Also published in DAILY TRUST
Modern civilization has among other things redefined the concept of citizenship as the right of belonging to a sovereign political entity, where citizens’ rights and obligations are defined in the context of the appropriately enacted laws of the land. It therefore abolished the old concept of subordination that used to define the relationship between rulers and the ruled.
Incidentally,
in olden days where people were mostly subjugated violently, there were no
substantive legal or political frameworks to regulate the relationships between
rulers and the ruled. Instead, the relationships between them were simply based
on a master/subject basis. In those days, rulers were authoritarian, and a
subject could only enjoy basic peace, protection and some freedom according to
the extent of his subordination to his master(s) and/or those who were close to
him. As a matter of fact, a subject could even enjoy protection and
exemption from the ruler’s own decrees, by virtue of the level of subordination
he was able to prove. He could be exempted for instance from paying tax and
toiling in the ruler’s farms. He could even be elevated to be among the ruler’s
retinue. On the other hand, any suspicion about his subordination could cost
him his freedom, peace or possessions if any, and even his life for that
matter.
Consequently,
individuals used to scramble in order to prove their absolute loyalties to
their masters, employing all sorts of tricks to outperform or even sabotage one
another. And the “lucky “trusted ones used to be assigned with some positions,
which enabled them exert their own excesses on the other helpless subjects.
Subordination
as such was what apparently gave rise to the Hausa concept of “Talakawa” which
they still use interchangeably with “Yan Kasa” i.e. citizens, though over the
centuries it also came to mean the poor. Incidentally, it is a corrupted form
of a classical Arabic word “Tulaqaa” which means a conquered community granted
amnesty by the conquerors.
Nigeria is presumably a civilized country, where such phenomenon is not supposed to exist anymore. However, in view of the prevailing socio-political circumstances, one wonders; to what extent Nigerians fit into the concept of citizenship in its civilized sense as pointed out earlier?
It
is noteworthy that, a combination of some historical, cultural, economic and
socio-political factors, which have been unjustifiably left unchecked and in
some cases deliberately created over the decades, have undermined the concept
of citizenship and effectively substituted it (if it had even existed in the
first place) with the phenomenon of subordination. Predictably, people’s faith
in the state has eroded, and almost everybody has been rendered a bloody
subordinate of an individual(s) on one hand, and yet an arrogant master to
others on the other.
For
instance, a typical civil or public servant particularly in a critical sector
probably owes his appointment to a certain individual(s) i.e. his master, who
might have compromised the standard criteria to favour him for the post. He
would in turn abuse his position to promote nepotism, impunity and corruption
of all sorts in order to please his master and maintain a smooth relationship
with him, who would in turn (depending on his influence and connections) shield
the subordinate from the law of the land and indeed facilitate his both
legitimate and illegitimate pursuits.
Meanwhile, the master would always ensure that he has planted as many of such subordinates as possible within the system, so as to keep his cruel fang stuck in the blood veins of the people to suck as much blood as possible. Though in some cases the going turns sour between the masters and their subordinates, ironically this is not in favour of the public good. Because many a time the subordinate would over time come to assume that he has actually come of age, having probably secured a sufficient network of his own subordinates, who he thinks are influential enough to enable him wean himself off and become a master of his own. In any case however, he would maintain some “indispensable” masters in case of any eventuality.
Perhaps the funniest aspect of this phenomenon is that, an intimidating “big shot” in Nigeria with all his professional, political or academic titles could nonetheless end up being a bloody subordinate of a Malamin Tsibbu i.e. sorcerer or a fake pastor (depending on his cultural affiliation). It is particularly ridiculous to see how such mostly filthy Mallams and such fraudulent pastors are toying with the intelligence of the supposedly educated Nigerian ruling officials. Worse still is how such conmen actually influence purely official policies and decisions taken by their clients in various levels and sectors of government.
The
implication of this phenomenon is practically reflected in Nigeria’s systemic
function to the extent that, there is hardly any organization where services
are delivered through transparent due processes. In reality one can hardly tell
a substantive and practical procedure to apply and obtain any services in any
particular organization in the country. For instance, to apply for any service
no matter how relatively insignificant, one would have to wonder if he has any
acquaintances in the concerned department or otherwise look for someone who has
such acquaintance. If found, the acquaintance would facilitate it for him and
even (if need be) disregard the due process to get it done for him. In any
case, one has to be prepared to lubricate the process with a bribe either in
cash or kind; otherwise he would simply rot away in frustration, because there
is hardly any substantive documentation and follow up procedure in the first
place. Alas, this phenomenon has effectively reduced a typical Nigerian civil
servant into a bloody tout.
Coming from such socio-political background, and having been enlightened enough to realize that, the essence of a nation is primarily represented by its systemic functioning driven by the laws of the land, I can’t help wondering; where is exactly that system to pay my allegiance to, and proudly belong to, as its citizen? Because in reality all I see is a network of so-called influential individuals who expect me to be their subordinate at the expense of my principles and of course to the detriment of the public interest.
In
a situation like this where one is pressurized in order to disregard his
principles and dance to the tune of some few individuals, for him to
“flourish”, and having actually seen and heard of the unfortunate fates of
those who resisted and remained straightforward anyway, and on the hand having
seen how many subordinates are “thriving” in their respective fields of endeavor, I wonder how could such semi-feudal society fit into the concept of
a modern entity? This explains my plea for a Nigerian citizenship befitting my
God-given esteem, rights and aspirations.
Though, I hold a Nigerian passport and indeed meet all Nigerian citizenship criteria, and in as much as I would love to be a proud citizen of Nigeria, I want actually belong to a reliable and efficiently functioning system to proudly call my country, where my excellence will be appropriately rewarded and excesses checked accordingly, so that I would not have to resort to any Dick and Harry who would simply exploit me and by extension jeopardize the public good in order to offer me some of what I am actually entitled to. In other words, I want be a Nigerian citizen, not a mere subordinate.
