Fellow Nigerians, I really don’t know how you feel about the endless tension in our dear beloved country but I’m deeply troubled. I know it is in the character of those who have been seriously damaged and terribly frustrated by the Nigerian system to want to drop blood by all means. But has it ever achieved anything tangible? The answer is a big NO!
I have been participating in street demonstrations since I entered the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) as a pioneer JAMBITE in the year of our Lord 1978. I have lost count of how many demonstrations we’ve had with its attendant collateral damages, including several untimely deaths. Wole Soyinka is over 80 today. He has been fighting to see a reasonable and competent government in Nigeria for as long as I can remember. One of the books I wished to find and read so desperately was The Man Died, a most volatile and controversial prison memoir, written by the Nobel laureate under very excruciating conditions by Soyinka.
Soyinka’s friend, Christopher Okigbo, the famous poet, was not so lucky. He returned home to join the Biafra agitation for self-determination but lost his precious life to one of the dastardliest civil wars known to mankind. That genocide, if I can call it that, did not produce any sincere change at the end of the day.
The gadfly, Gani Fawehinmi, probably suffered more detentions than any soul in Nigerian history. Like the irrepressible abiku, or ogbanje, Gani went in and out of prisons, including the much dreaded Gashua and Kuje and eventually succumbed to the merciless grip of cancer. Gani never saw the Nigeria of his dream. Ditto for the famous educationist, Tai Solarin. I remember the socialist crusader participating in a June 12 procession and being tear-gassed despite being an asthmatic sufferer. He died soon after. Nigeria moved on as always.
The apparent winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Moshood Abiola, was the worst victim of all. After winning an election fair and square, he was rewarded with imprisonment and death. His businesses perished thus throwing his families and countless dependents into total commotion and famish. Still Nigerians carried on as lackadaisically as ever. As a matter of fact, the more you look, the less you are likely to see in our clime. We seem so hardened that nothing can move or touch us. Abiola died nearly 20 years ago but till this day, nothing has been done to honour him. That is who we are.
We continue to live perpetually in strife. Governments come, governments go. Nigeria remains stuck in crisis. Every leader acts as if in competition with his predecessors. Bitterness in never too far away. I often wonder how many enemies Nelson Mandela would have butchered if he was a Nigeria. We simply lack the spirit of forgiveness. Nigeria is bleeding dangerously today as a result of our obstinate and fastidious romance with vindictiveness. Only God can rescue us.
How I wish we could truly practice what our religions preach. Love is common to most faiths. But love is nowhere to be found. Let me go straight to my point. Nigeria is 56 years old as an independent nation. In those energy-sapping years, Nigeria has known no real peace. Nigeria has acquired unenviable notoriety as a sordidly corrupt nation. Different governments came and promised to wipe out corruption but they’ve never been able to even scratch on the surface. The modus operandi have been one and the same and yet we expect different results. More often than nothing, the targets are so predictable. And there are always enough acolytes to support anything under the son.
Today, former President, Goodluck Jonathan is the biggest villain in Nigeria. Everyone who cares knows I was never his fan. His government messed up big time. But there is one thing he did that no reasonable person should ever forget, he averted war in Nigeria last year. He set a new standard for our polluted political climate by calling his main opponent and conceding defeat in an unprecedented manner. We can easily take this gesture for granted because we escaped another massacre in our country but this was a heroic feat deed indeed.
Goodluck Jonathan governed for five full years as President and did his best even if he performed below expectation. I’ve watched with incredulity how we’ve all suddenly become saints and Jonathan and his gang have become the super demons. The biggest crime they committed was to divert monies meant for security. Some were recklessly shared and others were spent mindlessly on funding elections. Very bad, no doubt. It would be nice to retrieve as much as can be traced, certainly. But I wish to humbly submit that this must be done without appearing to be vengeful.
We all know how elections are funded in Nigeria. If we get down to brass tacks, there would be none without blemish. Most elections are funded with proceeds of corruption. Presidential elections alone would easily and readily gulp billions of Naira. It is usually the responsibility of governors to mobilise resources by throwing the states vaults open for the bazaar. This is the reality, whether we admit it or not. When tomorrow comes, we may be prolonging doomsday by engaging in this ding dong affair.
I was particularly miffed by the travails of the erstwhile Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati. While we should not condone an act of abuse of office, I fail to see what made his case so special when there are many fat cats roaming the streets with their loot. Unless there are other details not known to us, Reuben was given money by a superior. I wouldn’t have expected him to ask or know the source of the fund. Such minor infractions can be overlooked and should be forgiven while the billionaire politicians that litter everywhere should be of primary target. A man carrying elephant on his head should never worry about ants on the ground. We have more than enough problems to grapple with. Some people ruled Nigeria for 50 years and frittered away most of the resources, especially the oil money. If they were allowed to roam freely, we should be careful how we treat Jonathan.
We should not touch the tiger by the tail.
A TOAST TO THE SULTAN OF SOKOTO
It gives me great pleasure to propose this toast to one of Africa’s greatest monarchs, Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad III. I met him one on one last year when I accompanied my best friend, Adedamola Aderemi, the Prince of Ile-Ife, on a visit to the historic city of Uthman Dan Fodio. It was such an exhilarating experience for us.
As conservative as we expected The Sultan to be, he was surprisingly progressive. Since then, we’ve remained in communication. I call him and he makes the effort to call back and we usually chat like old buddies. I have grown very fond of him. Once I hear “hello Mr Ovation”, I know His Eminence is on the line. He is a truly remarkable and cerebral leader. A man who is well loved by his people and respected around the country, for promoting peace and stability.
As the 20th Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence has increasingly transformed himself into a national symbol of unity, and that is why it is necessary to celebrate this scion of the great Caliphate who is marking his 10th anniversary on the throne.