Is it CNN, BBC or Nigerians? Part I

Ndubueze Godson III

biafraalways@yahoo.com 

The latest brouhaha about CNN, BBC and whatever is all smoke to divert attention away from the steady decent into abyss of a crawling nation at forty something. Let us try to imagine what these empty showy patriots would say regarding a person at forty-six who nonetheless acts with the mental mind of a toddler. What is this call to arms for? It will not be far fetched to think that a proper and careful investigation of some of these patriots will reveal they too, members of their families or close associations have at one point been part of the national resource raping cliché. Exuberant youthful opinions that only reveals where the writer stood which is on the side of patriotic dishonesty are one thing but for some editors to make the same mistake by lending voice to what they too has been saying about el’Nigeria, her legislature, judiciary and all that, is one hypocrisy too hard to overlook. Most of these editorials have always been of the view that many Nigerian legislators and politicians are mind depressingly compromised without any distinction made between the few (two or three) that are driven by real democratic zeal still their CNN snafu zoomed through them like wind.  

After reading some of these paid ads, I had to take a little time to cool off to avoid over needling people I have tender side for. Every self respecting adult should be familiar with what I will demonstrate next for the purpose of adding clarity to this writing and that is what usually happens when one strolls into a neighborhood or locale posh with manicured lawns and clean sidewalks. Not many if any will still go ahead to debase the pristine setup by littering it left, right and center albeit, exception could be made to some ghettoish African Americans. What happens almost always is the non disturbance of the integrity of the place by the outsider simply because of the self value of the residents for their neighborhood. On the other hand, if the area is like the eyesore the governors of the following cities; Aba, Lagos, Bini, Enugu, Onitsha and other Nigerian cities were allowed to become, no gasp will be drawn when people add to the refuse because of the established culture. Believe me, I do not engage in such dirtiness, but I have seen people do it, drop things here and there especially in Chicago and I am assuming this goes on in New York and other U.S. cities too as seen on CNN. Oh, oh, fight word? Should have said as seen on TV, my bad, but the point remains that it is the news outlet in contention that make it possible for us to know what goes on around the world. 

Every decent person by now should be tired sick of those Nigerians with a one-way at all sleazy cost mindset to riches. What CNN did was make the known available for a general wider viewers, so where is their crime? If an infraction was committed by them, I think with the many people that advertise their lawyerness here, it will be very, very easy to seek a legal recourse if these patriots are serious about their feelings. I am not crazy to guess that enough patriotic Nigerian lawyers exist (not the type that lacked legal know how that ended up bargaining Bakassi away), but ones that could mount a legal challenge to what to them was slanderous. What then, I am wondering is taking too long for the process of filing a class action in behalf of their ‘beloved’ country to begin? But before any does, you should be aware that if in the bitter end the suit is deemed frivolous with awards against you, the same Nigeria will not yield a dime for your rescue. Even if it does, no telling what the mission officer or is it called ambassador will do with the money, but trust it won’t get to ya. 

The question I ask to know is; where are the responsibilities of the Nigerians who do these uncanny things or did CNN set them up? Just asking for I do not claim to know everything especially as relates to this image thing, not of interest to me. If a moment is spared to forget the media to be unconscionable with how we deal with people with no known source of income yet display insane opulence, the shocking rage of some people over that CNN documentary will be massively diluted. With me when it comes to addressing these fraudsters with diligent determined qualifiers, I am not a miser yet I have been accused by some noisemakers of being unkind with my prose. How could one even maintain civility with a common thief? Does such exist and will that not fall under cruel and unusual punishment to be forced to address a dishonorable person admiringly? Pray tell, how you encourage people to salute politicians or whomever with soiled conduct with honorable mention? Listen up Jack, there is no other word to describe a thief in the dictionary I know other than thief. I know of no different word to identify a murderer other than raw killer. Or, is a murderer not a killer anymore? Then get with the program and drop the latest show of shame. Whenever I hear people address a mass murderer or rapist as a gentleman and all other politically correct bull, I cringe. What is gentle about snuffing life out of someone because you can? What is honorable about letting their uncles’ sneaky fingers rob the people bare at the expense of development that should make them to be sincerely patriotic and not the rented patriotism we have seen enough of?  

