Abuja: Nigeria sometimes amuses right-thinking individuals. What many sane minds will think can never happen usually finds itself reoccurring like a decimal in today’s Nigeria. Surprisingly, people are getting so used to the absurd that it has become the norm.
One thing you cannot take away from Nigeria is that every week there must be something that will engage discussion in the polity. If it were positive nobody would have minded, but not so, one negative action or occurrence will spring up from the blues and everyone will shrug it off as the normal thing after all there is nothing new under the sun
What has brought down several governments in sane society is considered as normal in Nigeria. We look at it and shrugged saying if it can happen in Nigeria, then it can happen elsewhere, so there is no big deal about it.
Nigerians have developed thick skin that what is shaking other countries, does not concern us here and that is why the government does as if we are not operating a democracy, individual do as if they are above the law, they make pronouncement as if they are gods. Indeed there are laws that ought to checkmate evil, but nobody cares if some flouts the law that we all know is for our good.
And what a pity, as the twin evil of development, religion and sentiment, are fast putting hot slice in the fabric that holds our unity together. People now do not care if the man next door is doing what ordinarily needs condemnation. But either because he professes same faith with us or he is from our part of the region we come from, we turn blind eye and pretend all is well, while deep down we grumble and expecting someone who is sane to come to the rescue.
When the insurgents started like what we in the country call ‘play play’ nobody gave a hoot, it is either as long as it has not reached our side of living, they can be killing themselves. Those with this thought easily forget that Nigerians are mobile; there is no community in Nigeria and by extension the world where you will not find one tribe or the other from among the 250 ethnic groups in the country.
Before one could bate an eyelid religion also crept in. the Boko Hara began their evil crusade by killing mostly Christians, and the moslem never mind and even said they were fighting jihad and were out to literally speaking ‘deep the Quran’ in the sea, that is conquering the whole country. But it did not take long for the evil one to extend their nefarious actions to everyone, this time around, religion does not matter.
But as we use to say here in Nigeria, ‘na small small monkey dey take enter market’, the inferno the insurgency has caused is now beyond the government and the people. Now the Boko Haram does not ask whether you are a Moslem or not, they deal with whoever their victims might be without looking at tribe nor religion. They are simply out to inflict pains where it mattered most to the polity.
The government is not even helping matter as they daily churn out information that Boko Haram has been technically defeated. And yet the Boko Haram are killing and kidnapping every day. Before now it was restricted to only Borno state, now, Adamawa, Yobe, are not spared the rod of the insurgents. The Boko Haramists, have gone too far, only prayers for now can save Nigeria.
As we said earlier that there is hardly a week without one shaking news or the other, as people where shouting the rampaging kidnapping on the rise, the six south western states in the country, not minding their political leanings, came together to protect their citizens, under the name “Amotekun.” By this the hornet net has been rustled and those who never gave a concern about the kidnapping that has ravaged the zone are now saying it is an illegal entity. But the governors said the essence of the Amotekun is to safeguard the zone.
Judiciary is not faring better, few hours to the marking of 50years of the end of civil war in the country; a judgment was given that even the blind has been questioning the integrity of the purveyor of justice. The fear been expressed by many is that if the trend continues, the hope of the common man is gone for good.
While the dust on Amotekun was yet to settle came in the Supreme Court judgment on Imo governorship election. Emeka Ihedioha, the governor was sacked and replaced by Hope Uzodinma who came fourth in the said election. He has even been sworn in as the sixth governor of the state.
While Nigerians wait with bated breath, more shocking judgments are expected in the next few days and while we the common men complain in our closets, many find it difficult to express their views except at newspapers stands that littered the land. ‘What can we do but to hand over everything to God”, that is the submission of many Nigerians today, forgetting that while prayer is good, but a step of faith must move to action for the prayer to succeed.
