On Black is beautiful , a blog meticulously put together by Yeye Olade, I found a recent news linked to Naiwu Osahon and I was elated to know that Osahon continues to write about Nigeria and Africa in a very passionate way. I am going to do all I can to get more information about Naiwu Osahon and his writings. There must be a reason why my father gave me that book just about the time that it was published in the early 80s and I was just that little skinny boy. I will make it a task to find out more about Osahon.

Even if one doesn’t remember the content of Naiwu’s book, the cycle of idiocy that refuses to unwind in Nigeria in the last 50 years indicate that our country Nigeria is still a nation in custody. With the title of that book, Naiwu was right in 1982 and he is probably more right in 2008.

In Nigeria, the common people have been held in custody for as long as possible. I can remember some key figures and politicians in the days of Shagari and their names are stuck to my cerebral hemispheres. Way back in 1979/80, I remember that in our family, we associated some names with very bad things and others with very good intentions. I guess other people can populate the list and elaborate on what these names reverberate: Shitta-Bey, Ovie-Whiskey, Wayas, Akinloye, Uba Ahmed, Umaru Dikko, Awolowo, Jakande, Olunloyo, Ajasin and Akinjide. This must be an uneven lump, perhaps unfair too.

There were other names that became part of my cerebral collections after I entered secondary school in 1984. Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Aikhomu, Mudashiru, Bali, Ukiwe and the rest of the tropical gangs who served as military governors and Ministers were added to my danger list. Before then, I have been traumatized with names like Obasanjo, Muritala and Dimka. I have memories of some extremely worrying situations as a 4 year old. I imagine that my mother rescued me, held me by my wrist and virtually dragged me home from kindergarten lesson on a day that I now visualize as a bloody day in a February month. Thirty-two years later, our nation is still in custody.

Nigeria is still in the hands of an illegal administration enjoying the cuddle of a judiciary that I consider to be seriously compromised. In my view, the Nigerian judiciary is lukewarm and lacking in consistency. What kind of judicial system gives approval to one illegal administration and disapproval to another illegal administration under the same constitution?

It has become more obvious that in Nigeria, all humans are not equal. If all humans are equal then what is good for the goose should be good for the gander. The Nigerian judiciary represented by the Supreme Court ought to rise up in the days ahead to declare that the Electoral Commission should conduct fresh and credible presidential elections. Time and space do not take away illegality.

We have identified other areas of our lives where we remained entrapped, in perpetual custody. How long shall we recount them? However, the biggest challenge probably lies in the emergence of credible leadership that would remove us from custody and start our sojourn back into our original promise land. This is why a credible presidential election with a leader emanating from the votes of the populace remains imperative.

In the three musketeers I have pointed out that the key candidates dragging for the position of the president in Nigeria are evil and corrupt. It is a dilemma on its own that the people have to choose among the evil people who have placed everyone in custody in the first place.

The Nigerian political sphere is in dire need of new names, fresh ideas and progressive concepts. We have hoped for too long that the politicians and military gangsters who ruined our lives would go away but unfortunately many of them persist in their old age or they are now represented by their children, family members and godchildren. We need drastic measures that will shift this power play or arrangement to a neutral zone. The recent PDP convention presented a micro-representation of our democraZy status but it was traditionally reduced to a mere carnival and selection games. Election was summarily erased from the convention. This forcefully ruling monstrous party symbolizes a great pain in our hearts. What a shame!

It is about time we got out of this custody. We have stayed in it for too long, suffering and smiling. Our expressions of optimism are not enough. We must act as well. As a matter of urgency, Nigerians should bring forth men and women of honour and integrity who can save us from those who stole our future. Many of us are living the lives we didn’t choose. We have staked our hopes on the same set of people for over half of a century. We must stop this in the most radical way we can.

It is so sad though that the true colour of a Nigerian Politician appears when he/she gets into a position of authority. Those who are rejoicing with Edo state today may be disappointed in a few months from now. Nevertheless, we should present new, credible faces and fresh hands if we have to conduct new presidential elections in the nearest future. All these Obasanjos, Yar‘ Aduas, Babangidas, Buharis and the Atikus are the creators of our problems, let us do away with them. They belong to the trash bins! We need help and we must help ourselves. Where do we start from? Who will save Nigeria?

