FROM ME TO YOU

Beyond our stay here on earth, I doubt if there is anyone of us who would not want his name to outlive his existence and for the right reasons too,…

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.

I recall the excitement that greeted the 6-3-3-4 policy as pronounced by the Late Professor Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa when he was education minister under the self-styled Military President Ibrahim Babangida. How did we fare with that policy? How far did it go beyond the promises on paper?

Tobi Amusan probably doesn’t know that she is the face of the new Nigeria that Nigerians desire. She is winning medals, she is packing laurels, she is breaking records, she is setting records, she is scoring firsts, she is flying high but I doubt if Tobi knows that she is the new symbol of hope for the Nigeria dream. The son of man can stay without food for hours. He may not even know where the next meal is going to come from. He may be in tattered clothes without having a shelter over his head. Man can cope with all these and life will still be going on but when hope is lost, everything is lost. If only Tobi knows that she represents that hope for millions of Nigerians today that Nigeria can be great again. Tobi has scored many firsts in a row. The firsts are too numerous to count and they are everywhere on the internet but it is remarkable that she is not just breaking existing records, she is consistently beating her own records and she is marching on. This is the best way to compete. If you consistently aim to outperform your best, you will see yourself flying above the altitude of your competitors.

It started like a joke. We touched on it casually if it became a matter of public discourse. Soon it was beginning to look like a movie. What looked like mere hazard metamorphosed to imminent risk. Now, it is looking like ours is a country under siege. The days we dreaded are here with us like an unwanted visitor. To say we did not know how we got here will amount to hiding the truth under our tongue. We muddled politics with governance and carried on as if we had the joker. There was so much we could do if we saw ourselves as a people, whose destinies are joined irrespective of our individual beliefs. Only that the vision is blinded when the love of power overpowers the power of love. The journey to the brink was not an overnight journey. It was a systematic journey we nurtured thinking it would fizzle away the way it came. Now, road travel is dreaded and the rail lines are so endangered. Like play, like joke, the schools are beginning to close. How else to know that we are succumbing to the wish of these intruders? Who have always maintained that western education is evil.

If we are given an option to choose between good report and the truth, many will settle for good report. Note of caution, not all good reports are good enough. The human mind naturally prefers good news but life is in two parts. Given the opportunity, man will even avoid the truth in self denial if it sounds unpleasant. Nothing unusual. That is the way we are wired. You can easily mistake a friend for a foe because not all of us are gifted with the use of words. Some say it as it is even when they mean no harm but it is not a virtue to play with words that pass the wrong message. Many times, the harmless intention causes more harm than is ever imagined. The more reason that truth should not be served in bitter pills. Truth does not have to be bitter but it should be told.

Nigeria is tough but who says we are alone in the struggle for survival? The whole world groans under the harsh reality of the times in a world best described as a global village. What separates my country from the rest is the willingness to stand up and be counted when the roll call of patriots is made. Truth be told, it takes more than courage to stand up for a country that sits when her citizens cry for help. Tough as things are, Nigerians are unable to get emotionally detached from Nigeria for whatever reason. It is not for nothing, this country is great and has all it takes to be greater. What defines the emotional attachment of Nigerians to Nigeria is inexplicable but a nation where the citizens first identify themselves by ethnic nationality and/or religious affiliation has failed her people. Nigerians love for Nigeria is not in doubt but daily and increasingly, Nigerians struggle to find reasons to continue to love Nigeria. The many things Nigerians love about Nigeria are gradually becoming questions unanswered. If I am in position to dialogue with my country, I will choose conventional method of communication, perhaps my message could travel slowly but find genuine answers devoid of deceit.

It was long in coming but eventually, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is out. He is undoubtedly a rugged politician who, in the face of the most difficult situation, stands up to confront his burden. He is as controversial as resilient. The United Kingdom cannot forget BJ in a hurry. As a keen follower of UK politics, I had thought that PM Boris Johnson would have been long gone as British PM after the partygate scandal. I was surprised that he survived the threat of a no confidence vote in April 2022 despite the overwhelming evidence of abuse of power when he broke his own rules at the peak of the COVID-19 restrictions. That PM BJ held on to power after the partygate scandal had nothing to do with his sagacity. It was more of the usual ‘politricks’ of ruling parties to cling to power even in the face of damaging scandals. The tories’ decision to keep BJ in power was not due to their love for him but a power game to keep the conservatives in power following the fallouts of Brexit under Boris Johnson. Same scenario played out to America’s Donald Trump during the inglorious invasion of the US Capitol on 06 January 2021

Why do we complain? We complain for so many reasons but many times we don’t have good reasons to complain. If the motive is right, there are enough good reasons to complain but some things you complain about will become needless if only you ask yourself what you intend to achieve by complaining. Some actions we take are products of reflex action that give us little or no time to think through the actions we are about to take. With the benefit of hindsight, if you think through some things you struggle for, you would realise that it is not worth it. Sometimes, it is more profitable to let go. If you don’t define your motive clearly, you will win some victories before you find out that they are empty victories after all that are not deserving of your time, energy and resources. Same applies if you don’t clearly understand your motive for complaining about what can easily pass unnoticed.