David Mark: Off the mark on patriotism

By Levi Obijiofor

SENATE President David Mark is by virtue of the Constitution Nigeria's number three citizen. But, on a scale of patriotism, he takes the cake as Nigeria's number one flag-waver. He loves his country. He likes to talk highly about his country, even when verifiable evidence contradicts his position. David Mark detests anyone who talks ill about Nigeria. And he would do anything to attack those who attack his country.

However, the brand of patriotism which David Mark advertises in public borders on the extreme. Patriotism is a good element of nationalism. On that point, there is no basis for a debate. But, taken to the extreme, patriotism can indeed be dangerous to national development. Here is why. When a man defends his country so blindly, when a man sees nothing wrong with his country, when a man perceives all criticisms as destructive rather than constructive, when a man encourages Nigerians in the Diaspora to talk only about the good aspects of Nigeria and to skip the bad elements, you've got to step back and ask whether obsequious defence of one's country is a good thing.

Last weekend, David Mark, who was a special guest at the 2009 Diaspora Day celebration in Abuja told an audience, through the voice of Jubril Aminu (chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee who represented him), that criticism of Nigeria by Nigerians is evidence of disloyalty. In Mark's judgment, those who love their country must always identify with the pleasant things about that country and overlook the unpleasant aspects because every country has good and bad features. Perhaps Mark has not heard that evil thrives mostly in societies in which a majority of people maintain silence while things go wrong. To remain uncritical when things are going wrong is the best way to destroy a country.

Mark did not hide his abhorrence of Nigerians at home and abroad who like to engage in open criticism of their country. According to The Guardian edition of Monday this week, Mark said: "This country is doing well, we are moving in the right direction, but for some people who are running down this country from within and without. A lot of Britons will never go out to criticise their country elsewhere, but a lot of Nigerians go out and start running down our country. Why can't they go and start another country?"

There are issues with David Mark's comment. First, it is not true that British citizens do not criticise their country in Britain or overseas. Second, Mark seems to have a gross misunderstanding of the meaning of patriotism. Dogmatic expression of Nigeria's good qualities is not really a good barometer for gauging someone's level of patriotism. It is inappropriate for citizens of any country to keep silent or to sing the praises of political leaders who pilot their country in the wrong direction. Patriotism is not synonymous with an uncritical civil society. And criticism must not be conceived as evidence of disloyalty. Indeed, there is nothing more damaging of a country's socioeconomic development than a gullible electorate. This is the troubling element in David Mark's unalloyed love for Nigeria.

Is everything really going well in Nigeria? The facts fly in the face of David Mark's optimistism. The image that foreigners have of Nigeria has never been constructed on the platform of critical comments made by Nigerians in the Diaspora. Based on events inside and outside Nigeria, foreign countries perceive Nigeria as an unstable, disorganised and dysfunctional country without strong leadership.

If everything is going well in Nigeria, why are the police and the army currently engaged in ferocious gun battle with religious fanatics in three northern states? These are fanatics who are seeking to establish their own territory or sphere of influence within the wider entity known as Nigeria. Why are so many innocent lives being wasted in an internal insurrection fuelled by religious understandings of life and how a society should be governed?

These insurrections are a direct challenge to the authority of the Federal Government. Above all, they reflect a weak government and, more important, wider problems in our society - crippling unemployment, poverty, idleness, ill health, lack of faith in the political system and discontent over failed promises. When foreign countries see all these problems played out in our streets, they construct an image of Nigeria as a model of a country in which a majority of people have been served badly by their corrupt leaders, their bad economy, the poor state of public infrastructure, ghastly education system, appalling medical facilities and public hospitals, not to mention a decadent public service.

Perhaps we should ask David Mark whether Nigeria is doing really well when people in the Niger Delta, the region that produces Nigeria's liquid gold, are up in arms against federal and state governments that have denied them their rights to a fair share of the revenue derived from resources produced in their backyards. Just how well is Nigeria doing when the rich and affluent, including the president and state governors, travel regularly to overseas medical facilities for check ups while the rest of the citizens are encouraged to patronise local hospitals where they will eventually die because the hospitals have no diagnostic equipment?

