rally about, they could do as much
rallying against a villain. The point is to rally, after all, and we
do that quite well, don't we?
Quite the same way we have rallied to Buhari despite the
uncertainties, despite the insecurities, despite the undeniable
flaws... Despite his figurehead past, anti-freedom policies, pro-BH
stance. We just must have the (seemingly) lesser of two evils, even if
we will yet pay for it.
Recently I saw how a hundred and fifty persons could not organise
themselves in credible affiliations to appoint competent officials.
How then does one expect sanity in the democracy of a hundred and
fifty million? How? If a hundred and fifty people cannot vote for the
most competent as the most eligible, if they mistake congeniality for
competence, and loyalty for productivity. If they will not speak the
truth and be damned.
If Jonathan can be called clueless, liar, thief; but not their
president. Oh, their president is a sacred cow, we must not attack his
personality, we must not bring him to book; he must not explain why he
was firm on the one hand and slack on the other, why stealing is not
corruption, and contemptible enough to warrant his dismissal at the
polls. Oh, I too am attacking his personality, I s'pose... I better
stop.
It doesn't matter whether he is innocent or guilty, if he is
acquittable or culpable, if he actually is unfit for presidency: he
has washed the right feet, worshipped the right knees, rubbed the
right palms; he has consulted the right wazoo, he must win- his
inadequacies not withstanding. Àbí no be so una dey do? Vote the
highest bidder, the most rice, the more kerosene, and not necessary
his integrity and competence, passion and compassion!
If there is any position where personality, personal values, and
judgement are inextricable, it is the presidency. I want to be sure
that my president is of sound mind, that he is trustworthy, that he is
reliable; that he will not call kettle pot, or spade, shovel. Yes, he
has to pay attention even to such minute details. And if in such
thorough cross-examination I attack his personality, then I better be
so damned. Luckily, I cannot have more enemies as it is, since they
have said I have no friends (among them)!
And this is, as they said I would write, "the class I lead".
Ayk Fowosire (c/o #Ayk_EDIT)
Sagamu.
@adelayok
We may vote Buhari. We may vote Tambuwal. We may vote Jonathan. But
until we change our attitude to truth (and death) as a nation of
hypocrites, we remain the suffering masses that we always have been.
We remain the prime villain of our own story. Even as none of our
politicians is a hero in the true sense of the word.
They are politicians, navigating the tides, doing what is best for
themselves, installing their kin, and securing our allegiance at all
cost- since we are yet for sale, and our price his hypocrisy.
April 21, 2017, 01:01:54 AM