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I Pledge To Nigeria, My Country, To Be Unfaithful, Disloyal, and Dishonest…Sabotage Nigeria With All My Strength… By Nwike (S) Ojukwu
A few weeks ago, my family and I attended one of my daughters’ track meets at Mount San Antonio College (Mt SAC) in Pomona, California. There were thousands of people at the venue of the event including, but not limited to, the competitors, parents, grandparents in wheelchairs, spectators, food vendors, etc... The atmosphere was one of excitement and expectation and the people were of course boisterous. At a point, the public address system squeaked and a female voice started to sing, “O Say Can You See…” otherwise referred to as the “Star Spangled Banner”, the national anthem of the United States. Immediately she began singing, a grave silence swept through the college stadium. The silence was such that you could hear the drop of a grain of sand. Everyone stood up; the food vendors stopped their business, and every movement ceased. Some people placed their right hand across their chest with their eyes closed, while others chose to sing along. It was such a remarkable spectacle as Americans paid respect to the country they love. Then, I remembered my country.
I moved to the Unites States, like every other immigrant in search of a better life. I would rather have stayed home to look for a job since I was untrained to create one, and I did not have a privileged pedigree like Doyin Okupe. However, the pressures of providing for my children and extended family members in an environment that was so oppressive, especially for a poor man like me, prevailed on me to leave my homeland. In doing so, I also left the fresh vegetables that my people cultivated for generations without the deadly chemicals supplied by Bayer, Syngenta, BASF, Dow Agro, Monsanto, etc... I left the “terra firma” that gave me pristine fragrance unaffected by industrial pollutants, to a foreign land, where I have been a constant patient for upper respiratory infection due to high level of pollution pervading the Los Angeles (LA) area. It is sad that a Nigerian celebrates the issuance of a visa to leave our country.
My country had provided me with what sounded like a good education, but there was no indication whatsoever that I was worth anything of value on graduation. Looking back, I realize that the education that was offered me was rote learning and did not prepare me adequately to compete in a globalized world that emphasized skills acquisition in addition to book knowledge. I had a chain of degrees, at least on paper, but I could barely change the tire of my car or fix my broken faucet. Therefore, in America, I went through a much different form of education to equip myself for the brutal competition in a global economy.
I arrived on the shores of the United States with three “strikes” against me. First, I was black, second, I was an African, and third, I had an accent. I could not reside in certain cities because those who have refused to lock up their guns or progress beyond the days of Jim Crow could mistake my flesh for an object of sport. Everything I did was appraised on certain theories that had gained currency even before I got here. For instance, somebody that looked like me was counted to be 3/5 of a person. I was considered a second-class citizen in a world defined in black and white, where any human being who was light-skinned was concluded to be superior to me. My options were not good. I could go back home to my homeland where I had little or no chance to succeed unless I engaged in similar conducts that had given my country a horrible reputation. . Conversely, I could try my luck in a foreign land hoping that someone would look beyond these barriers and give me a chance.
I had resolved earlier in life not to tarnish my character by subjecting myself to opportunities that could offend my conscience just to be identified among the few successful Nigerians, and toss and turn in bed at night being haunted by what I did in the day. In my homeland, I would have to compete with the over 750,000 graduates competing to fill the few job openings at the NIS or with the over 500,000 that applied for the NDLA jobs, and I am not about to subject myself to such a blunder.
Everywhere I went in the United States, someone would remind me of my “Africanness” because my accent gave me away as soon as I opened my mouth to speak. Most were courteous to say that they liked my accent, but deep down, I knew that I was being profiled. The West had demeaned and discredited Africa because although sitting on stupendous reserve of natural resources, the African child still went to bed hungry. Africa personifies everything that could possibly be wrong with humanity—instability, conflict (tribal and religious), diseases, failures, poverty, etc., and everyone in Hollywood is racing to the spotlight to highlight his or her humanitarianism to save Africa. Each time I turned on the television, I saw former gang members, rehabilitated drug addicts, criminals on probation, pedophiles, alcoholics, and nincompoops being treated to red carpet reception somewhere in Africa for donating one thing or the order. We have become a beggar continent. We have sold ourselves cheap. We have been conditioned to accept the falsehood that without foreign aid, we would be consigned to the Stone Age. We are captives to what Friedrich Engels referred to as “false consciousness” that has truncated our worldview by imposing misleading views on us. What we may not realize however, is that foreign aid is a recipe for underdevelopment and dependence because it stifles innovation and creativity, not to mention tethering us to a leash manipulated by donor countries.
