AGAINST THE WORST; WE ARE WORSE!

Alumonah Olise-Emeke 

“In December of 1942, Nazi Germany’s Sixth Army was besieged and encircled in Stalingrad, Russia, by a Russian offensive which had begun a month earlier. General Kurt Zeitzler, the German Army’s Chief of Staff looking haggard from lack of sleep insisted that the Sixth Army must break out from the west to preserve its 250000 men. He deluged Hitler with all the army lacked – food rations, fuel – how it was impossible to provide them warm meals in the bitter Russian winter. Hitler remained adamant -- the situation of the Sixth Army got more and more desperate, their food rations got less and less and more infrequent.

General Zeitzler to a call and keep attention on their deplorable plight, placed himself on their rations (fighting soldiers’). He ate what they ate. When their rations reduced his reduced too! He very soon lost weight visibly and, was commanded by Hitler to resume his regular meals. Though, even Hitler himself prohibited the extravagance of champagne and cognac.”

Nigerians like the Sixth Army are besieged on many fronts – pervasive poverty, inadequate and decaying infrastructure, corruption, political and civil violence to mention but four. But unlike soldiers of the Sixth Army whose “evil” leaders felt and even shared of their sufferings; their lack, Nigeria’s “God ordained” and “pious” leaders are not likely and really cannot be expected to expose themselves to such mortal sufferings.

In every 72 hours I am usually awarded electric power for about 7 hours cumulatively. The arithmetic usually un-folds like this: 2 hours in the first 24 hours, 3 hours in the next 24 hours and a little under 2 hours in the last 24 (subject to random and arbitrary re-formatting). And, I am “lucky”. Many Nigerians have less (whatever that means). Many more have none at all for days un-end!

This raises the question: is it so impossible for a Nigerian minister of power to partake of our sufferings; expose him/herself to the vagaries and infrequency of public power supply by going without a private power generating set for the entire duration of his/her appointment? Which Nigerian power minister would deluge the President and the Federal Executive Council with data on the treason of deliberate and criminally inadequate power supply, importunate and encourage Aso Rock to pick a day, any day of its choice in the week to exclusively run on public power? And, they’d be feeling very Nigerian by the end of the week, if they dedicated another day to living on less than a Dollar a day, and another day to using the nation’s public health institutions at the risk of perpetual ill health, disfigurement or death. And yet another day to walking the streets of Oshodi, Surulere, Rumumasi, e.t.c. without their plethora of security agents, at the pleasure of, if lucky, mutilation, loss of property, rape, else an unsolved and insignificant murder? They may of course argue that, their “work” is too important to accommodate such trivialities and risks and quietly recall you to Minister Maduekwe, former Transport Minister, who in exemplifying his bicycle sermon rode one every morning to the office, until he got knocked over by a motorist, this in the presence and protection of aides and security agents.

Really, it is of psychological and developmental interest to ask the following questions: what exactly happens at Federal Executive Council meetings? Has any voice ever quaked with the hurt of poor, hungry, sick and dying Nigerians? Have any eyes ever watered in those opulent innards of corrupt power at the plight of thousands of Nigerian women who die every year from childbirth, at the plight of the hawking generation? 

Do they really know we suffer? Have they ever looked into the pleading and desperate eyes of a hungry child, wiped off the tears and offered the words “manage, it will be better” for food? Have they ever met the eyes of a young, able-bodied, intelligent Nigerian who, after trekking the entire town hawking one good or the other, sits by the roadside to catch his/her breath with a frame contoured by a mixture of starvation, fear, humiliation and desperation? Did they hold his/her stare? 

How many Nigerians have ever seen Aso Rock? Can you walk around its Avenues and boulevards like you can walk around, say, 10 Downing Street or Pennsylvania Avenue? Aso Rock and its occupants are as distant and isolated from Nigerians literally and as it is in policies! They do not want to see your emaciated, piteous and help-seeking face around their hideout. Forget security risk! They know you are too hungry, too sick, and too docile to be! They, at best do not want to see their failures reflected in you, they do not want any attack of the conscience – empathy is not for “God fearing leaders”. At worst they just don’t care (I suspect that to be the case). They want you to keep off, keep well away with your poverty, disease and hunger while they remain locked away with your wealth and health. 

The Nigerian society for all intents and purposes is a two-class society – of the thieves and the victims. The Nigerian ruling class is a peculiar and curious one. Although it is full of fabulously wealthy (questionably so) individuals and a sprinkling of elites, it is yet the lowest class. A class of illiterates, unenlightened, narrow minded, shamefully corrupt and lazy political urchins. 

