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Nigeria: The World Will Tremble in Awe By D Akinsanya Juliuson
In life you give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. As with my last article “Obasanjo: The Inconvenient Truth”, there’s nothing new about the point being made here. But it’s a truth that’s often forgotten. We fail to value our own compassion and company. We worry more about making or saving money than about sharing insight and warmth. Then! We remember – as we are due to remember soon. Nigeria is not about to go down, but we are about to witness the transformation of Nigeria. Then things will improve for good. Are we (Nigerians) superhuman? Well, as a matter of fact, in a strange kind of way, we all are. Not all the time perhaps, but we have that potential. We are born with it.
The problem is not the chain around our ankle and the way in which it is attached to a winding machine. Nor is it the chain around our wrist that is pulling us in the opposite direction. We Nigerians know how to cope with being stretched and feeling torn. The difficulty is the rope around our waist, attached to the leg of a bull, which is now charging away at a right angle to a torture table. We are up against more than we can possibly be expected to cope with…..WELL! That is how we feel. We have, though, long since learnt how to cope with difficulty. Life has given us a good education. We have emerged, with first-class honours, from the University of Adversity. We are, indeed, in some ways, better at handling trouble than we are at seizing opportunity. This may be why we often deliberately choose tricky roads to travel. They make us feel as if we are in our element…Angst and aggravation? I can’t foresee that now. Hope and inspiration? I say The Lord himself will build the house, let’s never mind what the current builders are up to, things are due to get far, far better.
Is life merely a struggle for survival? It is easy to see why society ladies’ magic mirrors have passed out of fashion. Once, they formed an essential part of every royal, fairytale wardrobe. But eventually, they were all broken up to make glitter balls. They told the truth - and that made them unpopular. These days, with all our modern technology, we ought to be able to construct a looking-glass that lies. The Nigerian man who launches this on the market will make a fortune…. Nigerians! If we can't handle or take the truth now, let’s not ask for it. And let’s not feel that this entitles us to believe in fabricated facts. Question! Are we really riding on a roller-coaster in Nigeria? Is the universe truly this intense, confronting and exhausting? Is life merely a struggle for survival - a challenge to stay stable in the face of ever increasing man made chaos?
Or is it more that we, somehow, tend to perceive it all this way? There are some problems that we can't avoid, but there are others that we can and should side-step. The thumbscrew? The rack? Which particular implement of torture would we like the universe to apply? None of the above to our taste? Oh, of course, why would we need to experience any of that, when our brothers, sisters, parents, friends and our juniors are already being put through something so intense, demanding and, at least at times, agonising? The hungry bugs swarm over Nigeria, driven by the need to feed…..and guess what? The weak, the oppressed and the poor are on their menu. Is it really fair? Have we done something so bad in this country that the gods have decided to appoint some corrupt judges over us? Do we really deserve the difficulties we keep encountering? There’s no doubt that hell exists right here on this planet. We’ve all paid it at least a temporary visit unless you are not a true citizen of one Nigeria blessed with all that life has to offer. Some have even spent much of their lives there. And some will do all within their power to make Nigeria its federal capital, just to see that the poor are poorer and the weak are weaker. No eternal realm of sulphur and brimstone could compare with the misery that some folk have to go through right here. It seems likely, then, that the place of deepest joy and most profound understanding must also be this very one. If that’s the case, we must reach for the best today, and we will surely get it.
When we are joyous, let’s look deep into our heart and we shall find it is only that which has given us sorrow that is giving us joy. When we are sorrowful let’s look again in our heart, and we shall see that in truth we are weeping for that which has been our delight. The secret link between these apparent opposites has fascinated many writers all over the world. I mention it now because it’s too easy to take a superficial view of a deep situation in our nation. We must go beyond the obvious now if we honestly want to make true progress in Nigeria. Right now, we can't all know exactly where we are going - or when - or even why. We have to keep an element of surprise though, in our lives unless we want to end up in a very dull world. Uncertainty is a double-edged sword. Too much awakens anxiety, just as surely as too little creates complacency. It is appropriate, for us to be feeling a little unsure of our direction now. Yet, we need to be brave enough, to concede our doubt about a crucial matter in our country. This is the only way we will ever fully scrub the entire floor and clear up all the mess.
