If this country is owned by a few of its citizens, people you and I know are shadow criminals, and then it is true that we are all enslaved. If we are enslaved, then this place is a plantation. In asking to be a patriot I didn’t want to die for a plantation owner. I meant to fight and I die for a nation. " />
10 Aug 2006 |
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Patriotism is something else when defined by controllers of power. The question of dying for one’s nation in the name of patriotism seems very laudable. But wait a minute, who really wants to die for Nigeria? Why would anyone die for a country that can’t bury its dead? Why should anyone live in a country only to think about dying in it? Why should your country kill you? Why should anyone die for Nigeria, when we never really lived in it? I have not traveled the world to see for myself, but I have read and watched documentaries about patriots of other countries, right from when I was little I always imagined how it was to go to war and fight for a good cause, just like the Americans, Russians, Chinese and all other ‘unlucky’ countries that have had to engage in war and those with a passion for change that rebelled against their evil governments and lost their lives in the course of fighting for their beliefs and convictions. Most countries of the world have had such people and they celebrate these souls with so much passion. What baffles me is that; my country Nigeria can’t boast of any. What happened? Is it because we never fought a war of liberation? Or the fact that we gained our independence without bloodshed? I do respect our past leaders who strove diligently to make Nigeria great, the likes of Sardauna, Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Gen. Murtala Mohammed, but these people had their short comings that haven’t permitted them to fit into universal definition of heroes, several years after they died, they have remained heroes in their various corners of the nation. Why, I do not know! May be, now, we are finding out that they possibly compromised too much on principles and methods of taking Nigeria away from the white man and moving it to a great nation. As a caveat, I have no right to complain about their roles, I have not done anything for Nigeria. I am not qualified to assault their credentials and I would rather worship them than import a hero from Cuba or India. Why are there no patriots and by the way, who are patriots? And where have the patriots all gone to, in a nation of 150 million people? Why does patriotism not exist in this place? Patriotism in Nigeria is first towards ethnic and tribal groups and then later to an unjust cause of sycophantism or cronyism. Tribal identity is very important to Nigerians, even when the tribes-big-man does no good towards his people. There is always a false sense of belonging. We belong to a tribe when we can’t find a class, when we find a class; we thrash the tribe but keep it intact in case we need it? We belong in a religion, even when we don’t know God. Today we belong to neither God nor a nation! When would a true patriot rise up? Where is the patriot? Where is the man or woman in this nation who believes in the country and its people, if not Nigeria, at least the common humanity of the inhabitants of this geographical space? Where is the professional who respects his calling? Where is the law enforcement officer who doesn’t want to subvert the law? Where is the public trust holder who doesn’t want to rip off the public? Where is the religious leader who doesn’t want to play on God’s intelligence? Where is the traditional ruler who doesn’t want to sell his soul for a pittance? Where is the youth who doesn’t want to live big without lifting an arm? Where is the civil society that doesn’t want to pursue a cause because it is popular and international? Where are the journalists who just want report the truth without fear or profit? Where the one who is not doing what he is doing for the sake of a big payday? We Nigerians feel we don’t owe our country much, because Nigeria has not really done anything for us that may be true. We have totally given up on our country; I believe that is why Nigeria might also have given up on us. Imagine if you gave up on a friend, you don’t expect them to stick around, do you? That is the same with our nation, a lot of Nigerians have fled in search of a place that appreciates their worth, where they can express and develop their potentials, where the pay is good and the institutions and public infrastructure are in superb conditions, all the good things in life Nigeria could not and cannot give them. Those that haven’t fled, live somewhere outside of Nigeria, even if only through fantasy! No doubt; things could get really frustrating in here, but it could be better if we try to rectify the problem in anyway we can, rather than leaving it to the next person who cannot afford to get out of the country. With the hope that we can breeze into Nigeria armed with another nation’s passport and citizenship, looking for respect from the ones that couldn’t make it through the canaries. I have been to the barracks recently, the way Nigerian soldiers live in style, thank God; we are not fighting any war soon, I doubt if any soldier will want to die in battle and leave behind fleet of cars and fat bank accounts. If soldiers are not patriots wonder who is. If Ambassadors can’t sing the national anthem, I wonder who would be able to! I don’t wonder any more why we do not have patriots in Nigeria, I love this country, but I don’t think I am ready to die for its sake, may be this contradicts the substance of this article, but it is never going to be alright to die for a wrong idea. I am yet to understand whether this nation belongs to us or we simply belong to its owners. If this country is owned by a few of its citizens, people you and I know are shadow criminals, and then it is true that we are all enslaved. If we are enslaved, then this place is a plantation. In asking to be a patriot I didn’t want to die for a plantation owner. I meant to fight and I die for a nation. … Halima Sadiya Mamud. Political Science Dept, University of Abuja
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