WE MUST BE PARANOID

WE MUST BE PARANOID

I recently came across a graffiti on facebook that tried to link the recent declaration by General Buhari, the purchase of his form the next day and the subsequent announcement of a cease fire agreement with Boko Haram and the anticipated delivery of more than 200 young girls who have been away without holiday for the past 6 months. The creator of the work seem to suggest a direct link between the three events from which we can infer that the General must have instructed his previously faceless boys on the North-East border to arrive at a truce with the rampaging Federal Government. I suppose we can add another dimension to that by asking why the incumbent president did not show up for the much publicized mother of all rallies by the gramophone of the ruling party; the TAN. This organization has been on endless media campaigns to burnish the image of their president who they have described as “love” and of equal standing as Mandela and Gandhi. The chief officer in charge of the government’s propaganda machine was the person who announced the ceasefire, I am not sure why he could not have waited another day especially with the fact that the consignment from Sambissa had not arrived. How is it possible that the insurgent group who they claimed was faceless could reach a suspension of hostilities deal with the federal government out of the nowhere? I thought they said that the All Progressives congress and Gen. Buhari were the neurovascular bundles feeding Boko Haram? Was this deal negotiated with Buhari et al? Why and how have they suddenly arrived at a deal after many caskets, death sentences for mutiny, a holy private jet and a 1 billion USD loan? I know many will say they do not care as long as the girls are returned; I understand but these questions must still be asked.

So why did Jonathan have a no show at a rally his goons had prepared so intensely for in anticipation of his grand announcement and flag-off of his re-election campaign? I understand Sambo said he had important official issues to contend with even though this rally was not impromptu. Could he have been advised that launching a campaign after a truce with terrorists was agreed would be severing one’s carotid? Abati must have said “your excellency and crown prince of Otueke, I have risked my neck to attack that skinny general, I am not sure how to spin this one if people accuse you of hoarding the girls for personal glory”. Mr. Sambo was said to have been presented with books containing about 17million signatures in support of the president’s re-election claim. I want to ask if any of you reading this met with anybody hawking books for people to sign in to support GEJ? Where did they find 17 million dolls from to sign books? That figure is quite close to what Jonathan was awarded when he was declared winner of the last presidential elections. I suspect a good number of people who failed to heed our noise in 2011 are now purposed to withdraw that mandate from the one who claims he had no shoes in 2015. I do not think anyone who stood opposed to Jonathan in 2011 has made a 180 turn to now fully back the man. These people must be indulging in so many lotteries and gambling; all they see are just figures.

What exactly is Reuben Abati’s obsession with Buhari about? Did the general take one of his wives from him? He took a swipe at Buhari’s assessment of the incumbent’s reign and suggested to him to be truthful in his campaign. Truth? What does the present government know about truth? A government run like a secret cult and telling lies day and night? They lied about security issues, subsidy, the resurrected first woman and even Ebola.  Abati had in his first week of assuming his role as presidential spokesman attacked Buhari and labelled him as the source of the post-election violence in 2011. He was subsequently sued alongside the Guardian Newspapers who published the report. Why do they find it convenient and easy to label the man as a sponsor of violence whenever elections are in the air? Why did the peace and love president give a violence fomenting individual a grand award during the Centenary events held in Abuja? The other presidential vocal gangsters have been involved in spreading their purulent material as ammunition to ensure that their benefactor’s throne is preserved after Valentine’s Day. Femi Fani-Kayode in a television interview on Straight talk with Kadaira published last month said he was certain that the opposition All Progressives congress was a party with an Islamic agenda and sympathetic to the plight of the terrorists. He pointed out that Buhari was neck deep involved and when asked for proof of these allegations, he said it was based on his interpretations of the utterances that came from the concerned APC members. This is the kind of information gullible Nigerians are getting exposed to daily which seems enough to convince them to vote for the fellow who said Boko Haram members were in his cabinet. The attack bull dogs have tried an Islamic agenda, violence, advanced age, past military history and war crimes to smear the man. Now they have moved to challenge his stance about abhorring corruption.

