Nigerians are unique in every sense but if we pretend that we operate a normal society, then the truth is not in us. Nigeria was great and can be great again, only that the long journey to greatness would require some internal cleansing by all of us.
The first time I began to query the ‘Nigerianness’ in Nigerians was way back in 2007. I was on a return journey from Dallas, USA to Lagos after the summer holidays with my family. The journey was enroute London and the transit from Dallas to London was peaceful and orderly.
The journey from London to Lagos was different. All hell was let loose when it was time to board, as passengers scrambled for space from the lounge to the aircraft. In awe, my younger son who was barely three years old then asked me why the rush, after all we all had our seats already allocated to us.
As much as I would have loved to tell my son the truth, the deep-seated love in my heart wouldn’t let me denigrate my country that I hold so dearly. I parried the question and distracted my son so I wouldn’t have to lie. The answer to his question was that we had more Nigerians onboard and we were getting closer to Nigeria, where orderliness is such a big deal.
The Nigeria Bar Association conference has come and gone. The prestigious annual event drew the crème de la crème of the Nigerian society. Our learned friends must be really proud to have had all aspirants to the highest office in the land grace the event to use their platform to address the Nigerian people.
Many Nigerians, including me, were shocked to see a viral video showing lawyers engage in fisticuffs to demand for their right to conference materials. Their reason was that they paid handsomely for the conference packs that came in short supply. They broke things and must have felt cool to display their ‘skills’ like street urchins. The Nigerian in them came forth to betray their honour.
My jaw dropped as I watched the video in disbelief. I couldn’t resist sending it to a respected friend of the noble profession to express my disappointment. He condemned the act in its entirety, I must add, but he was quick to remind me that lawyers are part and parcel of the Nigerian society. Just in case I have forgotten.
How could I have quickly forgotten how members of the Nigeria Medical Association of a particular state broke bottles to make a statement? It was an election of executive members to pilot their affairs. They couldn’t agree and they resorted to the power of their fists as we see on the street to settle their scores. The Nigerian in them betrayed their honour.
As I process all of these in my head, quickly I remembered my brother and friend, Niran Adedokun, in his book “The Danfo Driver in All of Us”. That was the title Niran chose for his book but the deep insight the book provided spoke more to the “The Nigerian in All of Us”. This became handy as I searched for a topic for this piece.
It is obvious that the issue with Nigeria is not limited to lack of education nor lack of knowledge, neither is it lack of exposure. If it was, medical doctors and lawyers should have been high above these social misconducts.
That these social disorders permeate our entire space in every sphere speaks to our reality that many things are wrong with Nigeria and Nigerians but to borrow from President Bill Clinton, there is nothing wrong with Nigeria that cannot be cured by what is right with Nigeria. The problem is not in our stars but we all owe a joint responsibility to redefine the Nigerian identity.
©️Akin Oluwadare Jnr
29 August 2022