Unlike David Mark, I can't see evidence to argue that Nigeria is doing well. Everywhere I look, I find poverty, misery, anger, hopelessness and resentment against Nigerian leaders and institutions that are designed to serve the people. The only people who seem to be smiling in Nigeria are the privileged ones who are doing very well financially, especially those who have successfully raided the public treasury, including those who continue to reap where they did not sow.

If patriotism is truly the last refuge of scoundrels, we must view David Mark's sycophantic expression of his patriotic zeal with a great deal of uneasiness. His view reminds me of the unsound argument that if a country is not broken no one should bother trying to fix the system. Our system has long been broken but political leaders can't fix the problem. Instead, people like David Mark want us to pretend that all is well, that nothing is wrong with our country.

Democracy is about free expression of opinion. A critical press strengthens rather than undermines democracy. David Mark is definitely off the mark when he argues that criticisms of Nigeria by Nigerians are destructive of Nigeria's image in the international community. Certainly, Mark has an exaggerated image of Nigeria. Unfortunately, Nigeria's image, which Mark is fighting to protect, is a rotten image. Is it worth the effort to defend a specious image? If Nigeria is doing so well, why is the country disintegrating in a political sense? Why is Nigeria, as a geographical entity, being challenged by all manner of groups in different parts of the country? Why is the country investing so much money in a lavish campaign to re-brand Nigeria?

As I argued in an article in early June 2008, criticisms serve different purposes for different people. "Some people attend to criticisms the way they would reach out to sparkling soft drinks to quench their thirst. Other people treat criticisms as toxic material that should be sealed and dumped in a toxic waste bin." David Mark's view of critical comments directed against Nigeria by Nigerians in the Diaspora falls into the second basket. In his position as Senate President, it is easy to understand why David Mark belongs to the camp which perceives criticisms as confrontational tools designed to unsettle people in authority.

When David Mark urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to "ensure that people hear and see only the good side of the country", he was methodically encouraging Nigerians to lie about their country. Why should Nigerians in the Diaspora lie about their country? Lying is a contemptible element of a bad citizen. Lying at a national level is usually associated with people of low character. I do not hold brief for Nigerians in the Diaspora but I believe many of them would not be willing to wear the title of professional liars.

There is a more compelling reason why Nigerians in the Diaspora would feel offended by David Mark's subtle advice that they should be less critical of their country. We live in the 21st century, not in the dark age of the 18th century monarchical system of government - a system of government in which truth was regarded as the property of the state, monopolised by those in positions of authority. In our system of democracy, unvarnished truth is one obligation that everyone owes Nigeria.

Robot  # 1 | 31.07.2009 07:24

David Mark: Off the mark on patriotism By Levi Obijiofor SENATE President David Mark is by virtue of the Constitution Nigeria's number three citizen. But, on a scale of patriotism, he takes the cake as Nigeria's number one flag-waver. He loves his country. He likes to talk highly about his country, even when verifiable evidence contradicts his position. David Mark detests anyone who talks ill about Nigeria. And he would do anything to attack those who attack his country. However, the brand of patriotism which David Mark advertises in public borders on the extreme. Patriotism is a good element of nationalism. On that point, there is no basis for a debate. But, taken to the extreme, patriotism can indeed be dangerous to national development. Here is why. When a man defends his country so blindly, when a man sees nothing wrong with his country, when a man perceives all criticisms as destructive rather than constructiv...Read the full article.

M. Akosa  # 2 | 31.07.2009 10:06

"Just how well is Nigeria doing when the rich and affluent, including the president and state governors, travel regularly to overseas medical facilities for check ups while the rest of the citizens are encouraged to patronise local hospitals where they will eventually die because the hospitals have no diagnostic equipment?" I will recommend that next time David Mark goes overseas for medical check up, that he better focus his attention on seeking help for his mental health. I am sure he is crazy indeed for this over zealous call for Nigerian patriotism. How can some one be patriotic when; *Nigerian government is unleashing genocide against her Niger Delta citizens. *When greater part of the Northern territories are intolerant of non Muslims and the cities are now burning as we speak, with dead bodies all over the place. *When the Nigerian government is overtly now promoting and encouraging eutanasia for her citizens, by watching them die helplessly and too many lives wasted due to lack of access to medical treatment, while the elites and their families travel overseas just for only medical check ups. David Mark's patriotism my foot !!!