Buhari was reported to have expressed his displeasure at the high cost of the APC nomination form but had to press on even if it meant his bank account going into the end of the spectrum aided by his relationship with his bank manager. Many have interpreted this to mean that Buhari is corrupt and only a corrupt banker could have approved a loan of 27.5million NAIRA without collateral. Buhari said he did not want to have anyone lay claim to the purchase of his form and nowhere in the statement credited to Buhari was there a mention of a loan or collateral. Do these people think that the former head of state had only 10,000 naira in his bank account even when he knew he would be contesting in 2015? When one tackles the loan angle, the desperate opponents of the man spin another trick and say the man must be choking in poverty due to his inability to pay 27.5 million NAIRA without feeling his bank account become “cachexic”. Some go ahead to accuse him of lacking economic and financial capacity. They ask how many factories and businesses he has set up despite being a former dictator; in order words they ask for the number of jobs he has created and is still creating from his vantage position. I really am interested in knowing the number of factories and/or farms owned and operated by Barack Obama, David Cameron, Bill Clinton and perhaps Tony Blair. The establishment of mega farms like Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar did after heading Nigeria has now become the yardstick for measuring the integrity of a man. They are really surprised that a former Petroleum minister does not possess oil wells as an individual or in collaboration. What if Buhari could not eventually afford the required amount? The same people would have mocked him to death for being a mosque rat. Some then went on to ask why he did not raise money the way Obama did it. Is that the same way Goodluck Jonathan is doing his? How many Nigerians believe enough to join forces with the General and donate 1000 naira to help his ambition? Will Buhari have access to the presidential fleet of aircrafts to cover the nook and crannies of Nigeria within 2 months? They will not stop in their attempts to discredit anyone they think threatens the ambition of their benefactor to continue his reign; those of us who still retain our senses should not keep quiet in the face of their noise. They claim to have 17 million signatures, we should make our own noise about more than 100 million real, dissatisfied and repeatedly humiliated Nigerians who cannot wait to throw out the garbage come 2015.

Now should be time to get to the real reason why I decided to put this together. A friend who is concerned that the PDP may get away with 2015 again informed me about a video that is circulating that he fears could be poisoning the minds of Nigeria. I quickly searched the internet for the garbage that was put together by a certain Bosun Emmanuel who said he was a Pastor ordained in the Redeemed Christian Church. I quickly observed that some churches had uploaded that message on their own websites as a clarion call to their members in the land to defend their faith. The fellow went on and on about the Islamization agenda of the North even showing his audience video footage of killings in the northern region to back up his claim. The summary of it all was that the APC are hell bent on spreading Islam and killing Christians therefore Christians should not vote for the APC and halt their agenda. If Christians do not vote for the APC, that means they should vote for the incumbent PDP who have a Christian president as that is the only alternative available. I am astonished that the church leaders do not seem concerned about this purulent discharge; they seem to agree wholeheartedly with what can only be termed a hate speech. Do all church members who are into politics join a party because of religion? Are they no APC members who are members of the RCCG? At least I know a lady who belongs to both bodies somewhere in Surulere Lagos. Should members of the church who are APC members rescind their membership and opt for the tattered umbrella? The people eating the nation raw do not remember tribe, tongue or religion when they feast, they do not need to say prayers but just devour.

Femi Fani-Kayode accused the APC of using religion to play politics in Nigeria; can we assume that a pastor who says his kind should not vote for a certain party based on a religious bias got his inspiration from angel Gabriel or from a generous infusion from the Almajiri School building presidential aides? It is sad that such a fellow got to represent Nigerians at the recently concluded conference, such should be asked to keep silent in public. The presidency is about their business raising converts to further polarize Nigeria; another group is going about their own retarded but in a way related agenda. The group has been all over social media claiming to be representing the lost tribe of Israel which they say faces annihilation from the rampaging north. Their spokesperson is one Nnamdi Kanu who many of his followers hail as a reincarnation of Odumegwu Ojukwu because of his oratory. The man was aired threatening fire and brimstone if the Biafran nation was not set free from the forced union named after a river. He threatened bloodshed and anarchy to achieve their mission while quoting Leviticus to imply a religious undertone to their struggle. He said that more than 90% of the Igbo nation was in full support of their agitations and were prepared to shed blood to achieve that. I suppose that 90% is inclusive of all the Igbo men and women I encountered living and doing business when I served in Langtang, Plateau state. Many unfortunately have been nurtured on these half-truths and misguided utterances from who I must recommend a psychiatric evaluation for. Those obsessed with this ideology believe that their dreams would be best realized by backing the incumbent hence their die-hard support for someone who should not even be put forward for a chairmanship slot.

