My Dream,
Illusions and Reality: Obasanjo’s Nigeria and Nigeria
Prince
Charles Dickson
By
It is
easier to wake a man sleeping than a man pretending to be asleep…the
words of our elders though these days they do not count that much. I had
closed my eyes in sleep some nights back and I saw a vision of an
experienced President the man I saw had seen the good and also the bad,
a man with both experiences that would have been able to guard the
Nation against itself. Such that we would have been on the course of
building a new political edifice, one that would be truly Nigerian. A
system that works and is suited to our needs, and also cable of
improvement based on our experience.
In that
dream the PDP in mould of the G.34 or whatever that midwifed it, we had
the believed a political arrangement that is tight enough to contain
stress and strains, but at the same time eradicate the ready vehicle for
personal dedicator ship and despotism would emerge. Sadly that dream
gave the impression that Abacha having left the scene and with a
terrible past, our leaders would use past political experience as a
rational digest to start all over, the right way with an ideology that
would be a business of open-mindedness to change, thereby allowing our
political edifice to grow and develop with a strong virile opposition.
But how can, for most of us who were awake while I pretended to be
sleeping my dream was a mere mirage at best a photocopy of what should
have been the original.
An
enviable Arewa, Afenifere, Biafra, Niger Delta, in a strong and stable,
united Nigeria devoid of the thieves we have today, but oh, how cruel
life can be, all that I said was in a dream. In that dream I saw us as a
secular Federal Rep ublic of National Independence, without all these
Paris, London and Beijing or Moscow lending crooks breathing on our
back, controlling our President like my little cousin does with the
remote to the television and the sister does to their guard dog
ironically named “Sanjo”.
In that
dream we had a home made political system not the crooks in PDP and the
cheated robbers in the new MDD and the confusionists in other clubs
called political parties. I saw a nation of that had a self-activating
economy, I did not recall sighting a woman in any form who was busy
collaborating with imperialists to kill her own nation nor did I par
chance sight a Professor of Economics who would print the nation’s
highest denomination without the Naira insignia.
The dream
was that in which the political system was a two-party system, where
both parties were people’s parties securely insulated from the
cash-power of both domestic and foreign business, on the alternative, I
recall seeing a one party system with multiple party candidates and
independent candidates at elections. At no point did I see the likes of
Marwa, Atiku, IBB, Orji Kalu and co wanting to take over from another
set of foolishness in Obasanjo, Tony Anenih, Ojo Madueke and co like a
team of 96 year olds playing Brazil in the World Cup, I saw a nation
that had better leadership to offer. I never saw PDP as such sights
would only be seen in a nightmare.
The
national ideology that appeared in my dream is national patriotism, a
nation built on a solid foundation (unfortunately Nigeria is not). This
foundation was literally, planned from the people, by the people, for
the people. The Nigeria we live in is unfortunately an accident of
passion. Lady and Lord Lugard while having foreplay thought up Nigeria
for administrative ease.
In my dream
an Ibo man was distinctively Ibo, same applied to my kith and kin that
remained proudly Hausas, Fulanis, Beroms, Tivs, Urhobos, the Yoruba man
remained such whether he be Ij ebu, Egba, Ara oke or Ara isale. And that
one was Ibo did not necessarily mean that the Hausa or Yoruba was his
enemy. Sadly this was a dream because in reality Nigeria was established
with the diverse ethnic build as a tool for disability rather than
strength, and the mistake we call leadership has continued to exploit it
to and for their selfish and ‘sellmeat’ as long as the greed, power,
money are proportionately equal to their mad ego.
In my dream
the land called Nigeria belong not to Nigerians rather to the different
ethnic entities that make up the nation and all lived in an appreciable
level of peace and harmony. In that dream no one was forced to be
Nigerian, no one lost his/her identity, like today everyone wants to
wipe off their identity and just be called a Nigerian, badly this is not
possible because the word Nigerian has no meaning even when it had or
the little meaning it had, Obasanjo has spoilt, PDP has disgraced
through the calibre of morally deranged and insane men in their ranks.
That dream had a Yoruba Nigerian, Hausa Nigerian, an Ijaw Nigerian,
Isoko Nigerian, Ibo Nigerian, and all sorts of Nigerian all living
happily there, here and after like in the lion and sheep in those
colourful Jehovah witness’ awake magazines.
It was
simply a beauty to behold, a people’s patriotism, not a presidential
dictatorship and a party’s despotism and colonialism of its own people.
Alas in real life Obasanjo, PDP and his cohorts came they saw and they
are destroying at break neck speed that is why like Juju even the
Manufacturing Sector that has been worst hit by this misgovernance is
saying tar ze che, Obasanjo mu ka su…Obj go ahead na you we want.
My dream
saw a citizen oriented armed forces and police politically monolithic in
term of the national ideology, not the type that fought themselves and
left crime on the prowl. Not the type that went on strike, borrowed arm
robbers their uniforms to perpetuate crime and harassed innocent
conductors and kabukabu drivers and motorcycle riders for 20 Naira.
A moral
code, covering private, public life, and entrenched in the constitution,
the code which is animated by the national ideology, and distilled out
of traditional Nigerians mores, Sharia code and Christian ethics. But na
dream, you do not build castles in the air, so I woke up to find the
likes of Dariye, the Plateau state helmsman who jumped bail in London
and received a hero’s welcome by his kinsmen and had a thanksgiving for
escaping justice. I saw a pot bellied th ieving Governor-general who
after disgracing himself is still shamelessly talking, after his wife,
children were arrested and soon his pets may follow suit. I kept having
real nightmares of governors who bought heaven on earth in the name of
mansions at least hence they know hell is their destination they might
as well enjoy what earth has to offer. Governor who bleached with their
wives and slept with their Commissioners’ wives and ordered the
assassination of the cats belonging to their political rivals.
Politicians who observed due process in the golf course with a can of
Heineken beer and their daughter’s classmate playing with their chest
hairs and they smiled away destinies of future generation. Haba God are
you there, do I continue to sleep?
The more I slept I realized that there
was a great difference between illusions and realities, I knew I was
only pretending to be asleep, because how could I be asleep when PHCN
or is it NEPA, had taken electricity power for the third day counting
and fuel to run the generator was like asking for spring water in the
desert. I felt saddened by the illusions of our leaders and the
realities which they refuse to face and tackle... I laughed at the folly
of our so-called economic experts lying about everything from how
deregulation would soon bring Jesus Christ back…Maybe we should sell
Nigeria to the lowest bidder because that would ensure that the thieves
in power do not get a share…Chineke biko save us from the mistake that
has been our fate in the name of leaders and system of governance we
deserve better
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