The most populous black nation on earth, the “largest economy in Africa”, and perhaps one of the richest countries in the world has lost its “birthright.” Its citizens are targets of harassment and impertinence everywhere in the world. I walked into a FedEx office in Ontario, California, to send a package to Nigeria and the cashier advised me that neither my credit card nor my check would be acceptable for payment purposes. I could only complete my transaction with cash. I enquired why my credit card or check was not acceptable and the cashier informed me that unfortunately the destination of my package fell into one of those countries that payment for services could only be made with cash. We stay in the comfort of our “make-believe world” in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Enugu, or Sokoto with a delusive perception that Nigeria is the “Giant of Africa.” By the way, when we refer to ourselves as the “Giant of Africa”, what do we really mean? Are we talking about giant in reference to size or something else? I used to fall for that garbage until I discovered that all that is baloney.
A country’s true health is measured not in its GDP, but in its Gross National Happiness (GNH)—indicating how policies affect the “average citizen.” How can we be a giant when we cannot feed our population? What giant cannot defend its citizens when they are subjected to harassment and intimidation by host countries for trying to make a decent living? What kind of giant do we profess when we cannot provide our citizens with common uninterrupted power supply? We will have a hard time convincing a reasonable person that we are giants if our citizens queue for miles and miles at gas stations across the country for a product that we exploit and export. I reject our show of arrogance if we cannot guarantee the security of lives and property of citizens. I could go on and on, the point being that we need to acknowledge our delirium and see our country for what it is—a colossal disappointment.
Since the days of Fela, our people have been “suffering and smiling” and for some inexplicable reason, some see it as a compliment. We overlook certain things that could make one’s head spin. For instance, when President Goodluck removed the former aviation minister from office on the allegation of using public funds to purchase bulletproof cars, one thought that the attorney general and minister of justice would be dusting his law books preparatory to prosecuting her for her profligacy, at least to set a precedence that the government did not condone such acts. When the government ignored the citizens’ call for her prosecution, we sat on our hands and each of us went his or her way smiling, as if nothing happened. When the former governor of Central Bank alerted the nation that $20bn was unaccounted for in the NNPC account, the government removed him from office. Our reaction was, “Do not mind that useless Hausa man; who in the world does he think he is?” and we dismissed him with a wave of the hand. Whether or not his allegation had any merits was irrelevant. As usual, we went our way smiling. Oil Minister, Diezani, squanders N10bn in riotous spending and we are still engaged in unnecessary polemics, still smiling. I keep wondering; when will Nigerians realize that they have earned the right to be angry? Our silence has emboldened our oppressors and our apathy is our worst enemy. If we do not for once demonstrate our outrage at the way our government treats us, we will still be “suffering and smiling” ad infinitum.
Folks, a new Nigeria will make a demand on us—in sweat and blood. The shedding of blood is a prerequisite for redemption; it does not come any cheaper than that. I am aware of the unsolved demise of Dele Giwa, the shameful death of Bola Ige, the painful murder of Kudirat Abiola, the wicked killing of Harry Marshall, the unreasonable murder of Alfred Rewane, and other politically motivated murders. Those unresolved murders have struck fear in our breasts. We are cowards waiting for a Messiah who will descend from a distant planet to make our case before our elected representatives or lead us to the “Land of Promise.” Venezuela is currently engulfed in a violent protest. I can almost guarantee that when the situation settles, the citizens of Venezuela will be better off because their government will never trivialize their issues anymore.
I overheard someone quip the other day that we probably deserve re-colonization by the white man. What an affront! Meanwhile there are two broad categories of Nigerians –the very rich and the abject poor and nothing in-between. Do not get me wrong. I do not advocate for a violent change in Nigeria. I believe that a peaceful change is possible. However, if history is any guide, our situation may never change unless we do something far-reaching. Our will to survive and leave a lasting legacy for the unborn generation must be matched with proportionate intensity and desire. Otherwise, our story will not be any different from that of our parents. It is when we seize the occasion to realize our dreams of a vibrant nation that we can be seen to have truly pledged to be “faithful, loyal and honest, to serve Nigeria with all my strength.” We cannot serve Nigeria when we are too timorous to challenge those who are suffocating our nation. We must be bold as lions to speak truth to power because we have a stake in this enterprise too
The leaders of my country had pledged that they would defend the constitution of the Federal Republic. They also promised to defend the country’s integrity. They had pledged that in their dealings with our country, they would be “faithful, loyal, and honest.” They made these public proclamations, but knew in their hearts that they would sabotage the country. In fact, they have been unfaithful, disloyal, and dishonest. They have been involved in conflict of interest in their relations with the country. They have ignored all institutional formalities in their exploitation of properties belonging to the state, and see the country as their alter ego-- the extension of their family’s business. To them the constitution is a mere document that can be treated with levity because, by their reasoning, its effectiveness depends on their whim and caprice.