I am interested to know if it was the Northern Hausa/ Fulanis who sold ancient Igbo people to slave traders. Was it northerners who murdered the 4 young men in Aluu community? Was it northerners that sparked crisis in Ife-Modakeke and in several other land disputes across the nation? People have been killing people for a long time now; evil will thrive in any human body irrespective of religious affiliation.  Those who think the millions of Christians in Nigeria can be wiped away in 4 years should think again. Communities exist in Nigeria’s middle belt with family members consisting of Christians and Muslims in near equal proportion and they have not turned against each other all these years. Raji Fashola and Bola Tinubu are not married to Muslims, the late Gani Fawehinmi was not a Christian yet he stood to protect the interest of the down trodden. Someone expressed the concern that a Muslim-Muslim ticket by APC would be counterproductive due to the apparent religious “dichotomy” of the nation at the moment; who is emphasizing that? The opposition only see Nigerians and not Christians, Muslims, Hindus or whatever religion. It was Femi Fani-Kayode who preempted a potential Muslim-Muslim ticket months ago when he reverted to his PDP persona; they are the ones telling Nigerians that Muslims and Christians cannot exist as mere human beings. What does it really matter if the APC put forward a Muslim-Muslim combination? Would it guarantee an end to corruption and enthronement of social justice? I know somebody is about to convulse and exclaim to me that I know absolutely nothing about what I am saying but holster your revolver. Did it matter in 1993 that MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe were not Christians in 1993?

Many have hesitated to stick their necks out for the opposition and appear to be ruminating on the lies constantly being exported by the incumbent and his goons. Some of these people say that Buhari would have gained more than the 12million votes he got in 2011 if only the CPC had been able to negotiate a fusion with the South-west dominated ACN party. That fusion happened a long time ago yet some people question the integrity of those Buhari has partnered with unearthing all sorts of accusations and misdemeanors against them. For how long are we going to choose confirmed evil over good? Those who voice concern over a potential Muslim duo running for APC did not vote for Buhari in 2011 even when he had a confirmed pastor as his running mate. It was Christians who rained insults on Tunde Bakare accusing him of misplacing his calling and too “unchristian” to agree to partner with an Islamic bigot. Some said he was still a Muslim internally because of his background and still nursed favorable sentiments toward the spread of Islam. Christians were the ones who said and did these things yet they are saying we should now vote for a Christian who will protect our lives and interests. They say we should vote for the fellow who says “common stealing is not corruption” therefore abolishing the 8^th commandment. They want me to stand behind the person who said the Niger-Delta militants were not terrorists and whose wife testified to dying 7 times and resurrecting again. They want me to vote for someone whose time in office has witnessed untold violence and nonchalance. If Niger-Delta militants want to cause severe mayhem to afflict and cripple a government at the center, where will they most likely attack? Creek towns and villages instead of Oil installations? If the Northern opposition members were in fact financing Boko haram, would they watch on as their investments gets wasted on the kidnap of young girls who the presidency do not give a damn about or the destruction of their indigenous people? I ask again, have Boko haram with all their sophistication violently attacked any central government official’s convoy or family member before? In Pakistan, drastic measures are utilized by insurgents to convey their message like car bombs to eliminate government officials. Ours fly on their private jets and call any dissenting voice disgruntled and envious.

Jonathan can go to all the church camp grounds across the land before February to have hands, buttocks and legs laid on him for all I care. If Goodluck Jonathan is the option secretly and openly supported by the church in Nigeria, then I am extremely disappointed. I will expect those who come across the Bosun Emmanuel man in their parish to halt him in his tracks and give him a proper verbal dressing down. If your overseer or superintendent tells you directly or otherwise to vote for another 4 years of suffering and smiling while you continue in fasting and breaking your head for well paved roads to drop from the heavens and electricity to be able to sleep and prevent your freezers from getting defrosted; kindly stay quiet, sit down or excuse yourself to make a phone call outside. If you pray, then you are a contributor to the disgrace we have as a nation at the moment. God will send his angels to fill all our pot holes and stand in for our striking teachers, lectures and health workers. If as Christians we are canvassing for people to vote for someone solely because he has a biblical name and his wife a virtue, then we shame common sense and we shame God. I will not blame those who have turned their backs on God and opted to live as if there is no God. We and our actions are evidence to them that there may really be no God.

Good luck Buhari.

16At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.…Matthew 27:16-18(NASB)

Jide Akeju

19/10/2014.

FAITHLESS?

I was in the kitchen today about midday trying to prepare what to eat and my mind was suddenly engaged in a discussion about Faith, about hope, trust; about marriage. The dynamics that exist amongst some words are just mind blowing, it just further proves that the best of man's wisdom is foolishness when compared with God's. I actually did write something that I thought best captured the summary of my midday rumblings and put it on facebook. I hope it helps someone with pressing questions find answers from the ultimate source.

A faithless man is one devoid of hope.

