WE FAIL OUR LAND

WE FAIL OUR LAND

There is a reason why those who are going to be entrusted to manage the health and save the lives of human beings have to meet certain standards.  There is a reason why pilots have to undergo proper and specific training to fly planes.  There is a reason why a woman does not just agree to marry any XY chromosome on the road if she indeed wants a peaceful and content life. 

I have had opportunities to engage fellow Nigerians over the past months both physically and in cyberspace on issues that particularly have to do with what I consider the most important issue at the moment: Nigeria. The politics of our great nation has sadly been drenched in the pools of ethnic and religious sentiments. 

There are more than a few of my medical colleagues who hide behind a facade of a high cerebral capacity to analyse the issue of the coming elections exclusively through the lenses of the primordial sentiments which plague them. Some will accurately describe the political landscape as very corrupt but conclude with the point that both gladiators are sides of the same coin hence their justification to remain neutral and avoid any chaos. 

I have regularly advised  them that there is no middle ground in this matter but they insist on remaining perched on an imaginary fence.  Many folks I have related with however baffle me beyond words can express.  These are folks who are supposedly educated, privileged to have been through the four walls of learning institutions where minds ought to have been activated and configured to process information and deliver a more refined and quality output.  

We were taught how to avoid and eliminate errors, how to adhere strictly with laws and adjust within the ranks of discipline.  We learnt to compete, we learnt teamwork, how to win with hardwork and how to lose with dignity.  We learnt how to respect ourselves and those without.  We were supposed to learn discernment and how to exist beyond the limits of our default settings. It is a fact that those of us who had these opportunities are indeed fortunate. We should not take it for granted and exist for only ourselves alone oblivious of the millions who the system have failed and still continues to fail.  Should our learning not be to ensure we stand for the best interests of all and sundry even in the face of inconvenience and blackmail?

Many have sadly chosen to stick doggedly with someone I consider occupying a position that far exceeds his capacity to comprehend.  I want to think that many are ethnic and religious bigots even if they deny vehemently.  Some are just primitive naturally while a few others are genuinely naive. The more dangerous ones are those who have benefited or are still benefitting and are simply dancing to the tune played by their benefactor. 

If many were undecided since 2011, they had a chance yesterday to listen closely to the words of an "orator" when he visited the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos to flag off his campaign.  From the clips I have watched and transcripts I have read; those words were a flaccid disaster.  Any serious minded person would have found that performance appalling and shambolic to say the least.  I want to believe that only those with probable genetic disorders would commend the speech and applaud the source. The Incoherence, blatant lies and unfounded accusations in lieu of campaign assurances and schematics must have vibrated in their middle ears as the words on marble by Martin Luther King or Barak Obama. 

How can anyone still vouch for a man with possibly gonads who does not know how to shoulder responsibility but indulges like an infant in blaming his misdemeanors on an older sibling or some goblin in the attic or "bushbaby" in his village? It is a shame that those of us who should know better are busy indulging in spreading false news which could have been thoroughly verified by clicking on Google to read and view archival materials. 

I understand if anyone says this is a democracy and everyone is entitled to his/ her decision considering that we are meant to be mature people.  It would really have made great sense if we were trying to decide between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo or between Chelsea and Manchester City.  We are talking about the lightweight husband of Patience and a heavyweight general with an intimidating history.  We are talking about rating someone who thinks what Nigerians are calling corruption is in fact common stealing; someone who wondered why a former governor was jailed because he "stole" what could not have perhaps equated the cost price of a Peugeot car at the time. 

This is the same fellow who went on national TV to tell Nigerians that the Niger delta militants were activists and not terrorists only to come before Lagosians almost with a look of self pity and announce that Henry Okah who has been locked down in South Africa was paid by certain disgruntled elements to eliminate him.  Was I meant to jump for joy and curse Henry? He opined that Okah had gotten jailed for that attempt on the president's life; what about those killed and maimed in that blast? Is the sentence on Okah as well? What about the many thousands killed and maimed by insurgency? Do their lives not equate that of the president?

It is shocking that some of my Christian brethren find absolutely nothing wrong with the message by a certain preacher who encouraged his flock to embark of acts of radicalism if provoked to do so.  Many of us are so absolved in our spirituality that we have lost sight of the essence of salvation.  We have become extremists in our ways and in no way different from the Islamic fundamentalists we condemn daily.  Those ones get to visit extremist nations to get radicalised; we on the other hand remain in the comfort of our cathedrals to get the same treatment administered.  If you have no problem whatsoever with that video, I'm afraid that there is a very serious problem which requires  deliverance though not the type where retrograde prophecies are declared. 

Those who are professionals and feel above the intricacies of dirty politics must realise they fail the nation as long as bandits and vandals rule and determine our fates. If we are unable to reach beyond our default settings and clearly see the big picture of a possible and viable Nigerian state; we'd end up endorsing mediocrity and reinforcing failure.  Dr.  Ben Carson is accomplished in his field as a medical practitioner but deemed it necessary to write a book and contribute his quota to the perceived shortcomings of his country America.  He has overcome whatever issues of racism and discrimination he faced in his youth and embraced the dreams of the founding Fathers of America.  

We may not be able to write a book perhaps because we do not understand a word of all I have written thus far. I urge you not to dismiss this or imagine that I am too small to draw your ears.  I ask you to search your hearts again and wash your eyes to see the clear difference between day and night with respect to the Nigeria political landscape.  Do you want a manipulative conman whose utterances and actions betray his educational claims or a general whose message on eliminating corruption and indiscipline has not changed for 30 long years? 

If you fail to act right, Patience Jonathan will claim her right to the throne in 2019 and remain Queen Mother afterwards. 

Joa

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