On Rationalization of Retrogression

By

Adamu Tilde

adamtilde@gmail.com

 

The urge to write stemmed from ‘a post’ that I shared on my facebook wall. The post reads “we no get shame. Just dey born pikin dey send them go dey beg. The Igbos will make a trader out of each of those ragamuffins (na fada din) if you hate (it) me, fix it!” As usual, in the course of commenting, the thread lose its substance, instead of addressing the issue and providing at least a virtual roadmap in addressing the anomaly, the commentators in turn stripped the post naked of its originality and sincerity.

 

The fact that Nigeria’s cyber space is, in its quest for self-glorification, earned the legitimate name of Zombies arena: where intellectual sophistry is despised and mediocrity is celebrated does not and will not in any way stop the decent mind and patriotic citizen from contributing their quota to the betterment of Nigeria even if the regional irredentists or ethnic apologist or even the religitards (apology to Shittu Fowora) agreed to sign a Memorandum of Termination (MoT) with Kainji Power Plant or Sambisa Forest.  

 

In the course of discussing and analyzing the social ills that defined Almajiranci, some good people of this great Nation of ours display their disappointment in the way the society is treating the Almajiranci menace with kid gloves, some decent mind added an intellectual seasoning to the debate thereby criticizing it and even condemning the act of begging from religious perspective  ̶ citing many references from Prophetic tradition. Some gave take-home questions by inquiring on and asking of the rationalization of someone [given his economic disadvantage, un-equal distribution of resources in the society, little or zero mental development, and poor leadership of the state] yet will embark on a journey or rather register himself as a bona fide contestant in prolificacy tournament. Not yet satisfied with his stupidity, he will (as if it is an act of sanity) released his trophy(ies) i.e Children onto the street and let them fend for themselves and/or if the society cares, should relieve him from his compulsory (and punishable if abuse) duty.

 

However, despite the genuine concern and sincerity of purpose displayed by those commentators (which are mostly Southern), some self-appointed regional litigators, deemed-fit with buoyancy of words, conversant with John Grisham and Scott Turrow’s thrillers plus George Orwell’s rhetoric, put a straight and backward face to the brazen reality of Almajiranci wahala despite its being at their backyard, and presumed that those commentators are doing it out of sheer hate that they harbor for their region and cheap propaganda to blackmail idiocy  ̶  even though they cannot prove so.

 

Their outrage stemmed from the fact that those that are crying-foul on Almajiranci were not in any way faring better hence their social ills [Baby factory, Prostitution, Kidnapping, Ritual-ism] are not in any way match-able to theirs [Almajiranci]. A typical empty boast to say the least which is sickening and in fact disgusting. This is a classical case of Rationalization of retrogression. There is nothing to celebrate in comparative waywardness but there is everything to worry about when people begin to think and appreciate and patronize idiocy in the guise of patriotism to one’s cause. Two wrong as they say will never make a right rather it will make a third wrong in exponential. And there is nothing wrong with somebody pinpointing your wrong-doings for you to mend it. Gyara kayanka baya zama sauke mu raba.

 

Admittedly though with a heart full of grief, (Kidnapping, ritualism, Prostitution, Child trafficking, Baby factory, Almajiranci) are all social ills that put Nigeria and Nigerians to shame. There seem to be no justification whatsoever in rationalizing these preventable social menace let alone defending them at the altar of ridiculing oneself by comparative autopsy on their effect in general  ̶  thereby grading them in order of importance as if worse is better than bad.

 

In a sane society, citizen of such society do look for solution to a problem. However, in Nigeria (which is far from being sane) and where everything is possible, citizen do involve in looking for problem to a solution. If not, how could a suppose citizen of a country [whose neighborhood is a theatre of absurdity, his road: a no trek-zone even for the natives of that place, his School: a remnant of there was a building, his bordering states: a refugee camp, his hospitals: saturated with corpses, his farm: a fallow land albeit not for regaining fertility but for the fear of known and unknown monsters, his market: a ghost of former Hiroshima] rubbishes this statement

 

“Nothing keeps a man in shackles longer than using his neighbour’s weakness as an excuse for his idiocy. If the Igbos indulge in A and B, I must commit C, D, E. Humans forget that we bear the consequences for our actions and inactions” with “The idiocy is when you step on your faults and point at your neighbour’s faulty, thinking you are faultless, ostrich mentality”? What a pity!

 

Well, I don’t blame Gimba Kakanda when he described the criticism tradition of Nigeria’s cyber space as “unorganized and barely reliable” and the cyber space is “being polarized by cliquely-minded promoters”. On its un-sophistication, he said

“it lacks the form, method and even dignity of the parallel being championed offline by genuinely erudite scholar at the academia.”  

To para-phrase Gimba Kakanda’s words

 

“Debate has actually lost its grace as an art of the skillfully manipulative, and now the rate at which doggerels are being produced is enough to let out my unexpressed observation, a confession, that debate on any subject-matter in Nigeria’s cyber space is but dead.”

 

In all honesty, we are in mess. We need not denials or finger-pointing or trading of blames. We need not rebuttals but actions. But, certainly, we cannot expect and rely on authority to solve our in-room problems. We must do our part  ̶  hence we cannot rule-out the predisposing factors that lead people in sending their wards to begging institution. On Almajiranci, it is a settled and established fact that begging for no justifiable reason is not only forbidden by authentic prophetic teachings but is also embarrassing to Hausa-Fulani and Kanem-Bornu community (which I am one) and Nigeria at large. To those sympathizers and feign accomplices, I say to you, fear Allah and speak nothing but the truth, for it is only the truth that will set you free.

 

We (The Hausa-Fulani) must as a matter of fact do our homework properly by cautioning our brothers on the effect of lustful marriage. We must raise the standard of marriage institution by stipulating some terms governing it. We must if at all we want to get rid of those terrible tag-name of (Malo, Aboki, Shine my shoe, Mai Shayi) explain to our brothers the explicit meaning of cause and effect relationship and its position in our religion. You cannot sow a corn and expect to harvest rice. Likewise, you cannot carry-on with changing wives without justification and giving birth without consideration and expect no economic hardship. Na lie! This is the truth of the matter and the truth as The Late Legendary Malam Saadu Zungur described it;

 

Truth seeks no adornment

 

Nor the sweet voice of a Woman singer

 

Falsehood produces no fruits but only flowers

 

Men of the North, cease your strife

 

and hold onto your domain with truth.

 

It is my fervent hope and prayer that the North will awake to a full knowledge of the World’s way; and leave propaganda and guile completely aside.