Our adversities create tremendous opportunities for whirlwind of experiences including, but not limited to, altering our direction. The patience, resilience, and toughness which being Nigerians has taught us is priceless and could be utilized to our advantage by taking steps today to rewrite our story tomorrow. We are in prison with our feet and hands handcuffed without realizing it. Imprisonment comes in variegated categories: mental or intellectual imprisonment, spiritual or religious imprisonment, leadership or administrative imprisonment, etc... You will never realize how grave the imprisonments are until you travel out of Nigeria and experience uninterrupted electricity, security of life and property, clean drinking water, good roads, a refreshing warm bath and religious leaders subject to tax laws for the tithes and offerings received from their congregants. Then you will realize that our leaders are desperately wicked.
In one of my classes at the law school, I had raised a concern about what I thought the United Nations (UN) should or should not do. My professor stopped me right in the middle of my question and wondered whom I had referred to as the UN. I thought that he was being rather rude, but he was insistent that I should explain to him who the UN was. Finally, he said, pointing a finger at me, “You are the UN.” He took the class on a tour of how the UN would be unproductive without the contributions from people like me. Then I got it! We have condemned our government and leaders at every turn, but the reality is that we are the government, and stand condemned too. The powers of the government are directed at regulating human conduct. It is when we obey the rules that the government’s exercise of power becomes efficacious. The day we refuse to obey those rules, we will not have any government. The government needs us as much as we need it; it is not a one-way street.
Our future is in our hands and what we make of it is our choice. I cannot emphasize this enough. We must acknowledge the right of the “other” Nigerian to share in this vast estate. We must appreciate and encourage the gifts in another citizen. Sometimes, we may be compelled to disregard the requirement of reflecting “the federal character” and place square pegs in square holes for maximum performance of our responsibilities. The players in the Green Eagles do not have to reflect the “federal character.” It makes more sense to me to recruit all our players from Ajegunle who happen to be from five or six states of the federation, and they go on to win the world cup, rather than trying to include players from all the states of the federation to “reflect the federal character” and be knocked out at the preliminary stages. The insistence that someone from “my tribe” must be included in any organ of government is evidential of immaturity and underdevelopment.
Let us eschew acts that portray us in bad light, which could potentially haunt us later. For instance, the dissemination of a graphic picture of the alleged killer of a former magistrate in Ogun State, in the social media, is a show of shame. Even if it is eventually determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that he was the killer, it does not justify his subjection to inhuman treatment. His treatment conveys an impression that we do not value human life. Maybe his act was a result of a sick mind, who knows. I do not recall that the authorities made such an evaluation in his matter. It should not surprise us therefore when our citizens are treated with ignominy in a foreign land because the way we treat others, even criminals, rubs off on us.
I have met people who expressed to me that they had lost hope in Nigeria. Indeed, it could be frustrating at times to watch events unfold in our country, some that defy commonsense and logic. For instance, the recent massacre of innocent students by religious extremists, Boko Haram, because they (Boko Haram) were opposed to western education was tragic and made no sense, and the recent centennial award to former dictator, Sani Abacha shocked the conscience. Even more worrisome was a statement credited to President Goodluck that corruption in Nigeria was exaggerated. You sit down and ruminate, “Did our president actually say that?”
In the cacophony of repeated bad news and terrible conduct of our government officials, I am hopeful that a new Nigeria will emerge in the nearest future. Our tribes will radiate like a rainbow in the darkest night and “all eyes shall see it.” A time will come when no one will remind another Nigerian to be faithful to our nation. It will come naturally to be loyal and honest because the country will be looking out for us. Our military will serve our nation with honor. Our police will serve our communities with commitment and pride. Our judges will dispense justice without deference to the status of litigants.
I am looking forward to that day when a Fulani man will call an Igbo man his brother, when a Yoruba woman will look a Nupe girl in the face and call her “my sister.” There is going to emerge a new Nigeria personified by Jide, a Yoruba man, who will not hesitate to make a reservation in the nearest hotel, at his expense, for me, an Igbo man, when I was having difficulties finding an accommodation in my school. I will not forget to mention Ali from Plateau State, who had to abandon his preparation for his examination to drop me off, an Igbo man, at the airport to catch my flight back to Los Angeles. I honored an invitation by the admissions office to put in a word for a potential graduate student from Kogi State University who had applied to my school. I did not know that there was a school by that name or who the candidate was, but I had an obligation to help another Nigerian succeed. It turned out that the student was Igala. Such demonstrations of goodwill and unity strengthen my conviction that there will be a convergence of a critical mass of citizens whose sole priority will be to realize our dream of a new dawn in Nigeria.
I cannot wait, like those competitors, parents, grandparents, and food vendors, on that day at Mt SAC who showed solidarity and respect for the United States, to salute the Green White Green flag and with confidence “pledge to Nigeria, my country, to be faithful, loyal, and honest. To serve Nigeria with all my strength, to defend her unity and uphold her honor and glory, so help me God” And by the way, at the track meet, my daughter came first in the junior javelin and first in the 100m dash. |