Thy Glory O’ Nigeria…!

Robot  # 1 | 21.03.2008 18:45

When I was still under 15 years of age, my father bought me a book written by Naiwu Osahon. The titl...Read the full article.

Ranter  # 2 | 22.03.2008 03:50

I honestly believe that you have credible and honest fears of some these names.Worrisome because they seem never to fade away and are kept being recycled one regime after another.For them to still be hanging around seems to a a cause for concern because they are like a clog in our wheel of progress with all their excess baggage,Sad because they are rubbing off fast on the few new names that joins their clique. I hope that just the bad ones are met with some form of accidents that would put them out of commission,they might need some help with running into these misfortunes. I once came across a police suicide report that said "He wrote a suicide note after drinking a bottle of vodka, cuffed his hands behind his back after shooting himself three times in the head, then jumped of his balcony which is 44 floors above the street".Case Closed.:cool:

Sapele Man  # 3 | 22.03.2008 04:00

In Nigeria, the common people have been held in custody for as long as possible. I can remember some key figures and politicians in the days of Shagari and their names are stuck to my cerebral hemispheres. Way back in 1979/80, I remember that in our family, we associated some names with very bad things and others with very good intentions. I guess other people can populate the list and elaborate on what these names reverberate: Shitta-Bey, Ovie-Whiskey, Wayas, Akinloye, Uba Ahmed, Umaru Dikko, Awolowo, Jakande, Olunloyo, Ajasin and Akinjide. This must be an uneven lump, perhaps unfair too. To add to our woes, Buhari, a renowned dictator, that was thrown out of office by his troops is fighting tooth and nail to become our president again. Do we really desire this? I will come back to you later.

STTOPP  # 4 | 23.03.2008 11:39

“Narcissism describes both a psychological and a cultural condition. On the individual level, it denotes a personality disturbance characterized by an exaggerated investment in one’s image at the expense of the self. Narcissists are more concerned with how they appear than what they feel. Indeed, they deny feelings that contradict the image they seek. Acting without feeling, they tend to be seductive and manipulative, striving for power and control. They are egotists, focused on their own interests but lacking the true value of self-namely, self-expression, self possession, dignity, and integrity. Narcissists lack a sense of self derived from body feelings. Without a solid sense of self, they experience life as empty and meaningless. It is a desolate state. On the cultural level, narcissism can be seen in a loss of human values- in a lack of concern for the environment, for the quality of life, for one’s fellow human being. A society that sacrifices the natural environment for profit and power betrays its insensitivity to human needs. The proliferation of material things becomes the measure of progress in the living, and man is pitted against woman, workers against employer, individual against community .When wealth occupies a higher position than wisdom, when notoriety is admired more than dignity, when success is more important than self-respect, the culture itself overvalues “image” and must be regarded as narcissistic. The narcissism of the individual parallels that of the culture. We shape our culture according to our image and in turn we are shaped by that culture”. (An excerpt from Alexander Lowen’s book Narcissism) I would also like to add that the whole culture has become Narcissistic and may require drastic societal cleansing of some sort by the national assembly who seem to have the power and some credibility, obviously our President doesn’t seem to have the temperament for it. The new generation of Nigerian leader especially in the National assembly must take full cognizance of this study of who we are by legislating effectively against these destructive tendencies. They are the only hope we have, all responsibility of the viability of the Nigerian State rest with their ability to enforce the constitution of the country and maintain its social order. STTOPP

emj  # 5 | 03.09.2009 20:23

It is about time we got out of this custody. We have stayed in it for too long, suffering and smiling. Our expressions of optimism are not enough. We must act as well. As a matter of urgency, Nigerians should bring forth men and women of honor and integrity who can save us from those who stole our future. Many of us are living the lives we didn’t choose. We have staked our hopes on the same set of people for over half of a century. We must stop this in the most radical way we can. Eherm u wrote this article one and half years ago....we are still in custody even as i write...ijo wo ni ama bo ni oko eru? Where are the men and women of honor and integrity that will save us from those who have strong grip on our future?(leprous hands):p