By
Chidi Jacob
My attention is constantly drawn with utter dismay and disgust to the
voice of Nigerians howling like a finger-sucking infant, bullied out of a
favorite candy. We criticize the government over everything, we endure and
whine about NEPA, we complain about our roads, we curse and abuse those in
power, but regrettably, we stick our fingers back into our mouths and
earnestly linger for a divine rescue from Entebbe. A glance across several
internet chat rooms depicts this complacent image – where Nigerians pose
behind their keyboards to insult each other over manipulated news with
distorted facts coming out of our contaminated News media outlets.
Regressively, we have maintained our finger-sucking position and indulged
in fruitless regurgitation of common facts. As someone would say "madness
is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result". We
no longer need to be educated on corruption; Fela sang corruption until
his demise. Do not enlighten us about the condition of our roads; we feel
it because Nigerians perish on it in record number. There is no need to
“over-grammarfy” our pitiable power situation because the nagging sound of
generators echoes repeatedly in the deepest part of our sleep. Please,
spare us the tale of thieves in government because we discussed Umaru Diko
under the mango tree in our elementary schools. The Nigerian situation has
been engraved in our memory as a result of everyday experience.
Our problem is not mainly with the government, because the government is a
combined product of the society and her citizens. But our predicament is
with over one hundred million people who choose to blubber about our woes
but willfully conform to the status of servant-hood in place of their
immutable “God-given” rights as sons and daughters of Nigeria. As a matter
of custom, we ignore our civic duties and responsibilities to guarantee a
functional government, while we prayerfully wait for a divine rescue. We
smear our government as corrupt, yet, we indoctrinate our children into a
culture of bribery as we educate them on how to enroll into any school of
choice regardless of their results; and if they can’t scale the hurdles of
learning, we simply push them over with a few bucks – afterall, "everybody
dey do-am". We cowardly conform to the malevolent demand of fellow
citizens in black uniforms for sake of convenience, despite our knowledge
of good and evil. We clamor for a better government, yet we repudiate the
very process that guarantees good governance. The process is corrupt, yes
I know, but how will there be a change unless good citizens get involved?
It is absolute stupidity to expect a responsible government while we
celebrate politicians who plainly deprive and rob our chances for good
governance. We patronize them; send our children to schools they built
with stolen money, fly airlines floated with money stolen directly from
public funds, lodge in hotels built with money meant to secure the future
of our children. How can the government be in check when our acclaimed
opposition leaders issue repeated calls for revolution only on the pages
of the newspaper, while they cozy behind air-conditioned windows? Who will
impose a superior order, when our religious leaders who ought to be the
moral gatekeepers of our society have dimmed their righteous radiance for
a reward of convenience? In the past, kings trembled at the mere sighting
of a prophet, but presently, an invitation to dine with those who oppress
and mangle the will of the people, those who kill to win elections is
accounted as divine favor and celebrated as evidence of God’s blessing and
approval.
Howbeit, the Nigerian problem is not irreversibly unique, many great
nations of the world experienced episodes of difficulty, mismanagement,
and corrupt leadership in their history, including the United States. The
unique thing about
Nigeria
is the response of the citizens to our present condition. America
transformed into a free nation because ordinary people refused to conform
to the infringement of their God given rights. The blacks in America won
their freedom because they refused to conform to status quo, and would
rather walk in dignity than enjoy the ride powered in utter degradation.
The horrors of slave trade ended in Britain because a young British
lawmaker vehemently opposed the trend and refused to conform to the world
of his day. The society is a field that will always reproduce whatever
seed it receives. We cannot continue to conform and participate in
corruption while we anticipate a better society. Be not deceived, my
friends, for He who is up there cannot be mocked, whatever we sow, we will
definitely reap. Saddam Hussein invested years and several billions to
construct formidable edifice of safety, but ended up smoked out from a
hole and hanged like a common thief - maybe, the end really justifies the
means.
Social reformation will remain elusive in Nigeria until we choose to
become a generation of transformed non-conformists. Until we chose to
openly disobey and rebel against anything that has the appearance of evil,
regardless of the consequences we might suffer. Until we decide to
exchange weakness for excellence and chose to live for conviction emplace
of convenience. Whether you are a student, a parent, a teacher, a pastor,
a public servant, employed or unemployed remember that, at any given
moment when we chose to conform to the way of the crowd, we are directly
perpetuating an evil system which the reward is only a time away. On the
other hand, every single step we take to do what is right sows a
redemptive seed of goodness which we will eventually reap. In other to see
the rise of a new day in Nigeria, we must adhere to Paul “to no longer
conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of our mind”
We must be the renewed generation of estranged non-conformers who will
demolish the “afterall, every one does it mentality”. History has
delivered a blank board to every living soul; its inscription is totally
up to us. On the board of Dr. Martin Luther King, he wrote "the hope of
the oppressed” while Imelda Marcus wrote (as voted by Newsweek Magazine)
“one of the Greediest People of All Time”. If you are a pastor, choose
this day, what shall be carved on your board: One who preached the truth
and lived by the truth or one who conformed like Pilate in other to please
the crowd. If you are a young person, do not fly through the wider gates,
because the end there off, while it may appear unperturbed for a while, is
full of misery. If you are a politician, choose to engrave a name on your
history that will pave a way for your children and their offspring. Do not
conform to provide for them at present and damn their future with the evil
seed of looting the bone entrusted on your neck. Be aware that whatever is
hidden now, will one day be blown out in the open.
To the heroes who have maintained the mindset of non-conformers, you are
not alone; keep up the excellent work. Disregard the negative labels and
endure the present persecution. Remember that while Jesus hung on the
cross, Caesar reigned in the palace, but two thousand years later, the
reign of every Caesar is only remembered by the birth and death of Jesus.
Your work will go unnoticed only for a while, because there is a new
Nigeria on the horizon: It shall break forth with the emergence of
transformed non-conformists in every sphere of influence.
Chidi Jacob
chidi@newnigerianalliance.org
www.newnigerianalliance.org
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