To anticipate, to expect, to wait for anything, for anyone
Signs of a man with only a residual hope at least
A hopeless man is one who lives to end it now

Many fight the source of their hope
Many think it is unlinked to faith
They keep hope but think they have murdered faith

Faith is not vapor
It's reaching for reality
Hopeful for a good spouse
Hopeful for a better Nation
Hopeful for the best life has to offer

Faith is not to be despised
It is not out to sever reason from divinity
It is what keeps life going

As long as the noose is not at your neck, as long as that blade is not primed to slash, as long as that frame is not over the bridge... you have hope, you may deny it but there is faith inherent. At the end of that faith is life eternal, He beckons on us to take the first step and press on.


joa(12/10/14)

DEEP-SEATED ROT

DEEP- SEATED ROT

I met a rather brilliant Nigerian engineer last Sunday at a belated independence party organized by an exceptional Nigerian surgeon of Nupe descent. I could infer that the brilliant man hails from the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria based on our brief discussion which ranged from literature to politics. When I told him about my residual faith in the possibility of a Nigerian state, he just shook his head rather vigorously from left to right and expressed his absolute unwillingness to nurture such hope anymore. He said he had hope in Nigeria but abandoned it after the last general elections; he could not understand how Nigerians repeatedly made the same errors and then cry out for a redeemer subsequently. He concluded that Nigerians were on their way again to making the same wrong move come 2015.

I have been reading quite a lot in recent months, enough to consider a degree in Nigerian or African history all in a bid to understand adequately and clearly the defect in our DNA which forces us to act “foolishly” even in the face of obvious warning signals of danger. It is clear to me that both the leaders and the led have fundamental problems that are not mutually exclusive. The grossly deficient leaders are mostly permitted to continue in their ways partly due to ignorance or nonchalance on the path of some followers; it can also be linked to a lack of understanding of the implications of actions or inactions attributable to either camp. Ideally, there ought not to be a sharp distinction between the led and those in front. The case with Nigeria and several other African nations is unique due to the dominance of particular ruling classes and their cohort who have held on to power for so long that some have turned their reigns into dynasties.

Many easily and readily turn to blame the British and their Queen for the problems which have crippled Nigeria from the day of parturition. “Why did they amalgamate us? Why did they give the North so much power?” Citizens of this landmass have queried the ghosts of Frederick Lugard and his wife to explain what they were thinking when they opted to cement three unbalanced regions together. I believe the man was just handling the business of those who appointed him and went about it with methods he deemed expedient at the time. The British had the northern and southern protectorates to secure and hold against the rampant French who had possession of all but one of the Nations surrounding Nigeria prior to World War II. The British had hold of the present day Nigeria with a strip on the western part of Cameroon, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia and a portion of Togo in West Africa as part of their loot from the scramble for Africa. Their grip on the local and lucrative trade along the water ways would have been threatened if they did not shore up the northern boundaries to resist the French who had and still have overwhelming influence in the West African sub-region.

Slave chains from the Maritime Museum in Liverpool. J'olee October 2014

The British system reinforced indirect rule in the northern region and would have preferred that it was extendable across the land. The people at the time thrived despite limited education and we must commend those who wrestled the infant nation out of the hands of the colonial masters. Irrespective of their prejudices and inexperience, I think they were brave and hopeful of making Nigeria work. It is easy to blame the British for influencing the outcome of the 1959 elections that led to the swearing-in of Tafawa Balewa as prime minister; the fact is that majority of what has gone wrong with Nigeria and in fact a good number of African nations can be traced to the failures of Nigerians and Africans respectively. What could have been the result if the leading NCNC opted to form a government with the Action Group in 1959 instead of linking up with the NPC? We may never know but it is clear that primitive sentiments have highlighted our fault lines and constantly break the bonds that could have held our fragile territories together. We can say we learnt some evil from the colonial masters but the atrocities that have been perpetrated in recent years have been done without the colonialists having the muzzle of a shotgun apposed to the temples of the evil doers. Rubber workers in present day Democratic Republic of Congo and under Belgian colonial dictators had their hands chopped off in the 1860s to 1870s for failing to meet up with their allotted quotas. The civil war in Liberia witnessed widespread crude limb amputations executed by Liberians on Liberians. We have witnessed mind blowing evil in Nigeria over many decades mostly by Nigerians on fellow Nigerians. It goes beyond the accusations and counteraccusations of genocide; it covers the many cases of extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, armed robbery, unsolved murders, executions etc. Some many say they have not pulled a trigger or set off a grenade to harm fellow Nigerians but they have directly stolen or helped to siphon the commonwealth of the nation which has left our infrastructure dilapidated and unfit for even domestic animals. A worse group are those who have continued to vote for mediocrity or watched on as proven financially corrupt and incompetent individuals continue to ridicule the nation and sabotage the future; our children and generations unborn. I am not saying that we need saints to lead the nation, we need people who understand that they have a responsibility to account for whatever leadership role they get entrusted with. Sadly, we have monarchs who think that the prosperity of their people is directly proportional to the increasing number of private jets that prowl the Nigerian skies and international airspaces.