'The truth will surely out.' Invariably! Inevitably There is surely a god or a goddess within us all. At certain times, under certain conditions, we can summon our inner deity. We can manifest amazing powers and perform breathtaking feats. We must trust the existence of those abilities now. We may not need to draw on them. Our problems may well be solved in other ways. But if we get stuck, I believe with those abilities, we’ll be fine. Who makes the rules? Governments may make a few here or there – but, largely, they are as much a victim of protocol and precedent as the rest of us. We do, by and large, what we have always done. When it is time for a law to be repealed or rescinded, it is usually because the vast majority of people all unconsciously agree that they have outgrown it.
We don’t need a new rule in our world and our nation now. We just need enough inspiration to change the way an old one is being enforced. Do we simply have to put up with what we do not like? Only up to a point. We have the power - and the opportunity - to bring about sweeping change now. But do we have the courage? Are we scared of the snake-charmers and the power-drunks? Do we secretly prefer things the way they are? Do we fear that, if we turn everything upside down, we will end up even worse off than we seem to be now? Let’s not be reckless, and let’s not be rash. There is a very clever solution to our nation’s current problem. Nigerians are more than intelligent enough to find it. Gradually, sooner rather than later, I surely believe that, a battling situation will start to make sense.
The truth is out there, or so we are reliably informed. Mind you, 'out there' is a very big place. It goes on for thousands of miles - millions if we involve other parts of the hemisphere. Trillions if we include the rest of the universe. And where, precisely, in all this can we hope to find the truth? Well, interestingly, a cosmic law dictates that it can never be as far 'out there' as you and I might think. The truth is always near and it is always easy to find as long as we search in the right spirit. 'The truth I say to you today, will surely out.' Invariably! Inevitably. It will come out in the end, no matter how hard anyone tries to hide it. But if we don't want it to be the end, when it comes out in the end, we must do our best to make sure that it is brought out in the beginning. It is essential now, to have an honest exchange. It is impossible, though, to achieve any such thing if there is prejudice or if there is resentment.
We build unnecessary barriers and police them vigilantly We often feel that we are winning when life is giving us what we want and losing when our aims and objectives are not being attained. This, though, is a woefully narrow definition of success and failure. Our needs change. Our aspirations alter. What we urgently yearn for today, we are ambivalent about tomorrow. We often fail to understand what we truly require. Only with hindsight does it become obvious. No prisons are as harsh, nor punishments as severe as the ones (we) human beings create for us. We set standards that we cannot live up to and then chastise ourselves for our failure. We build unnecessary barriers and police them vigilantly. We Nigerians are conscious now of the way in which some people are impeding our progress or imposing their authority on us. Let’s think less about this though and more about the way we can escape our problem by altering some attitude or defying a self-imposed restriction. There may be many things that lie beyond our control, but hey! That is not the same as saying that we can’t stand up for the country most of us love so dearly. We must allow ourselves and our nation freedom, for by doing this, trust me the world will allow it to us too.
We say we want peace, harmony, ease and prosperity. And for everything to be simple, smooth and successful. But, our actions speak louder than our words. We deliberately walk towards rather than away from trouble and controversy and even complication. We find ourselves arguing, when really we ought to be agreeing. We don’t just ring the changes; we give the changes our phone number and invite them to ring us at anytime of the day or night. Is that bad? No, it is healthy. Our lives would be dull and shallow if we were to banish all trouble and drama. Right now, let’s be glad of what’s wrong in our beloved country. It is part of what will make things right. We must know one thing in life. We are all terrible - the craziest ones of us all, are those who imagine themselves to be sane. So, do we need our heads examine now? Why bother? Let’s examine our hearts instead. That process will prove far more helpful and redeeming.
If, right now, we really want to restore calm, structure and success in our country that lately seems to have gone out of control, our only option is to acknowledge, honour and act on what is truly right. Let’s ask ourselves some questions! What’s too expensive? And what’s too cheap? There is, we all know, such a thing as a false economy. If we try to save too much, we could end up cutting corners that cost far more to repair in the long run. But then, there is also the matter of what we Nigerians deserve. Aren’t we entitled to the very best for the very first time in the history of our nation? There is clearly a point past which we must not go. There’s also, though, a real risk that we will underestimate our own worth to others. It is time to invest in our greatest and most potentially profitable asset: YOU AND I (Nigerians)! We have to have what we need in order to do what we clearly now need to do.