Dapxin  # 3 | 31.07.2009 10:28

I am sorry, to have to write, worse, read anything on David Mark, near patriotism....gosh! is wanton recklesss and hardly rationalise-able, waste of brainPower and time. Lets just watch baba Suwe comedy or similar! please!

Pedro  # 4 | 31.07.2009 10:56

is it not this man called David Mark the minister that was quoted in the late 90's to have said that the telephone is not for the poor.How come that these crass marauders called politicians always pander to the gallery?He was also reported by IBB the former Nigerian Military despot to have told him without mincing words to cancel the elections that was held in 1993 then in which Abiola won.This David Mark of afellow IBB said , put a pistol to his head and IBB the International maradona cancelled the election.Now see the people adviising Nigerians >nigerains are not morons whom despots,coup planners and gut wrenching marauders should co-opt and preach to about the tenets of democracy and patriotism.preacher practice thou what you preach,This nation never ceases to amaze me .Philanderers ,chauvinists,rioters,islamic and taliban fundamentalists plus Sharia acolytes are having a field day in parts of the country which they say is practicing a federal system of government."Boko Haram will torment all these soothsayers and panelbeaters" called poiliticians.

ajimoh  # 5 | 31.07.2009 11:44

So General David Mark has been mouthy again? Somebody please get the sick bucket, but first let me introduce the man to you via the findings of facts by the British House of Lords. ...BARONESS HALE OF RICHMOND This case 20 The parties are both Nigerian nationals, born in Nigeria in 1948 and 1950 respectively, and thus having a domicile of origin in Nigeria. They were married according to the local customary law in the River State of Nigeria in 1979. This was a valid polygamous marriage, the husband having married two or possibly three wives before this one, and possibly two afterwards. This couple have four children, David, born in 1980, Katie, born in 1982, Monica, born in 1984, and Christopher, born in 1985. All four children were born here. The two eldest, being born before the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force, are United Kingdom citizens with British passports. The two youngest were originally Nigerian citizens, but were granted British citizenship in 2000. All four children began their education in Switzerland, but were mainly educated at boarding schools and Universities or colleges here. They spent their holidays either in London or Nigeria or in other places abroad. 21 The husband had a distinguished career in the Nigerian army, rising to the rank of General, and occupying a variety of government posts after the military coup in 1983. He amassed a very considerable fortune during this period. In 1990 he was posted to Washington. The wife had qualified as a lawyer and practised in Nigeria. When the husband was posted to Washington she enrolled for an LL.M. at Queen Mary College in London, thereafter dividing her time between this country, visits to her husband in the United States, and to Nigeria. She was granted multiple entry visas which allowed her to enter this country for periods of up to six months at a time until March 1997. 22 In November 1993, there was a further military coup in Nigeria, and the husband was opposed to the new ruler, General Abacha. He was compulsorily retired from the army and went into exile in this country. The parties established a matrimonial home here. In April 1994, the husband was granted a four year work permit expiring on 30 April 1998 and given leave to remain here until that date. The wife at first relied upon her multiple entry visa to come and go, but was eventually given limited leave to remain until 30 April 1998 as the dependent spouse of a work permit holder. Shortly before that date, the husband applied for and was granted indefinite leave to remain for himself and the two youngest children. At the time, the wife was in Florida attending a bible study course and she was not included in the application. She returned on 29 April and was given leave to enter for one day, until her limited leave expired on 30 April. After that she became an over-stayer and her continued presence here was an offence under sections 24(1)(b) and 24A of the Immigration Act 1971. She has since been granted indefinite leave to remain but only after these proceedings were begun. 23 General Abacha died in June 1998 and the husband decided to return to Nigeria to take up a political career. He did so in September 1998 and soon became a Senator in the Upper House of the Nigerian Parliament. He continues to visit this country and to stay in the former matrimonial home where the wife still lives. At some time over the following year, the wife abandoned any hope of returning to Nigeria as the husband's principal wife and formed the intention of remaining indefinitely in this country. Reference: Mark v. Mark <2005> UKHL 42; http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/2005/42.html DECONSTRUCTION OF DAVID MARK During his period serving motherland, Nigeria, as a Military Officer, “He amassed a very considerable fortune..." How could a military officer have amassed a very considerable fortune, except by stealing and being generally corrupt? Nigeria provided the enabling environment for him to do that obviously! Oh, I forgot again - he took a loan with Nigeria as the collateral! Ooleee ! ...All four children began their education in Switzerland, but were mainly educated at boarding schools and Universities or colleges here. They spent their holidays either in London or Nigeria or in other places abroad... Here is a patriot so beloved of his motherland Nigeria, but chose to educate all four children from one wife in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Army officers must be paid so much in Nigeria for David Mark to have been able to afford this. And how many more children were educated abroad with his bountiful Army salary and other benefits? In November 1993, there was a further military coup in Nigeria, and the husband was opposed to the new ruler, General Abacha. He was compulsorily retired from the army and went into exile in this country. The parties established a matrimonial home here. In April 1994, the husband was granted a four year work permit expiring on 30 April 1998 and given leave to remain here until that date. The wife at first relied upon her multiple entry visa to come and go, but was eventually given limited leave to remain until 30 April 1998 as the dependent spouse of a work permit holder. Shortly before that date, the husband applied for and was granted indefinite leave to remain for himself and the two youngest children. David Mark so loved Nigeria and was such a valiant soldier who would have laid down his life to pay the ultimate sacrifice , but he scampered to the safety of the UK to avoid Abacha and was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK sometime in the late 90s. It is an insult, and does violence to language, to describe David Mark as a patriot. He is an opportunist like the rest of the ex-military charlatans masquerading as politicians. Has anyone listened to Oyinlola and David Marks’s versions of democratic comportments – shouting down others? Please! These people are vagabonds in power and, most certainly in the case of David Mark, crooks who should never have been allowed to smell power. It is their antecedents that make them talk about do or die in a democracy, condone assaults on civilians and openly embrace the shabby treatment of fellow Nigerians by foreign airlines – did David Mark say anything about the Ayo Omotade v British Airways case? Which airline does the greatest democrat of our time fly to the UK? Nigeria Airways? I cannot see what David Mark has brought to the table of credibility to give him the authority to comment about what Nigerians in the Diaspora should say or not say about Nigeria. The only reason David Mark is a Senator is because we have a rotten political system; he is a man with an enormous baggage of corruption who ought to keep quiet and not preach to us. After all, we know he is likely to catch the next flight out whenever it gets hot! He’s done it before and that is truly telling! There are one or two other cases worth reading which shows that this man lacks honour and decency in his private life. He, for example, was bent on shielding the woman who bore him 4 children from getting her hands on part of some 6 million pounds hidden in off-shore trusts. Here is a man who stole our money and was trying to shield it from wife entitled to it under family law! Is that the kind of man to be entrusted with leadership on a national scale? Is anyone surprised why he could not countenance sharing telephone with the poor masses? As the Yorubas say, Ise ile ni nba won de ita . What a joke!

