Reuben Abati
Whatever problem we may have in Nigeria at this or any other time,
this country is sustained by the fact that we are indeed a very special
people. We have been described as the happiest people on earth, we have
also described ourselves as resilient, gifted and determined, and in one
report, Nigerians are said to have the strongest shock absorber against
some of the deadliest diseases in the world. If anyone doubted this
last point, well, recall that we won the battle over Ebola virus, and
polio.
The more you look at it, the more it seems as if there is something
in the Nigerian DNA that defies defeat, that automatically deletes any
virus that can result in system shut down, there is that X-factor in our
affairs that rises when hope seems lost, and life seems tragic.
Somehow, the Nigerian spirit regenerates, recreates and reinvents
itself, turns failure into possibilities, pessimism into new
expectations, and tomorrow into an anchor for renewal.
We are at such a crossroad, right now. But in the midst of the
despair, the listlessness, the anxiety, the what-happened-to-us and
what-the hell-is-going-on, you can’t miss the fact that the average
Nigerian has not lost his bounce. The biggest tragedies that can hobble
other nations happen here and we just shrug them off. Boko Haram alone
has claimed thousands of lives.
Hun hun. Herdsmen have killed men and women in their hundreds. Hun
hun. More lives have been lost to vehicle accidents on our poorly made,
badly maintained roads. Well, hun hun. Many fingers have been caught in
the national cookie jar. Ha. What is this? Who dunnit? But, o ma se o.
hun hun. The national leaky bucket has a thousand holes. Ha, no country
can live with this? Still, hen hun hun. We voted and there were promises
of a new spirit of the age. But that spirit is yet to manifest. So?
Nothing good comes easy, therefore. No miracles in the new agenda. So,
ni igba yen wa n ko? So, life goes on.
Whatever life throws at the average Nigerian, he protests, he
complains, but he accommodates it. It is the reason why nobody will
throw stones because power supply is at the worst level in years. It is
the reason why workers who have not been paid for months after months
will still see the same Governor who is responsible for their misery,
after collecting Federal money to help them, and has refused to deliver
and they will still scream: “My Excellency, sir.” When workers go on
strike, someone calls them together, says something nice, provides
something nice and everything falls nicely in place. The late Chief MKO
Abiola was quoted saying “eto ni gbogbo e”, that is anything in Nigeria
can be arranged nicely.
The June 12 debacle sadly could not be arranged nicely. It cost the
Chief of native wisdom and martyr of Nigerian democracy his life, but
many lessons have been learnt. And one key lesson is that in this
country, the people are determined to live no matter what. They can
grumble as they wish about the public space but Nigerians are not ready
to give up their will to live, their right to live and their
understanding of how to live. And if you put your neck on the line on
their behalf, you will be shocked that you will the subject of memes and
what’s app jokes. The people laugh at martyrs and heroes because they
see no reason why anyone should commit suicide, defending Nigeria, when
there is so much life to be enjoyed.
Nigeria is probably the global headquarters of enjoyment. The way
the ordinary man has complained in recent times, about political change
and the socio-cultural changes it has brought, you would think Nigerians
are in serious trouble. But that is not the case. The foreign exchange
market has gone into a crazy overdrive impoverishing the whole nation.
Parents whose children are schooling abroad are afraid that they may no
longer be able to pay fees. The manufacturing sector is abusing the
Minister of Finance-what’s-that-her-name-again? and
where-did-she-learn-finance-public-policy-and-economics, but I beg, look
around, more businesses are actually springing up and all those foreign
investors who are supposedly monitoring the Nigerian market are
actually clinging to this market.
Why do you think MTN wants to remain in Nigeria till death do them
part? Why do you think all those foreign countries want President Buhari
to visit? The banks have retrenched a lot of staff but the same banks
have started recruiting again. In this country, what you see is not what
you get. There is problem with foreign exchange but activities at the
ports have not ceased. Wait till September, you’d be shocked the number
of Nigerian children heading towards Europe, North America and other
parts of Africa in pursuit of expensive, forex-backed education.
