As
Nigerians continue to groan bitterly under the heavy weight of the
crushing economic recession, Simbo Olorunfemi examines where Nigeria's
problem comes from.
File photo: Nigerians
“You have people who are above 80 and are not writing their wills but instead are still thinking of how to steal.” – Bishop Timothy Yahaya
‘Ori Nigeria o pe! Nigeria’s head is not correct!’ It was the voice
of the old man, as he walked into the anonymous arms of a frowning
night that had only just descended upon us. It might have been a
measured, somewhat belaboured pronouncement, but there was little doubt
that it came from a deep place of frustration. It was unprovoked and
unexpected, yet delivered with such magisterial finality that it could
have only come from him. It was left to us to fumble in the dark for
answers as the man graciously took his exit on the wings of old age. Was
it to do with the sudden interruption in power supply? Was it the news
headline on TV a moment ago? Could it be the newspaper headlines that
might have caused offence? Is it the Senate report on SGF Babachir Lawal
which he says is ‘balderdash’ or the rejection of Magu by the same
Senate as EFCC Boss? Is it about the clearing of ‘invasive species’ at
the IDP camp or the embarrassment brought upon the nation in the
tardiness with which the matter of the Super Falcons was handled? The
Head of Nigeria is definitely not correct.
Do we need to look far for answers? Is the evidence not all around
us? Is it not here with us at the airport, the roads, worship centres,
hospitals, the public and private sectors? Is it the way we engage with
ourselves or use the environment? There is little about or around us
that do not query the state of our head. This is what we woke up to this
morning. In fact, this is an improvement on what we were woken up to
meet, as the mountain of sand has been brought down as at the time of
this shot. Now, this is a ‘close’, as we call it, in a residential
estate of about 200 houses. The road is the only access point to the
houses on this street, but one ‘big’ man thinks it proper to ensure that
other residents are stuck behind their fences so that it can serve his
own purpose. There is no thought or concern about a possible emergency.
But, it didn’t start today. It has been on for months. The ‘big’ man had
chosen to cordon a larger portion of the road as a construction
corridor to service his site. Other ‘big’ men did not query him. They
elected to grumble behind their tall fences, their voices drowned by
grumpy generators. They tuned the other way as they were chauffeured
past the heap of sand and bricks. The man finally decides to take over
the road and neighbours suddenly found their voices this morning. Now,
silence has descended, as they say the man in question is the vice
president of the Residents Association. That settles it. He is a big
man. It is the way we are.
Nigerians behave badly because it is Nigeria where you can get away
with the consequences of bad judgement and irresponsible behaviour. It
is Nigeria, and people are confident that they can get away with
anything, because the head of Nigeria is not correct. There seems to be a
proportional relationship between the height attained by the Nigerian,
especially through crooked and illegitimate means, and the likelihood
that his head will not be correct. The capacity to act decently and
conduct oneself like a civilised being seems to diminish with the
Nigerian the higher he gets, as he must live up to the billing of a big
man. He is no longer able to carry out mundane tasks other beings,
including presidents of other countries, are seen to routinely do in the
face of the public. He is above the law, not to be seen obeying the
traffic light or even carrying his own bag. He is now protected by
security forces at public expense.
So we now have too many ‘big’ men. From the ‘big’ gateman, to the
‘big’ receptionist, the ‘big’ civil servant, the ‘big’ lecturer and the
‘big’ doctor at the hospital, and acting ‘big’ men on the road, we have
become a nation of too many ‘big’ men too big to render services they
are paid to offer and too conceited to consider the implications of
their actions on others and the nation.
But then one is faced with the question – Is the head of Nigeria
not correct because the head of the Nigerian is not correct or is the
head of the Nigerian not correct because the head of Nigeria is not
correct?
Perhaps it is the case that the head of Nigeria has gotten so big
that it has become difficult for it to be correct. Did someone not say
that the bigger the size of the head, the bigger the headache? It must
be then the intensity of Nigeria’s headache has to do with the size of
its head. It cannot be that easy carrying around a head full of so many
accomplishments. She is the giant of Africa, the largest black nation on
earth, the conqueror of apartheid in South Africa, motherland of the
inventor of the internet, winner of the maiden edition of the Under-17
World Cup and a 10-time winner of the Africa Women Cup of Nations. Such a
head must be so big that it is out of place to expect it to be correct.
No wonder the country is floating in the air like a lost balloon.
Nigeria seems to be floating listlessly on the high sea, with the
Captains taking on the challenge without the help of basic, new-age
navigational aids that are readily available. There is so much about the
convoluted political structure that neither speaks to the reality of
the country nor seeks to rein in the excesses of an unaccountable
presidential system. But where one would expect the Nigerian to lend his
voice in support of an attempt to whittle down the power and influence
of the system, he will rather side-track the main issue, burying himself
in irrelevancies, fishing instead for the motive of the whistle-blower
to use to hang him. So, the question asks itself again – Is it the
country’s head that is not correct or is it that of the citizen?
To disrespect others and stand in the way of the community good has
become the new norm. Stealing from the vulnerable, pensioners,
internally displaced persons and the dead is no longer that repulsive,
kidnapping has become another routine business. Whereas we should join
hands to solve the communal problem, we will rather extravagantly expend
enormous personal resources to take care of the portion that pertains
to self in hallucination that the self can be immuned and secured from
the rot that has eaten the whole to the bones. Our heads are only
correct when it comes to weeding our side of the farm, but when it comes
to taking care of the communal farmland, we lose our heads. Ori Nigeria
o pe! Nigeria’s head is not correct!
***
Simbo Olorunfemi works for Hoofbeatdotcom, a Nigerian Communications Consultancy. Twitter: @simboolorunfemi
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