It is amazing to me that the Nigerian military could indulge in setting up a court-martial to try allegedly dissident soldiers inclusive of middle ranking officers in the middle of a violent conflict. The recent trial had 4 lieutenant colonels for mutiny alongside other officers; lieutenant colonels are just about a rank behind the fellow who stands constantly behind the president to adjust his chair and carry his bag or umbrella as required. My problem is not with the enforcement of consequences of breaching army rules but with the fact that there is something unidentified or supressed which is providing enough stimuli to agitate lieutenant colonels to move against their superiors. This reminds me of a theory that attempts to explain cancer development where cancerous cells get to manifest at different times and at different sites. All the cells get exposed to a cancer causing stimulus but progress at different paces before manifesting as outright malignant cells. These men and women may have been exposed to untold hardship and heart-breaking conditions fighting in the North-East of Nigeria which may be enough to turn yet another group against their commanders and the system that continues to fail them. It only took about seven army Majors without modern technology a few hours to alter the course of this nation in January 1966; Just a thought.

It is on record that one of the methods used by the Nazi party in Germany to dominate their people was working through the youth and children. These young ones were separated for indoctrination long before the Second World War broke out. Countless valuable books were burnt and the growing children became racist and opponents of God. I came across what a German poet Heinrich Heine, said about a century earlier which was referenced to the Nazi inspired book burning: "Where one burns books, one will soon burn people." It was not only books that got burnt, the cerebral cortex area of the people to process all forms of learning and being human got fried. The holocaust and metastasis of German supremacy into neighbouring nations and the world ensued which triggered a monumental global response to rid the world of Hitler. I got to see a video of American forces in Germany just after the war ended. They made the German citizens in the vicinity of a concentration camp march through the camp and perceive with their senses what havoc had been done in their backyard and what the source of smoke they saw daily was. The initially smiling people were shown after their tour broken; perhaps rudely awaken from their hypnotized states. I came across YouTube clips of the German edition of the singing competition; The Voice kids and could not help but marvel at the enormous talent on display by kids younger than 15 years old. The multi-racial profile of the now German kids speaks volumes about what a once hostile nation has become. The exposure to diverse cultures and very good command of English while maintaining their German language by these young minds could not have been an accident. There must have been a deliberate and calculated methodology by the older generation to ensure that their children learnt how to live and avoid the errors of the past. Their soccer squads in recent years have moved from hard-core pure-breed German machines to include players with Turkish, Brazilian, Argentine, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Polish and even English ancestry amongst other nationalities.

The multicultural Nigeria still remains perched on this diversity to excuse her fragmentation and failure to thrive. Some people who have never crossed the Niger blame the North for the problems in Nigeria without understanding the history and geography of our union; some others continue to suggest their tribes as superior and capable of thriving alone. They easily forget that these major tribes are not as homogenous as they assume; it is Ekiti indigenes that turned against fellow Ekiti indigenes in the last gubernatorial election. It is the rich Northerner or Southerner who thinks what is good enough for his child cannot and should not be made available to the poor and destitute kid. Is it not funny that the provision of Almajiri schools for far-North children is deemed as sufficient for breeding cerebral children in the 21^st century? It is so shameful that the incumbent uses that as content for one of his numerous campaign adverts which started to air outside of the period when campaigns towards a “free and fair” election become authorized by the “independent” electoral body. We have successful floated a lopsided educational system where some children are deemed more deserving than others even before they said a word. We have had leaders who took whatever platforms established prior to and in the immediate aftermath of independence and thrashed it. We used textbooks written by properly trained indigenous teachers and educators when we were in primary and secondary school. Some of us were fortunate enough to have met some of these brilliant minds when they were still teachers or principals; sadly the chaos that the education ministry became under the military led to the gradual phasing out of the last of this group. Most schools now are grossly short of qualified personnel or loaded with unqualified or inexperienced graduates turned NYSC teachers. Relocating overseas has been a constant practice by even qualified teachers; who should take the blame for this drain? The “unpatriotic” teachers? There is little trace of relevant history taught in our schools; how can serious issues such as putsches, mutinies, inter-tribal conflicts and the civil war be missing from the school curriculum? We cannot live like our past never happened; all we succeed in doing is exposing these young minds to getting education on these controversial matters from perverse, sentimental and corrupted sources. School is not meant for brainwashing but a place where issues are dissected and laid bare to enable the students form, develop and correct their ideologies irrespective of whatever warped information store they had already been uploaded with from infancy. Some of us fortunate enough to have attended schools set up to bridge the perceived divide and mal-union created by the civil war have developed enough to exist beyond prokaryotic sentiments; sadly some never let go of their prejudices and have directly or indirectly helped to cultivate a new breed of hostile Nigerians who wage cyberspace warfare on anyone perceived to be different based on the names or the perception of religious or political differences. Many of us who know better have lost our voices or feign ignorance of the unchallenged affront on the psyche of our nation’s future. The military scuttled just about every system established prior to and just after independence; should a new dispensation not work towards restoring the years of wastage? Instead the plundering continues and many of us have retreated into our religious cocoons and assume we are in Goshen when nuclear arsenal are detonating or threatening to detonate around us. We are watching Nigerians annihilating Nigerians but we lay claim to “anointings” and a coming age like there is no mission prior to that.