This is what I believe, that both those who befit the patriotic appellation to themselves and the ones seen scornfully as anti Nigeria whatever, are all, I suppose boiling mad over the rot since 1970 literally, el’Nigeria became so let none ascribe the high ground to themselves simply because they are at present secretly receiving pay offs from sleaze. Either this is the case or the expression of disgust by some pretenders is a covert without balls denunciation of the mismanagement perpetuated by a bunch of visionless mediocre, which as far as I can say, was a misdirected outburst towards a foreign news organization that owe no allegiance to their country. No one should expect CNN to paint a rosy picture of a country that is of nothing to them, it’s that simple. Their natural loyalty rests with their fellow citizens of UNITED States of America and with that program they put them on notice to watch out for certain people (singular use) who imperil their livelihoods. Is there anything that the Nigerian government and their foot soldiers will not protest even when such is in their spotty faces honest-to-God delivered truth by Jesus himself? Two examples will be sufficient here starting with pronouncements by different international election observers as relates to the never seen before 2003 election rigging and the many political assassinations. What is it that el’Nigeria do not whine and jerk about? People with no hint what should constitute patriotism are called upon to see “Tribalist vs Nationalist: A case of two misplaced nouns in Nigeria,” which appeared more than a year ago on Kwenu, BNW and Gamji; 10/29/04, 10/30/04 and 11/01/04, written by me to gain useful knowledge. 

This brings me to the mocking question to show them a world map with specifics about Biafra. My urge whenever I encounter this line of argument is to want to be led to a verifiable place or map where heaven could be pinpointed and my return to the only place I know, earth, guaranteed. Heaven if I must explain to those left by the roadside is a state of mind; it is a condition we create for ourselves while on earth as there is no such physical presence, period. A person’s world is said to have ended when that person takes his last breathe then his activities while alive is all he has to keep him in remembrance just like we in Christian community remember Jesus the anointed for all his good deeds and our Moslem neighbors, Mohammed. Yet some in their infant haste to ridicule the Igbo missed that the clamor for Biafra is an easy psychological means of blocking the bad memories of a country, their country, with long overdue need for facelift. When CNN spoke of crimes and el’Nigeria, I knew damn well they were not by any imagined way smarting about Biafra and that was all for this writer. If the dramatist could henceforward drop the out of synch over played local show they did notice that what they reacted to pales when lined up against the self inflicted wounds by the very government in whose behalf they stake their negligible reputations. To survive the rigors of el’Nigeria one must have a second plan, a plan “B” if one is to make it and Biafra is it for all freedom lovers!  

Part of what a second plan does for people that do not want to be taken unawares is a switch to something less taxing from their original field of studies in college due to personal considerations (dullness maybe or financial obstacle). Without activating their “B” plan, they may well end up struggling for many years in engineering, medical or any other school, but with a second plan galvanized, they are today in different fields making invaluable contributions to society without committing bank or credit card frauds that may be relayed back on CNN. It has to be said that until the rights of people who want out of that el’Nigeria due to the never ending bad policies are appreciated, chaotic life will be the painful music of the bogus patriots. People wishing to make a mad no looking back dash out of there are like the patriotic hecklers; engineers, doctors, lawyers, professors and stuff who have seen enough of el’Nigeria to know that not much exists to write friends about or die for. The patriots may well follow what the African Americans with attitude say in their lingo when a relationship is bent out of shape and not working; baby, you should have been gotten yourself out of there long time ago, shuuu. Much as how the country was leveled to ruins is no carter blanche to crime, we must agree that the criminal policies of these one-quarter schooled illiterates the patriots see in esteem is part to blame for forcing otherwise good people to engage in humiliating adventures.