Thursday, 14 March 2013

Allow me to borrow a piece from late grand-daddy of soul’s repertoire (Marvin Gaye), as I ask this mind boggling question: “what’s going on?” All things considered, I know I’m not “blessed” with selective amnesia, nor have I been “chilling” under a rock for the past X years. But still, one has to wonder what the antecedent is of all the madness, mayhem and chaos in Nigeria.
As my primary school math teacher taught me many years ago, when solving problems, it is important to go from the known to the unknown. Therefore, what do we truly know? 

*disclaimer notice: the writer of this article cannot be held responsible for the mass confusion in Nigeria, nor the way the following facts are to be outlined in a confused manner…also, do not blame the writer for this disclaimer notice, because the writer does not wish to be “Dele Giwa’ed” nor “This Day’ed.”*

Ehhe, so where were we? Yes; in Nigeria: our premier leader/citizen studied Zoology, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “the study of the behaviour, structure, physiology, classification and distribution of animals”…divine irony, if you ask me. Also, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu state was M.I.A (missing in action) for more than 4 months; and his absenteeism, from the helms of affairs, was swept under the proverbial carpet on health grounds. Following the example of the aforementioned state leader, Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross Rivers state took a 3 month hiatus on health grounds as well. Both incidents were excused on the constitutional lacuna that does not specify vacation limits for state governors in Nigeria. Then again, who are we to challenge the powers that be, when a past president, in this very country, pulled a David Blaine/Fadeyi Oloro right before our very eyes and disappeared for 3 months; then was smuggled back into Nigeria, with the lights turned off at the airport. I know what you’re thinking: yes, that was the biggest game of hide and seek in the history of our nation…which none of our past military leaders could boast of.

Who or what else is on the list? Aha! Mr. Facrook Rolling-Dollar! Pardon my Freudian slip of fingers *regains composure*; I mean, Mr. Farouk Lawan. One can only wonder if it is necessary to address a thief as ‘Honourable’ *in deep thought*…in the words of C&C Music Factory, “things that make you go hmmm.” According to a press release, Otedollar, sorry again, Otedola offered a $3million bribe and made good on his promise, to the lawmaker, with a down-payment of $500,000; for which Mr. Lawan was nearly let off the hook by our Justice System, if not for the intervention of several concerned citizens and bodies. On a similar but unrelated note, Mr John Yakubu Yusufu, the former Director of The Police Pension office, took it upon himself to line his golden pockets with ₦23billion, which belonged to retirees of Nigeria’s finest; yet all he got as repercussions for this heinous act was a 2 year jail term, which is somewhat comparable to a slap on the wrist. One might wonder if crime actually pays.
Recently, the Police Commissioner of Kwara State, Mr. Chinweike Asadu, was gunned down in front of his own home in Enugu state. This leaves little doubt about insecurity in the entire country.

One of the biggest jokes I’ve heard this year is a fast one Kim Kardashian pulled on many Nigerians. The aforementioned prima donna apparently demanded $500,000 for co-hosting a concert with Dare Art-Alade; made an appearance for 45 seconds on stage and zoomed off “faster than a speeding bullet” *STILL lol*. One might wonder whether it was the acrid flavours of smell exacerbated by heat in our Nigerian air, or kidnappers, or maybe even Boko ‘Haramites’ that had her ‘Hossain Bolting’ out ASAP. Quite unfortunate for some who shelled-out as much as ₦2million to get a glimpse of the idolised diva. This theme for this joke should be ‘misplaced priorities.’

On a more sober note, there are several other existing & on-going issues which all stem from a singular root cause…a deviation from core values on an individual and national scale. To paraphrase what someone once said, our leaders emerged from our midst; they weren’t brought from Uranus *pun intended*. Considering that our values shape our thoughts (subconscious & conscious), words, actions, reactions and eventually character, the question to guide every Nigerian’s quest for true, personal and sustainable change is “what are my values?” Every person, body and organisation that has made conscious positive impact in the history of our world had sound values which guided their ideals, actions (proactive & reactive) and very existence. I am no prophet of doom, but unless things truly change in our nation, disaster conspicuously lurks down the road. That “change” can start from you.

SOURCE: eGist

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