NIGERIA: GOOD PEOPLE GREAT NATION; OR BAD JOKE?

“Me I love my country, I like the land and people; everything e dey for Nigeria, make we join hands to make Nigeria better….”

The statement above is a part of the lyrics of a sometime Government propaganda, played on the airwaves when I was growing up. I can categorically state right now that Nigeria hasn’t gotten better and that I don’t have any love for the country at the moment….in fact I am so sick of all that is going on, if I could, I would dip it in a very strong detergent and rid it of its stains.

DAMAGE CONTROL:

When the present Minister of Information, Prof Dora Akunyili, came on board, she decided to carry out the same energetic approach (that earned her accolades whilst at NAFDAC) to the image of Nigeria, through the Re-branding project. Millions of Naira was pumped into what many people believed to be a futile attempt of building edifices on sinking sand; Celebrities and citizens of repute, were recruited into the project and as usual slogans and adverts dominated the screens of every home….the excuse? The good sides of the nation should be showcased to the world and not just the bad.

Our President and Commander-in-Chief went AWOL and the citizenry were turned to fools as hangers-on decided to indirectly and invisibly usurp power, clinging to a malfunctioning and misinterpreted constitution (that has been wrong since its inception and should even be thrown out the window!). Call it shame or Divine Intervention, the Vice President was finally given full authority, after the Law Makers were tired of dancing around the fire half-naked, to run the affairs of the Nation.

Our Super Eagles (or Chickens as they are fondly called) once more showed the world that practice does make perfect and if you don’t work hard at something, you really cannot succeed at it. They humiliated themselves and now the NFA, has hired a Mr. Fix it Coach (who has come to swindle us, in my own opinion), who they would pay millions of dollars-he hasn’t seen in his entire career-, to make the lame walk and the blind see, in less than 3 months….aren’t we lucky: we have so much money and we don’t know what to do with it?

REALITY CHECK- JOKE’S ON US:

When our darling Mutallab failed at an attempt to bomb a plane but succeeded in putting a larger hole in our already dented image, we all screamed “Nigerians are not Terrorists!” and took solace in the fact that his father had already warned the American Intelligence agencies, of his son’s obstreperous behavior...

On the 7th of March 2010, the indigenes of Dogo na Hauwa Town close to Jos, woke up to find their women and children murdered in vicious cold blood. Their lives cut short by the blows of machetes and the flames of fire; and now the Governor and the Security officials of the state play a game of verbal hide and seek as families mourn their dead- and we are not a Terrorist nation!

This fresh sectarian crisis comes just barely two months after the previous one, as Christians are hunted down by their Muslim brothers and hacked to death. The questions on my mind are these: Isn’t Plateau a Christian state, why should the Christians there continue to live in fear? Why should the Muslim minority dictate what holds there and what doesn’t? The Security Officials (headed by a Muslim) cannot say that they are unaware of who the culprits are-and we are not a Terrorist nation!

On the 11th of March 2010, the fragility of my mind was shattered as I witnessed the death of a young local government officer in Akure, Ondo State, who was killed by a stray bullet from the police –who were chasing a taxi driver. The Mobile Police escaped and the angry mob and corpse were all that was left to tell the morbid tale. Why would the police, trained in the safeguarding of human life, brandish their gun on helpless innocent individuals whenever they choose (which is all the time- for people who are drunk at 8am)? Why would someone leave his house only to be killed by the stray bullet of a trigger happy police-man? And we are not a Terrorist nation!

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

It would take more than adverts, songs, posters and talk, to ‘RE- BRAND’ the nation. We need a complete overhaul of the system. We need to stop defecating in the pot we use to prepare our meals. This constant show of Man’s inhumanity to Man, due to the language of your tongue and the mode of your worship has to cease. The only difference between us and other countries is not that they don’t have crime, but they have not allowed poverty to make them stupid and commit the crime any where they find themselves.

If we are not a Terrorist Nation, then it’s high time we started acting it and not just spending millions on talk….