Ronke Macaulay

One case was the dramatic story of a woman who had a board meeting somewhere in the North, and could not shake off a feeling of doom about the whole trip. In the end she decided to go regardless, only to have the hotel where she was staying raided by a gang of armed robbers in army uniform, who went from room to room, terrorising the hotel guests, beating them up savagely and removing every single item of any value in their possession. This went on for some time and yet nobody raised the alarm, no one came to their rescue, and – worst of all – nobody entertains the slightest hope that the perpetrators will be apprehended and brought to justice.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines fatalism as “the belief that all events are predetermined and inevitable”, and “a submissive attitude to events.” Impunity is  “exemption from punishment or from the harmful consequences of an action.” This   perfectly sums up the moral condition in our beloved nation, as exposed in countless searing articles by Nigerian writers and also the recent Human Rights Watch report on Nigeria.

It appears that sections of the ruling class have a self-perpetuating and destructive mindset, which dictates that wealth must be amassed by every means possible, with political office providing a sure route to the acquisition of a huge fortune with minimum effort and risk. In addition, that the life of an ordinary Nigerian is brutish, with little or no intrinsic value, and that he must remain powerless to effect any positive change in his environment and circumstances. 

This summarises a warped view of our country, which leads far too many to believe that being honest, loyal or self-sacrificing in any situation, especially public service, is evidence of a spineless, lapdog mentality.

Given such an environment where the end justifies the means and there is little or no risk of punishment for crimes committed, the eradication of corruption in high places would naturally be virtually impossible to achieve. It is the leadership of a nation which sets the pace, followed closely by the elite, with the common man bringing up the rear. Like a boxer who has lost his lightening reflexes and the ability to put up a fierce fight through years of brutal punishment in the ring, Nigerians as a people have become punch drunk and powerless, staggering from one sucker punch to another. We  resort to mouthing religious platitudes in the face of extreme hardship, but can it be God’s will that criminals should go unpunished, or that we should resign ourselves to a fate as the laughing stock of the civilised world, or worse still, as canon fodder for thugs, bullies and despots?

 I believe that in spite of the on-going controversies raging in our socio-economic and political space, Nigeria as a nation is still clinging to a slim chance for a fresh start. For all our sakes, we must finally break the stranglehold of Fatalism and Impunity, the grotesque twin brothers from an evil clan that currently stalks the land at will.

Robot  Villager

# 1 Ronke Macaulay At a packed fellowship meeting earlier this year, I was...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 19.10.2007 23:33