Also published in DAILY TRUST
The current controversy over the
removal or otherwise of fuel subsidy is basically an issue of mistrust between
the rulers and the ruled in Nigeria. Obviously, most Nigerians rightly
believe that, the expected proceeds from the exercise will simply end the
same way previous proceeds realized went. Interestingly enough, it has
been confirmed for instance that, 80% of all government’s privatized
enterprises are grounded, and the proceeds have predictably developed wings and
flown.
Interestingly also, the layman’s
approach to such promises is always the best, because his only criterion of
whether a particular economic measure is a success or not, is his own
lifestyle, which he obviously knows better than anybody else. Because after
all, a Hausa proverb says “ ana biki a gidan su kare, yace in gani a kar”,
which more or less means a dog was congratulated because there was a
celebration in his master’s house, however, the dog downplayed it arguing that,
he would only recognize it when he actually sees leftovers on the ground.
Anyway, the question that poses
itself is, when will it be too severe for Nigerians to
endure? Incidentally, I have heard the phrase “enough is
enough” from both Nigerians and other nationals to express their grievances
over a worsening socio-economic condition in many countries around the world.
Similarly, there have been some success stories when the masses lived up to the
core message of the slogan, took their destinies into their hands and affected
or imposed the desired socio-economic and political orders.
Venezuelan
experience was particularly impressive in this regard, because after they
overwhelmingly voted for Hugo Chavez for his pro-masses agenda, the United
States allegedly masterminded a military coup against him in 2002, which though
technically succeeded, the coup plotters had to retreat when the masses rose up
against it, and eventually they restored Chavez to power after just after 47
hours from announcing the coup.
On the other hand, there are those who simply chant the slogan without even realizing its meaning. Unfortunately, the majority of Nigerian masses fit into such category, because they are not only reluctant to take any practical step forward, but they are also actually undermining their very prospect of affecting any reform in the future. They do this by mostly (though largely unconsciously) promoting unnecessary ethno-religious prejudices at the expense of their collective good, apparently not minding that, the misery battering their lives does not differentiate between a Northerner and a Southerner or between a Muslim and a Christian. Whereas those who inflict such misery on them, and despite being from the same different ethno-religious backgrounds, they nonetheless bury their differences to facilitate it for one another in their looting spree exercise.
Having realized the imperative of
social enlightenment and awareness to inspire the public towards any
sustainable reform, I am particularly disturbed by the quality of the issues
deliberated upon by the country’s supposedly well-informed thinkers, especially
on the Internet. After all, these people are supposed to spearhead mass
orientation efforts. However, they unfortunately descend so low, exhausting their
energies and wasting their times in chasing the shadow instead of the
substance.
They are apparently more concerned
with proving or disproving some stereotypical images of each ethno-religious
groups in the country, with a view to ridiculing one another. For instance, it
is not uncommon to read an “analyst” from a particular tribe for example,
condemning a whole ethno-religious group simply because the social issue he
addresses is attributed to such group. This predictably created an endless
cycle of attacks and counter attacks on the bases of ethnicity and religion.
Consequently, the average Nigerians have been conditioned to trade derogatory
perceptions against one another’s ethno-religious backgrounds, thereby missing
the chance of addressing the actual core issues of collective interest.
Therefore, unfortunately desperate efforts by each ethnic group to either
justify, exonerate themselves or ridicule another ethnic group have
overshadowed the process (if any) of addressing the actual problems.
For instance, the crimes of kidnapping, drug counterfeiting/trafficking and armed robbery are unnecessarily addressed in a way subtly condemning a particular ethno-religious group from which most of the perpetrators of such crimes are believed to have come. Equally, when discussing financial/cyber crimes, one can easily discern how a particular ethnic group believed to be particularly notorious in it, is effectively ridiculed. The same also applies to international prostitution, oil theft etc. By the way, worse still is how all such ethic groups ally against a particular one, which they have often condemned as more or less the cause of Nigeria’s backwardness, and is also regarded as the sole source of the escalating religious extremism in the country.
Predictably, such unnecessary
stereotypically based perceptions and analyses don’t only undermine any chance
for a responsible approach to address the problem, but also stir prejudices,
which in turn create confusion as regards the actual people’s priorities. Consequently,
an average Nigerian downplays the impact of whatever crime his fellow tribe man
commits, and may even try to shield or exonerate him at the expense of the
public good, if he is in the position to do so. Similarly, if he is an analyst,
he would maneuver around in order to justify his crime in whatever way.
I really pity Nigerian masses not
necessarily because of their suffering, but mainly because of their
self-inflicted helplessness and their apparent resignation to a false fate
imposed on them by their largely blood-sucking rulers. Ironically, even what
has been happening in some Arab countries does not seem to inspire them,
despite the fact that, their plight is by far worse than that of those uprising
Arab masses. As a matter of fact, they seem to be the only obstacle against
their own emancipation.