The rot in religion has reached astronomical proportions, those entrusted with securing issues of faith have buried such trusts and joined the marketplace while those they ought to preserve are consumed or turned to worse demons than they are. Many thought to be generals of the faith I profess have only succeeded in breeding cyborgs and greed pulverized zombies at the same time facilitating the turning of backs by not a few against their creator. The hard-line devotees of these men have turned their awe-inspiring models into objects of adoration; they cringe at their words like they heard the voice of God face to face. They say we should not critic or judge them when they do serious wrong and quote mostly out of context from the same book we base our faith upon. Some say we should not do so because of what great things they have done which we have not even dreamed of. They fail to understand that not judging issues is only applicable when the judge who is seated on a moral high ground is equally or in fact more guilty of wrong and poised to declare outright condemnation and damnation. We are not with stones to knock out their eyes and pulse but are clamouring for common sense, fairness and justice to prevail in issues that pertain to humanity and making sure evil is not covered up in God’s name. The good Lord said we should remove the log in our eyes and follow that up by removing the speck in our brother’s eye; not judging means that we all go about with various sizes of “NEPA” poles in our eyes with the result being a land of the blind leading the doubly blind. Over -spiritualizing basic things has only succeeded in breaking up homes, causing depression and promoting criminality. A lot of things tagged as blessings are merely proceeds of unrighteous acts; the practice of which have become the norm and immune to proper surveillance by good consciences. Some of our leaders have directly or indirectly permitted crime and injustice both at home and in diaspora. I may be wrong but I think it is rather advisable to be weary of linking up with almost exclusively Nigerian-themed churches outside the country; at times I wonder if some of them indeed have the mandate to evangelize the nations they are located in or if they are just financial institutions.

A certain “man of God” used his platform recently to express what I can only infer to be chauvinistic, vitriolic words in a matter that ought to be private. The really sad part was that no woman in the audience cringed on hearing those words; some simply nodded their heads in approval while a few uttered hushed to loud tones of “Amen” to the words of the great man. We have adored man to the extent that their words, actions and inactions are never designated for scrutiny. This must be the reason why someone can say a building collapsed killing scores because of alien ships in our atmosphere; the reason why people believe that they would use bullion vans to stash their offerings to church because a man of God said so. I watched a TV report/ debate on the platform of Africa 360 which originally aired on the 20^th of September. The host had the erstwhile goalkeeper turned pastor Peterside Idah and another Nigerian Solomon Izang Ashoms a magazine editor with her in the studio to discuss the unfortunate disaster that occurred at Ikotun-Egbe which claimed scores of South African lives.  Mr Solomon spoke about his reservations regarding the authenticity of a certain popular prophet based on personal experience and statements obtained from former followers of the man. The interaction soon degenerated into a full-fledge debate with Peterside appearing to defend anybody who names the name of Christ and wears a collar but he could not disguise his affiliation with the popular prophet despite his incoherent attempts to do otherwise. When Solomon brought up the issue of “holy water” being sold for exorbitant fees, Mr Peterside acknowledged his presence at one of those meetings and said the water was never sold but given as complementary gifts to as many who bought books, discs and other commercial materials. Watching Peterside talk caused me to reflect on the national team he once played for. It is common knowledge that Nigerians are extremely religious and this also reflects in the simple issue of football. Some of our players and managers are captured by roving cameras after victorious games shouting out the name of their prophet like an acknowledgement of the validation of his prophetic utterances regarding those games. It is almost as if these players suspend their thought processes and ride on whatever conditional and sometimes retroactive prophecies that get spoken regarding them. We hear our football officials and coaches constantly asking Nigerians to pray like Germany went on a 7-day dry fast when they demolished Brazil at the 2014 world cup. It is amazing how requisite hard work and preparation is substituted for luck and divine favour by those who had $200,000 evaporate from their safe without a trace. 