Pedro  # 6 | 31.07.2009 12:56

I attest to your political correctness in your submission ,comrade>one day too ,the Owu of Sango OTTA will start pontificating for Nigerians as the father of Nigerian democracy becuase he gave the nation a near dead UMYa as President.Was in it not in this God -sequined desert called Nigeria that a sharia legal code was introduced by the governor of Zamfara state ,Sanni Yerima and the sitting president then could not do anything .We are seeing the consequences of that inaction today in the Nothern part of Nigeria >religious chauvinists ,rioters ,fundamenatlists set churches,people ablaze without thinking twice.The problem of Obasanjo's ineptitude on the sharia legal code complications will only be clearer in the years to come.All known dangerous fundamentalists from across the middle East have been streaming across the border into Nigeria with support from other rustic elements from Chad and Niger republics.Pray where they will strike next and how they will strike,nobody knows .The Nigerian security forces will always be caught napping as in the case of Boko Haram ,Jos and similar religious riots in the Northin years past where human lives and unquantifiable property have been lost to these drones.Thanks for bringing out the antics of these maruaders and demagogues onthe corridors of power .Its the case of a kettle calling the pot black

Abraxas  # 7 | 31.07.2009 12:58

Hi, folks! One of the most interesting, though, very depressing aspect of reality in the theatre of the absurd currently unfolding in 21st century Nigeria, is that a HARDENED coup plotter, and one of the most corrupt military politicians that has both literally and metaphorically thoroughly fukkced, sorry, raped Nigeria upside-down, is sitting pretty, presiding over the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as a "civilian democrat", referred to as Chief ("Dr.") Distinguished Senator Brigadier-General David Bonaventure Mark, former Chairman, Task Force on Abandoned Properties, post-Biafra. How refreshingly comic life can be in a neo-colonial banana republic, my burods and sisitas! Muchas gracias, ojare. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)