I beg, leave matter. And if you don’t want to leave it go to the
nearest fuel station where many Nigerians are queuing up for fuel with
power generating sets and jerry cans. The people are going through the
hardship but they are laughing at their leaders. You think you can mess
us up, na lie. If you people like, sell fuel for N150, we go survive.
They stay in front of that fuel station and they review Nigeria’s
history and lament the choices they have made, but their spirit remains
strong. That is what makes them Nigerian. Go to the vendors’ stand.
The crowd of poor people who cannot afford to buy a newspaper copy,
have all the same listened to the news and the only place where they
can compete as pundits is that roadside corner, where sometimes one
drunken idiot loses control behind the wheels and sheds human blood,
wasting those who have gathered not to buy any newspaper but to debate
Nigeria. This special crowd knows it all. You don’t want to get involved
with them. They will remind you that a Ph.D holder is actually a real
idiot, and that nobody needs certificates of any type to be a Nigerian,
and well they add too, that if you ever worked in government, then you
are a confirmed idiot, and a professional trickster.
Nigerians are so inventive, they find every way of beating bad
news, bad experience, or anything that tries to defeat them. Everyone
says there is no money in town, they claim things have gone from bad to
worse but the parties have not stooped. Go to any of the joints around
Lagos, nothing has been spoiled. Isi ewu, nkwobi, asun, sawa, orisirisi,
point and kill have all defied the Forex market. Yes, the price of
staple commodities has risen, but that has not stopped the people from
throwing lavish wedding parties. Nor has it stopped anybody from
marrying three times when once is enough: our people do traditional
wedding – valid, they go to the registry: valid, they rush to church-
valid: rather than marry once, they do it thrice all within a week. Nor
has the austerity in town stopped anybody from burying the dead as if
the more money is thrown at the grave, the likeliest the possibility of
the dead suddenly becoming a Lazarus of the 21st century.
Is there poverty in town? You answer that question based on the
evidence of your eyes. What I have seen is that Nigerians are still
living as if there is too much money in the country. Take a look at the
garments Nigerians wear every week. We certainly don’t look like
electricity is a problem or that money is in short supply. Soon it will
be another Ojude oba among the Ijebus, for example. You go and check
them out. As a teacher at Ogun State University in those days, (I served
later as member of the Governing Council), we used to go from one party
to the other, guzzling free food and quaffing free drinks. Today, those
lavish parties have not ceased. Nobody eats like that in Europe or
North America.
When you go to all the old joints, in Agarawu in Lagos or Tarmac,
nothing has changed either. The music still flows, the swag is on.
Elsewhere, new buildings are springing up; new cars are being “washed”,
additional wives are being acquired. Leave matter, I beg. Nigeria will
survive, and these same people who are complaining about change, you’d
be shocked, they’d still vote for their stomachs in 2019.
And that is why Nigeria is one country that beats all the textbook
theories. We are just something else. There is more in the social arena
that defines who we are, than in the theoretical arena. The same people
who are complaining that they have not seen change are actually hoping
for more. They are not ready to adjust. They are not ready to make
sacrifices. If they have an opportunity to be close to government in any
way, they will jump at it. The corruption that we talk about is not
just in government corridors, it is in society, but the one inside
society is so difficult to trap because it is amorphous and inchoate in
so many respects. Invariably, the snake feeds on itself: mobius strip.
What we are left with is the image of the people laughing at
government and themselves. Have you taken time out to check what happens
on social media? Anybody who ever ventured into governance is easy
game. The people design caricatures and mock them. Nigeria produces more
memes and graphics than any other country in Africa not necessarily
because of the events that happen here but because of the people’s
consciousness, and if I may add, private greed. In that other world,
political change is ridiculed, poverty is deplored, GEJ is becoming a
saint and PMB a villain, but the people are still having fun, and
blaming Nigeria and the politicians.
I tell you, the problem with Nigeria is not the politicians but the
people themselves. We are very special people, but we don’t really know
what we want, and because we are like that, we confuse the politicians
and the nation. But for as long as we can wear those impressive attires
and throw those parties and dance to old music and pay our private
bills, we see no reason to care enough. Pity is: no country can ever
move ahead if the people do not care enough. For us, life goes on, no
matter what.
About the Author:
Reuben Abati is a columnist in The Guardian and former Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
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