We have regrettably bred a people who are seemingly apolitical and nonchalant about issues regarding the nation. We assume our sole responsibility is to pray but we forget that there is a “watch” dimension. We have raised a people easily swayed by religious propaganda; a people who would line up behind any person that comes before large assemblies to have hands laid upon him even where it is clear the fellow is only out to deceive and plunder. We have sadly, a people who consider ethnicity and potential benefits before gravitating towards a church. Many have shirked their responsibilities as citizens to spiritual beings and forget that they have a task to defend the integrity of their nation and their own collective existence. They forget that the workers who worked with Nehemiah to rebuild the ruins had working tools in one hand and weapons in the other. This is not a clamour for the similitude of the second amendment of Americans to keep and bear arms but a clarion call to all and sundry to arise and fight for the soul of Nigeria from those who have and still desecrate the union for personal gain.

The necrosis that is causing our persistent septicaemia is deep seated and threatens to cut us down if not managed. The cancer of corruption appears inoperable and the metastasis reaches beyond my generation and the trait appears queued to be surely transmitted to our generations unborn. I still have hope that we would still come good someday by God’s grace but we all must play our part however insignificant we think it is. I actually began to write this last week but got stuck because I felt uninspired. It took watching a video about people’s perspective on abortion in America and reading through a few obituaries and eulogies in honour of a few fallen to get me going again. I count it as a privilege to be with hope and alive; I want to continue the fight to rid myself and this nation of the rot deep within until my time is up. I pray not to cease until the future of this land are locked in a permanent embrace irrespective of their ethnic origins.

God help us.

Jide Akeju

12/10/2014

 

Love without conditions by Paul Ferrini. Shot at the Maritime museum Liverpool. J'Olee August 2014

MY GRIEF-STRICKEN HOPE

MY GRIEF-STRICKEN HOPE

I woke up this morning apprehensive with the small burden of satisfactorily and accurately deciphering a scientific paper before a predominantly Caucasian audience made up of individuals who are vast in the subject I had to discuss. I have not really had sufficient sleep over the past few days; over the past one month in fact largely due to writing and doing a few unprofitable things which have in effect drained me. I was aware this morning that today marks the 54^th year of Nigeria’s independence but I was significantly distracted by the academic task before me to be bothered about depressing National news and other seemingly intellectual discussions initiated on social media. I am yet to even get wind of whatever the president of Nigeria must have shared to his people this morning.

I really wanted to write something well processed and constructed leading up to October 1^st but a combination of my first nephew arriving on Sunday and self-inflicted spiritual exile have basically shut down however temporarily any ideas I may have had; that is if I had any at all. It is important for me to be constantly reminded that any rumblings in the mind can never be attributed to any acquired skill alone; the struggle I have had just to process a thought over the past few days is testament to that. I now understand better that it is indeed the breath of the Almighty that gives understanding to the spirit within; many refute the potency of that breath and the inherent ability to do far beyond the best of human capacity. It is clear to me that I do not just write for myself; I write to become better. I write so that we can become better; so that we can be truly alive and responsive to eternal stimulus.

Reflecting on Nigeria should be able to instantly trigger a cardiovascular accident and deflate any hope in her existence and survival. This nation is in corruption induced multiple organ failure with clear evidence of her poor status; ulcers caused by ethnic, religious and political pathogens spot the entrails of this potentially great nation. The persistent internal and external hemorrhaging afflicting this nation is enough to submerge a substantial number of justice-deficient countries; we are absolutely in a class of our own. I was talking geography and government with a young British-Indian female student the other day and she went on and on about how corrupt the government in India was and I just simple laughed. I then asked her if her country of origin has anonymous men who fly across lands and seas with non-virtual American currency to purchase weapons of moderate destruction aboard consecrated private jets. She was of course speechless and even more baffled when I told her about a few other absurdities that are normal occurrences in the giant of Africa. I assured her that India’s situation was far better than ours because the people seemed capable to mount consolidated mass action to demand and also effect change. The regular relentless protests to unfortunate gang rapes and murders get to the global front pages and headlines. A seemingly comfortable and under-performing government was recently sacked in the last vote due to the force generated by the people.