If we only ever do what we know how to do, we will only ever achieve what we knew we were going to accomplish. Stability is a fine thing until it begins to turn into a form of stagnation. We Nigerians at present feel a little confused. We can not quite make sense of a situation that we hadn’t really ever expected to find ourselves in. That’s just an unavoidable side-effect of being imaginative and adventurous. Let’s fear not. The same gut feeling that led us into a seemingly tricky predicament will eventually help us to find a way out of it. Let’s for now not think about what’s not possible, let’s think about what we can definitely do and about what we can possibly manage if we really try. Let’s nurture an attainable aspiration – one that makes us feel enthusiastic, one that makes Nigeria a nation that’s no longer deserted. Let’s use our greatest frustration as a form of motivation. Let’s decide that ‘if we can’t do this, we are going to do that, instead! The ‘that’ in question will yet prove very pleasing.
The question right now is not, ’what could we do if things were dramatically different?! It’s, ‘what can we do with things almost exactly as they are? ‘If we are not making the most of our current situation in this country, we might miss the opportunity inherent in some future scenario. And, if we do all we can with what we have available to us, we may yet radically alter the kind of tomorrow that we end up living in. Let’s solve as many problems as we can. Where it’s possible to put something right, let’s put it right. Where we need to put an end to something extremely absurd, disgraceful and shameful, let’s do just that. That, I believe could yet make a big difference.
Sorry is a wonderful word Back in the days, a phenomenally successful film gave rise to a saying that seized the popular imagination. ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry.’ No wonder the divorce rate shot up during that decade. Sorry is a wonderful word. For all that some people overuse it others utter it far too rarely. Somewhere in our country, an apology is now in order. If it’s down to Nigerians to make one, for being too generous and kind, then we need to do so bravely and gracefully. If we (Nigerians), most especially the poor, the grassroots level people, the battered, the bruised, the stones that our leaders have rejected, the true builders of democracy and the oppressed feel that we are due one, by God, we should be willing to accept it, even if we cannot forget the pain, distress, agony and psychological scars. Life is too short for grudges and grievances. They stop us from moving on. However, we must do all we can to prevent the heartless from destroying our present and the future of our children. This is our chance, let’s seize it. This is our opportunity. Let’s take it. This is our gift. Let’s accept it. This is our challenge. Let’s rise to it.
Our country is full of people who love nothing more than to tell other people what to do. It is almost as if some of us take a fetishistic pleasure in giving orders, issuing instructions and pulling disapproving faces when we suspect that our rules are being contravened. Yet how much do we really know? And how right are we to act as if we have unimpeachable authority? All too often, we see the surface and we fail to think about what lies beneath it. We allow our emotion to colour our perception. Then, we experience what we expect to experience, not what’s really there to be felt. We must go beyond the obvious today. I welcome you all to my beloved country. The country I’m so proud of, our Nigeria. A nation of some crazy species, gender confused and morally corrupt individuals, all of whom are desperately pretending to be sane.
Home of some clueless noise makers cum politicians who think they know what’s wrong with the world and how to change it when, actually, they have not got the first clue. Home of some ravenous super-locusts and people who preach forgiveness but practice hate. Home of alleged experts who know next to nothing. Home of two many triple Geminis, hypocrites, and naturally born serial blackmailers. Yet home, too, of heroes, great leaders, patriots, true saints and real wonderful souls. Home of the righteous and super democrats; and of course, home of the most misunderstood and some genuinely naïve, but kind, and patriotic leaders of all time. As said many a time before, much sooner in this country of ours, God will through some great leaders, seek vengeance on behalf of the oppressed and the weak. Many will stumble, the snake-charmers and godless parasites will fall, the enemies of the poor, and the rogues in royal robes will seek God’s mercy like never before. However, the powerless and oppressed will survive and eventually triumph. Others might be unable to see basic, obvious, crucial things. It shall be written. The world will tremble in awe.
D Akinsanya Juliuson C Dipl Great Britain
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