ABDULRAUF ABDULBASIT OBISESAN
After carefully studying Nigeria’s history in my quest for knowledge, there is no doubt that the depth of misrule in Nigeria has become a source of frustration for many Nigerians. Over the decades, Nigerian leaders have acted like a gang of bandits without a conscience. However, throughout human history, Nigerian leaders are not the worst who have ruled a country.
The difference between the masses of other countries and the masses of Nigeria is that they take their fate into their own hands, while Nigerians often sit at home and pray for God to punish their leaders with diseases, tragedies, and death. The result is that other countries have succeeded in creating positive changes in their governance, while Nigeria has seen little improvement.
South Africans are relatively free today because they stood up against a racist government that violated the fundamental human rights of South African indigenous people. They fought relentlessly to rescue their nation, even when great leaders like Nelson Mandela were imprisoned. Men like Oliver Tambo fought against the racist ideology of the White man that violated the humanity of Black people.
Today, South Africa has made significant progress. How is it that a country claiming to be the giant of Africa has become a dwarf? How is it that a country blessed with abundant wealth, human and natural resources, has citizens suffering from hunger and starvation? How is it that its citizens become refugees in other lands when there is no war in their own country? Where are the future heroes? Indeed, as Bertrand Russell said, “the very best proof that something can be done is that someone else has already done it.”
Let us digress a little.
Once upon a time, a hunter was chasing an antelope, and the antelope ran for its life until it reached the house of a lion, begging the lion to save it from the hunter. The antelope had forgotten that wherever the lion lay in wait, any animal that passed became dead meat. In my opinion, the lion even kills faster than the hunter does.
This tale mirrors Nigeria’s plight at the moment. In the past few years, since gaining independence on October 1, 1960, Nigeria hoped to be free from colonial masters, but all it has experienced is political inhumanity. Humanity is fading away among its leaders, just like oxygen fading away from the atmosphere. What bad leaders we have!
Achebe’s diagnosis, when he notes that “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character, land, climate, water, air, or anything else.”
In his book entitled “Hope of Living Dead,” Ola Rotimi says to this leadership, “The collapse of a nation begins with indiscipline in the ranks of those who rule and govern.”
Building on the scholarly views above, it would be entirely accurate to say that in Nigeria at the moment, power and justice are often intertwined; the person who possesses one also possesses the other.
Hence, I would rather be a trustworthy ruffian than a classy sellout by not calling a spade a spade. The Nigerian masses lack a quality that I believe would help overcome the tenacious hold on political offices. In other words, cowardice should be discarded. Remember, “Cowards die many times before their death” (Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar).
Nigerians should stop displaying cowardice and pettiness towards their leaders. Instead of waiting and praying for God to punish their leaders, they should take action. Praying for a solution may show religiousness, but, as Karl Marx describes it, this religion can be “the opium of the masses.”
This statement arises from the class struggle in society between the rich and the poor. Rather than rising against the rich, the poor hide under the guise of religion, believing that theirs is the kingdom of God. However, they have forgotten that God is not an employee of Nigerian Limited, nor is He a tool of Nigerians.
In effect, committed and patriotic citizens should stand for justice and truth at all times, regardless of the consequences. This aligns with the Yoruba adage, which says, “he who fears death cannot claim his father’s inheritance.”
Hence, we must deliver the coming generation from this bondage, just as the Lord delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians’ bondage, as described in Exodus 1:7.
In the final analysis, there is nothing wrong with Nigerians that cannot be fixed by what is right with Nigerians, as long as the Nigerian masses can conquer fear. To borrow a phrase from Plato, “The first and best victory is to conquer oneself.”
Having addressed the problem plaguing Nigeria, which is “cowardice,” the solution or the way forward could be the topic of another discussion.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
God bless Nigerians!
ABDULRAUF ABDULBASIT OBISESAN is writing from the Faculty of Law, University Of Ilorin. Contact via Obisesan666@gmail.com, 08090617514.