Of course, the story of Nigeria, the trouble with her is not restricted to the urchins in the ruling class. The class of Nigerians directly above (yes, above) that lowly political class – the victims; comprising the middle class and the poor – now subjugated and utterly oppressed. A very hard working, meek and kindly group; also very individualistic, self-centred, tribalistic, easily corruptible and probably the most docile class of people anywhere in the world. A class that seems to have completely succumbed to the contradictions of society as portrayed in George Orwell’s futuristic novel “1984”! This has created a society where “Double-think” and “Double-speak” are ways of life; where there is no “good” victim – every victim is a potential thief – it is a near degenerate society. 

But, there is yet hope! A group is breaking out of the oppressed class, and expanding! Mostly young and youthful, who, despite the weights of mis-governance pilled heavy on them are achieving the heights. Notice the frequency with which Nigerians win literary awards around the world and, the improvements in the entertainment industry, which in turn has brought Nigerian entertainers wealth, fame and celebrity status around Africa. These achievements are not restricted to the Arts. They are replicated in Computing and ICT, entrepreneurship and the Sciences like the recent news that Dr. Louis Obyo Nelson had made remarkable advancements in the search for a cure for diabetes. We are witnessing the beginnings of a much-needed intellectual class. 

Membership to any of the two broad classes is also peculiarly Nigerian – through divine will, a curse, the activities of witches and some supernatural / paranormal means. 

It is usually not your will; much less the people’s to become a member of the ruling class. You are suddenly and divinely transported from the classroom of a primary or secondary school to the Presidency; from the barrack to Dodan Barrack; from failed businesses to Government House’s and the legislature. The “Audacity of Hope” is for Barrack Obama not for those excellencies and honourables (excellencies and honourables can only be in small letters). “I will one day be the President” is from the mouth of a Bill for a Hillary’s ears. Not from my mouth for a Hauwa’s ears, not from your mouth for an Nkem’s ears. It can’t be from Umar’s mouth for a Turai’s ears. It very likely will be from a godfather’s mouth for your ears.

Well, as for the rest of us in the victim’s class, our situation and station can be blamed on the elements – the harvest is poor because the rains were! (irrigation of the field is too much to ask for), the child died because Heaven willed it. He was maimed in an accident along Ore-Benin expressway (it is God’s wish. Forget the bad road!). We will blame everything but the very miscreants who deprive us of every tool for our upliftment. We will demonstrate and remonstrate before God in the different houses of worship and leave the streets empty. We confront God in violent and loud prayers and leave the rogues to plunder and destroy. 

And, until recently, membership of the now emerging intellectual class used to be circumstantial – you wrote mainly out of frustration (which earned you little or nothing), you sang to pass time and luckily earn feeding money. You took to sports with great opposition and you impoverished yourself in academics. But, today membership of this all important class is becoming deliberate and conscious. A firm decision to sweat and work -- to learn unceasingly! 

The emancipation of our society rests squarely with the emerging intellectual class – it must echo and scream the dying whimpers of the oppressed, teach and enlighten it. So, that it (the victim’s class) can one day save us all! Imagine that, you’d sell more books because “we” have overcome poverty and can read. Imagine also, that, you’d sell your music with little threat from pirates whom you already liberated. There would even be something in it for those, de-robed and by then punished lowly class of oppressors. 

ALUMONAH OLISE-EMEKE

Robot  # 1 | 01.06.2009 09:05

Really, it is of psychological and developmental interest to ask the following questions: what exactly happens at Federal Executive Council meetings? Has any voice ever quaked with the hurt of poor, hungry, sick and dying Nigerians? Have any eyes ever watered in those opulent innards of corrupt power at the plight of thousands of Nigerian women who die every year from childbirth, at the plight of the hawking generation? ...Read the full article.

Suleimana  # 2 | 01.06.2009 12:29

Well said. I once told a friend that for as long as sirens are not synonymous with ambulances, police and fire brigade, you need not ask if our leaders and leading. I once waited for 45 minutes at the traffic light in Maryland for the late Mrs. President’s (R.I.P.) convoy after a 14 hour work-day that started at 5am and ended at 7pm. I cursed and invoked God's wrath on every politician who drives around with sirens and enslave hard working men and women. Where is she today? (Dimeji, your people drove us off the Lekki road on Sunday. Take heed for you shall one day be human again!). As for public power, I heard, on good authority, that when OBJ announced a new M.D. for Nepa, his neighborhood in Lagos suddenly found itself with un-interrupted power supply. The day Umar takes a walk in Oshodi, the street will be paved in gold and we will all be singing and dancing. Suddenly a meal in Hilton will be sold for fifty cents and the general hospital in Ibadan will carry out sophisticated surgeries. The people in Aso rock have barricaded themselves there because they know. I remember as going to the mosque in Kaduna and finding myself sitting next to the military governor (Abubakar Umar). I have only one thing to say to those in Aso rock- you are sitting on too many time bombs. Tick, tick, tick.

Zuma  # 3 | 01.06.2009 16:57

Nice article. Only with sincere prayers can we have true miracles.