01 Jan 2007 |
|
‘As I was saying…’ That was William Neil Connor with pseudonym Cassandra after he returned to his column in the Daily Mirror in September 1945. He had been interrupted from his regular column by the time he took to go to war, in the great terrible military convulsions that took place between 1939 and 1945 (The Second World War).
As it was being said in the Village! Ours, however, were not interrupted by disturbances but by the good tidings of yuletide and Sallah. The year 2007 seems to be the most promising yet to any Nigerian, living. Finally, the gate to the Presidential political arena has been closed and only 9 contestants would eventually be allowed to run that 2007 race in
For eight years, 1985-1993, retired General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida presided over
Providence
seems to make IBB simmer. Here was one of
This is not an attempt to make him more interesting than he is. It is a fact. It is said that nothing is more painful to a man, than the realisation that he had acted below his own personal standard. On the platform of his mental power and capability, IBB surely acted below his own personal benchmark. That is painful enough and there, draws my sympathy. Forget about what the billions you hear that he had amassed could do for him or the effects of the sycophantic songs delivered to his ears by his lackeys, IBB must be stewing in his own chowder during his solo moments. We all have our solo moments where, helplessly, we are confronted alone with our deeds. This could be what fuelled IBB’s desire to return to Aso Rock.
It is said that a leader is exposed to two critical elements – sycophancy and criticism. How he deals with it is essentially personal and could make or break him. The unappreciated actions of critics, nuisance as they seem, prevent the leader from falling overboard. Yet they are the ones he loathes most. Sycophants, on the other hand, effectively, push the leader into the pit. Those who are familiar with the Yoruba folklore story of the pretext-crowning of the elephant by the tortoise will understand my drift. Sycophant would call a leader, god. At a point, a vain leader will start seeing just that and not his own image anymore - anytime he looks into the mirror. IBB in his eight years as President of Nigeria glorified the sycophants around him – whilst his critics were sent to jail. His busybodies maimed or made some of IBB’s critics to meet some unfortunate consequences. Any attack on his policy was tantamount to an attack on his person. Government machineries were used to interpret criticism of policies as national treason.
He was, nonetheless, not alone. All the other leaders have, at one time or the other, fallen prey to this uncanny human element. Some were able to rise above it while in office. For some, they realised it too late. But why IBB! It shows that whatever you may think of him, IBB is made in the image of God after all. It is said that when a man realises a black spot in his morality, he tries to correct it with automatism without being conscious of it. It is the same reason why a criminal is drawn to the scene of a crime he had just committed. Police all over the world in recent times have been using this knowledge to apprehend offenders. The exclusion of IBB in the presidential race is monumental. Credit, however, will go to Obasanjo, who by so doing had laid another layer of benevolence to most Nigerians. To me, Obansanjo had left the best for the last.
At a level of mere mortal that I belong, I congratulate tens of Nigerians who were able to use their little pens to puncture IBB’s balloon of pomposity. For some unexplained reasons, people were courageous enough to initiate the call for IBB not to run and spoke out. Call it
IBB, of course, is far from being irrelevant and he is survivor. It is now left to him to do what is right. My advice to the Minna Chief is to lend his weight to whomever he genuinely knows would take
My call is based on the urgent need for organisation. Government’s primary role is about organising the society and not about awarding contracts. What we have been hearing thus far are more of awarding contracts for the provision of amenities, yet the whole society is disorganised. Organisational repertoire has eluded us if you come to think of it. You could argue that lack of organisational ability is common place among black communities and
Lagos drivers, particularly the commercial drivers - I assume it is the same in all the other parts of the country – have turned the main arteries of our motorways into bus stops and nobody seems to care. Building permits have been granted for large commercial buildings without considerations for parking. Where do they expect the people to park their vehicles when they visit this gigantic edifice? Traders have taken over the roads.
Every Nigerian is selling something or the other. Every door in
Twenty three years ago, Buhari and the late Idiagbon brought out the whip to organise us; of course, we did not like the taste of that whip. The passage of time, in any case, would have mellowed that youthful exuberance. If Buhari is still convinced that organisation more than anything else is what we need, he should know that it has to be through persuasion this time. Nigerians would have to be sold the idea that it is more profitable now and not just in the far future; to be organised. The late Fela Anikulapo Kuti said in one of his memorable songs that everything is disorganised. Our actions have confirmed Fela as a prophet and not the charlatans that call themselves prophets these days in our midst. I do not agree with a friend who insisted that should Buhari win, most of the present leaders would end up in jail – including our President. That would be damaging to our psyche. We should let bygones be bygones.
To fellow Nigerians who will vote for our next leaders, my advice is simple. ‘If you do what you’ve always done; you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.’ That was recorded by somebody. I am sorry, I do not know who. So, we should choose carefully. Our lives or those of our loved ones may depend on it.
Samuel Akinyele Caulcrick –
Author of the book: The Devil Must Be Laughing. ISBN 1-4241-2196-5
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
# 
Your Comments
Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.