M. Akosa  # 8 | 31.07.2009 15:01

=ajimoh;377386>So General David Mark has been mouthy again? Somebody please get the sick bucket, but first let me introduce the man to you via the findings of facts by the British House of Lords. Reference: Mark v. Mark <2005> UKHL 42; http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/2005/42.html DECONSTRUCTION OF DAVID MARK During his period serving motherland, Nigeria, as a Military Officer, “He amassed a very considerable fortune..." How could a military officer have amassed a very considerable fortune, except by stealing and being generally corrupt? Nigeria provided the enabling environment for him to do that obviously! Oh, I forgot again - he took a loan with Nigeria as the collateral! Ooleee ! Here is a patriot so beloved of his motherland Nigeria, but chose to educate all four children from one wife in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Army officers must be paid so much in Nigeria for David Mark to have been able to afford this. And how many more children were educated abroad with his bountiful Army salary and other benefits? David Mark so loved Nigeria and was such a valiant soldier who would have laid down his life to pay the ultimate sacrifice , but he scampered to the safety of the UK to avoid Abacha and was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK sometime in the late 90s. It is an insult, and does violence to language, to describe David Mark as a patriot. He is an opportunist like the rest of the ex-military charlatans masquerading as politicians. Has anyone listened to Oyinlola and David Marks’s versions of democratic comportments – shouting down others? Please! These people are vagabonds in power and, most certainly in the case of David Mark, crooks who should never have been allowed to smell power. It is their antecedents that make them talk about do or die in a democracy, condone assaults on civilians and openly embrace the shabby treatment of fellow Nigerians by foreign airlines – did David Mark say anything about the Ayo Omotade v British Airways case? Which airline does the greatest democrat of our time fly to the UK? Nigeria Airways? I cannot see what David Mark has brought to the table of credibility to give him the authority to comment about what Nigerians in the Diaspora should say or not say about Nigeria. The only reason David Mark is a Senator is because we have a rotten political system; he is a man with an enormous baggage of corruption who ought to keep quiet and not preach to us. After all, we know he is likely to catch the next flight out whenever it gets hot! He’s done it before and that is truly telling! There are one or two other cases worth reading which shows that this man lacks honour and decency in his private life. He, for example, was bent on shielding the woman who bore him 4 children from getting her hands on part of some 6 million pounds hidden in off-shore trusts. Here is a man who stole our money and was trying to shield it from wife entitled to it under family law! Is that the kind of man to be entrusted with leadership on a national scale? Is anyone surprised why he could not countenance sharing telephone with the poor masses? As the Yorubas say, Ise ile ni nba won de ita . What a joke! I don't have any respect what so ever for that man. Imagine putting the mother of his 4 children through such a humiliating ordeal, after subjecting the poor woman through a treacherous polygamous marriage arrangement and how many unknown concubines and mistresses. How can any honourable or decent man cunningly attempt to exclude his own "wife" and mother of his children from dignified financial security or good settlement? Of course only David Mark will do that.

Enyi  # 9 | 01.08.2009 04:01

=Dapxin;377352>I am sorry, to have to write, worse, read anything on David Mark, near patriotism....gosh! is wanton recklesss and hardly rationalise-able, waste of brainPower and time. Lets just watch baba Suwe comedy or similar! please! Dapxin-Thanks a million! What an apt and splendid comment! Who is David Mark? ajimoh in his thread has provided a very useful insight. I am not sure responding to Mark will serve any useful purpose. While he is entitled to his own opinion, he does not have more rights to Nigeria than those who hold dissenting views. His question-"Why can't they go and start another country?" is not only outrageous but speaks volumes about his belief (or is it understanding?) of democracy.

busanga  # 10 | 01.08.2009 11:54

The problem is not David Mark, the problem is Nigerians! How can a man who insulted an entire citizenry less than twenty years ago, turn out again to be your Senate president? We suffer from either severe amnesia or are just plain cowards. We must own up to own stupidity. :)

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