Why Nigeria Keeps Going to the Dogs
Why Nigeria Keeps Going to the Dogs
“It’s none of my business” — the root cause of Nigeria’s woes.
The illustrious professor walked into the class. His authoritative “Who dares to challenge me?” atmosphere instantly subdued the students.
They were already in their seats, waiting to receive his lectures for the day. In he walked, majestically. His students were ready to go. Let the lectures begin.
But contrary to their expectations, before commencing, the professor singled out one of his students, Alexis. He banished her out of his class. Forever. No questions asked.
Taken aback, Alexis asked, “I don’t understand.” But the professor’s word was law. He who must be obeyed won’t brood any opposition to his “unjust” edict. Demurely, the lovely lady left the class in humiliation. Or so it seemed.
Fortunately, it all ended well. And need I tell you it was all a script? The professor was driving home a lesson that these upcoming legal luminaries wouldn’t have learned any other way.
His question, “Why didn’t any of you try to prevent this injustice?” has haunted me (in a positive way) ever since I first watched the YouTube script.
The answer to that question is what every Nigerian must answer if ever there is to be any hope for our country’s redemption.
Is it truly “None of my business”?
These days, many a Nigerian prefer to never take any stand against impunity, lawlessness, or injustice.
Our country has degenerated into a self-flagellating timid throng of voiceless acquiescing citizens. The complicit silent majority. Nevertheless, there have been rising screams of voices of conscience in our land. We refuse to be silenced.
That the General Elections of 2023 were massively rigged is undeniable. But election rigging won’t be possible without the tacit, zero resistance from non-riggers.
Aside from delayed voting and manipulations that purportedly took place after the ballot, voting was open. On that day, unknown to me, all I had to do to invite the ire of the losing party’s agents was to insist that the right thing be done.
The right thing to do which I did was asking the INEC officials to record the results properly so as to leave no room for manipulations on the results sheet. For daring to raise a voice against deliberate irregularities, thugs from the losing side threatened to rough handled me.
What shocked me most was that even though the non-riggers were in the majority, nobody raised a voice or rallied around me to shield me from my assailants.
They all stood aside, looking on. No single one came to my defense. Instead, what I heard after I escaped from the polling station was, “… you ought to let them have their way. Why do you want to injure yourself or get killed? That is their way. They will always rig the elections. …”
I narrowly escaped being inflicted with bodily injuries on that day. Yet, till today, some Nigerians including those who never participated in the elections, are still justifying the electoral heist that the Nigeria Elections of 2023 turned out to be.
These questions arise, How do you save a people who meekly turn aside instead of supporting those who are trying to rescue them? How do you rescue a people who are not ready to strike a single blow for emancipation from heartless oppressors?
For me, this is the crux of my country, Nigeria’s unfolding tragedy. And not until we all arise to face this pervasive collective malaise of our people, we are going nowhere as a country.
“How do you save a people who meekly turn aside instead of supporting those who are trying to rescue them?
How do you rescue a people who are not ready to strike a single blow for emancipation from heartless oppressors?”
How often do you see your fellow Nigerians look the other way when they see injustice being perpetrated? Frequently. Times without numbers. Our typical reaction is to shrug off the shoulders with the retort, “Not my business.” “Hey mind your business.” “My brother, leave them alone, you can’t beat them.”
Yes, there are heroic exemptions to this unwritten code of everybody “Mind your business”. But I must state that the banal complicity of “ordinary” Nigerians is responsible for why the nation’s deliverance is a forever receding mirage.
Till today, many Nigerians still consider past military dictators (like the late General Sani Abacha) their heroes. The same Nigerians are continuously working day and night to entrench perfidy, injustice, inequity, unfairness, and lies.
With these present crops of rulers and followers holding sway over most of the continent, most of Black Africa (especially Nigeria) is never going to “Arise” in our generation. With these cadres of pervasive unrulers, the continent seems to be on a fast track to self-extinction.
Someone has aptly described Nigeria as a country of dark shadows and thick cobwebs. The more shadows and cobwebs you uncover, the more you still have to uncover.
With every passing new day of my country’s disgusting self inflicted misfortunes, it takes another level of resilience not to give up on the question, “Is this country truly irredeemable?”
For me, sadly, it seems many Nigerians have almost completely lost touch with real human values. Many seem to have forfeited their personalities.
Here, people are struggling so much to the point they no longer care about their own choices and how those choices affect their future. It follows naturally that such a people will no longer care about others or their country.
Many Nigerians don’t care about their government’s misrule and atrocities perpetrated in the name of their country, so long as they are not being negatively touched.
Ours has turned into an Orwellian doublespeak country where evil is certified good and good excoriated as evil according to political, tribal, and religious affiliations.
Only Nigerians can deliver Nigeria. And if Nigerians are going to experience such liberation in this generation, we must stop the attitude of, “It’s none of my business. Let others do it.”
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