|
“With the end of uncertainty comes the uncertainty of the end.” – Victor Frankl (survivor of Nazi concentration camp)
It was indeed a ‘do or die’ affair. Obasanjo was absolutely right about this one. It was definitely a ‘do or die’ election. Many of the vicious and overzealous vacuous thugs who lack common sense, or is it joblessness, are now dead and forgotten leaving their families bereaved; that is if their families would actually miss most of them. They certainly must be some innocent caught in-between the election mayhems. It is really a pity, as even the innocent would be classified as thugs as they end up in mass graves. Now that it is all over, what do we expect?
Let me tell you a story. Martin Seligman, a psychologist in 1965, subjected two groups of dogs to electric shock. The first group could end the punishment by pressing a lever. These dogs recovered quickly; in a subsequent experiment, they learned to avoid further shocks by jumping a low wall. The second group had a lever that did nothing. They became apathetic and in the subsequent experiment simply cowered on the electrified floor, unable to escape the shocks. They had “learned helplessness.”
This behavioural condition referred to as “learned helplessness” is the accepted predicament the Nigerian people are entangled in since 1999, after the cabal of retired military men and old money bag politicians imposed Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military head of state, on the nation. After eight years Obasanjo succeeded in pushing out most of the PDP pioneers, and with his new cronies, forced Musa Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan on the PDP amidst threat of unleashing the EFCC on largely corrupt presidential contestants who were mostly state governors. Then the election, and it was a do or die issue, largely rigged by the ruling party and those with enough money to march the ruling party. All INEC needed to do was to announce the winner of the presidential election and knowing Nigerians for what they are, they would want to move forward and just let it go.
Nigerians have not only learned helplessness but over the years helplessness has turned them to a very superstitious people who are always patiently waiting for divine interventions. Nigerians flood churches and mosques to get miraculous healings when there are no drugs in hospitals or when medications are not affordable. Nigerians simply leave everything to God. When they are hungry they call to God. When there is no light they call to God. When a corrupt official steals public fund instead of facing justice, Nigerians leave him or her to God. And when elections are rigged the people tell the contestant to leave it to God. The last time God intervened was Abacha in June, 1998, or so it is largely believed across Nigeria.
God almost intervened in the case of Musa Yar’adua but it turned out to be a hoax. And now that God has given Musa Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan the mandate (lest we forget it was largely rigged), how is the future going to look like? As the PDP presidential candidate was declared president, many Nigerians did not celebrate, instead they were worried. Obasanjo is an end of an error. The people wanted change, and for many people Musa Yar’ adua isn’t the change they yearned for. But Musa Yar’adua is now the president whether we like it or not. And to many Nigerians the future is gloomy. Obasanjo’s bitter shadow still hovers all around and that is the fear of many people. Nigerians simply want to forget Obasanjo and his sad eight years.
The questions on many lips are that, will Yar’adua be Obasanjo’s puppet? Will he take over fully and do his own thing? Will he be the usual Nigerian politician who surrounds himself with sycophants and do not know the realities on ground? Will he be the man to take Nigeria to greater height? Musa Yar’adua looks like a serious person though. What do you think? From what I have heard here and there, Musa Yar’adua is not the kind of person that would allow some expired old politicians to him around. I heard from reliable sources that he is a man in control. I hope he is. Nigerians have every right to be weary of the future. From 1999 to 2007, thousands have died in religious riots, ethnic clashes here and there, and assassinations. Armed robbers are getting more confident everyday. Many have died in road accidents on our very bad roads. It took two airplanes to crash in two month and the third within a year with many imminent Nigerians on board before some measures were taken to get the aviation industry at least working for now. No employment. Youth graduated from university to face a future that has turned to the grave of dreams. This is a country where you have hospitals without doctors and medicines. Mediocrity has hijacked excellence and has turned to a thing of worship. Talk, talk and talk, but nothing changes here.
Yes, Nigerians have every right to be weary of the future. What kind of president is Yar’adua going to be like? Don’t ask me that. I am not ready to make any assessment for now. You already know what they say about him during the PDP campaigns. The good thing is that he is a graduate and was a university lecturer, if that is anything to go by. If Yar’adua takes his time and surround himself with experts instead of politicians he would succeed in turning Nigeria around. He must also learn from Obasanjo’s many mistakes and listen to Obasanjo’s many critics critically to get started. He has agreed to continue with Obasanjo’s reforms but then he must look at the shortcomings of those reforms. Yes, ‘it was a do or die’ election. I hope Obasanjo would not use the do or die tactics on Yar’adua to control the Katsina man. I doubt much. Everything now rests in Musa Yar’adua’s palms. The future is really gloomy. If Yar’adua blindly follows Obasanjo he wouldn’t achieve much. Nigerians are good at grumbling. They would grumble for another eight long years helplessly.
|
Posted by Robot| 04.05.2007 17:00