I have thought severally about the exact problem that limits Nigeria. It may be safe to say that the etiology of our problems is multifactorial but I will stick out my head and say a very important deficiency is “understanding” especially on the part of the people. The people are seemingly very religious but may be actually far from the source of all inspiration. It is a deficiency of understanding that will make anyone suggest that Nigeria is not faced by real life threatening issues. It must have been a lack of understanding that caused grown women and a few men with posters and branded outfits to storm the “#BringBackOurGirls” protest site in Abuja chanting dissenting and inappropriate slogans. How else can one explain National award ceremonies going on every year when entire settlements are razed down and over 200 young girls who are citizens of the country remain as spoils of war? The people must be completely blank to sleep and wake up in the depths of hades daily drenched in their own sweat and speckled with their own blood from reflex slapping and smashing unfortunate, frail, juice sucking Anopheles. Is it possible for the people to realize that driving on adequately and completely tarred roads is not a dividend of democracy? Is it simply possible for Nigerians to realize the arson they initiate, indulge or propagate in the Nigerian state whenever they stand behind or exalt mediocrity and lethal divisive sentiments above true wisdom? It is not enough for the leaders to continue to delude themselves with false rhetoric of gigantism or blaming disgruntled village witches and familiar spirits from a certain party determined to enhance or undermine any transformation agenda depending on the exact nature of the transformation in question.

Elihu said in Job 32:9 that “Great men are not always wise neither do the aged understand judgement”. Nations established as great may not necessarily be wise in all they do not to talk of those that appropriate greatness to themselves. It must definitely be a lack of understanding for anybody to deem Al majiri schools apt for children from a certain zone while American-International schools are substandard for his own. We read statements and listen to utterances from controversial political and religious leaders and find it irrelevant to pay attention to what is hidden between the lines. I responded to a post on a fine gentleman’s Facebook wall regarding the recent controversy about Jet fuel, bullets and rose tinted glasses. The man in the eye of the storm released a statement that I found very arrogant. I only highlighted the most distasteful portion to me and followed that up with my own comment.

He said; "Let me make a passionate appeal to our heads of blocks, heads of denominations and Christian leaders at different levels and spheres of influence to please use your good offices to caution and control your subordinates and followers from making public statements that will further polarise the Church and strengthen the arms of the enemies of the church."

To use their offices to caution and control? Whatever does that mean? I think he should never have said anything but just resigned. If he thought a craft was too expensive to maintain, then he should have sold it. He claims he had nothing to do with the transaction and mission to South Africa as it was a leasing company that handled that. Is the craft not licensed in his name? So the leasing company could have used the plane to convey ammunition to Sambisa as long as the money for the trip was paid? Does he want to claim he had no knowledge of the SA trip at all? He wants to tell us that he was not aware that 3 blokes borrowed his jet with 10million dollars on board and he did not get wind of such plane crashing breakthrough? I want to believe that people laid hands on that vessel on the day it was dedicated and consecrated for strictly the master’s use. If indeed it was a blessing from God; he should have trusted the giver for the funds to keep the craft airborne instead of outsourcing for fund generation. Could he not be bothered if a house in his name but leased out became a hideout for ritualists or a strip club? If he thought the plane was a burden; he should pray for a submarine in the next installment.

My hope is sorrowful but remains alive. The embers of a great future are kept alive in the divinely equipped remnants that yet believe. There is still hope that those blinded by hate and held captive by generational yearnings for justice can still believe in the union. There is still hope that God will breathe upon the unwise so they can arise from their folly and join hands to rescue this nation from their acts of commission. The people need to realize like India that the occupants in our boys quarter situated in Abuja have overstayed their welcome and have become parasitic and unproductive beyond measure. Nigeria is 54; Independence age but I believe there is nothing significant to rejoice or give comical National awards about. It is high time we stopped making excuses for this big baby; we cannot and should not continue to indulge and reinforce corruption and mediocrity because we are a nascent democracy or because the English language is not in our DNA. How long will we continue to do like Stephen Keshi whose apologists continue to mention a perpetual rebuilding process despite being the current African champions? Would we still have 7 point agendas brandished towards 2015? Should we not have at least addressed most of the points since Yar’adua coined that phrase?

There is still hope that Nigeria can thrive again despite what the markers indicate. May the good Lord breathe on us so we can realize the responsibilities we owe a nation that has failed us in so many ways; a nation that we would be praised to the highest heavens even if we walked away from her. We all should be grieved but retain hope however fickle or negligible.

I still believe.

Jide Akeju

1/10/2014