The Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen wrote the literary folktale, ‘The Emperor’s new Clothes’ in 1837. Almost two centuries later and it sometimes feels like the same scenario is playing out in modern life on a daily basis. At what point would someone be blunt enough to point out the obvious fact everyone else is thinking but afraid to say (for fear of being labelled stupid)– that the emperor is in fact naked!
If for some reason you have not heard about this story, you can check out the synopsis here, then read the above paragraph again for context.
I had a bit of righteous indignation some days back when engaging with some colleagues on the prospect of a Tinubu’s presidency. I’ve thought to share my words at the time just on the off chance someone somewhere in Nigeria gets some clarity on why some of us seem to get really angry about these issues. For the records, as Tinubu himself alluded to in his ‘PDAPC’ Freudian slip, him and Atiku are different sides of the same coin and most of the sentiments shared below applies in almost equal measures.
The truth is people hardly change their minds due to our shared susceptibility to cognitive biases and I have heard this expressed in a million esoteric political calculations. I appreciate that others also listen to me and think this exact thing.
What follows therefore, is probably just a waste of words, but I can’t help but share. If nothing, but for the inexplicable satisfaction that one feels when you are assured you have done your bit.
The Rant
I’ve muted and even archived this group to avoid getting worked up about Naija’s matter.
When I pop in and see someone still holding brief for BAT even after all his numerous gaffes in recent weeks I am truly amazed. Perhaps if I was in a market square group I won’t mind but here?… lolz. Amazing!
These are just a small number of curated public engagements and we are seeing all these (gaffes) already. At this point, I think you would literally have to bury your head in the sand to still argue that BAT is sound in body and mind.
This is a chap who has been reasonably shown to be involved in drug trafficking and the counter argument his camp has put forth is not ‘It was misinterpreted or forged’ as usual but rather ‘the charge was against his bank account, not his person’ and ‘it was his housemates that were involved, not him’ to paraphrase the ridiculous defences Keyamo has put forth. If BAT has any superior information to provide at this point and has any modicum of respect for the Nigerian people he wants to govern he really should be clearing these things up. But of course his body language and pronouncements in the past show he has a god-complex. The monies he has stolen from public coffers has bought the souls of the sycophants around him so they of course would not speak up. As Soyinka said, the man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.
The integrity of public leaders is not a matter to continually ignore as we are wont to do in Nigeria. It trickles down the cadres of governance. That is why we borrow huge figures to fund elephant projects that usually don’t get done, or are done shabbily at inflated rate. A project is estimated to be 1 million dollars. By the time it gets signed off after going through many offices it is quoted as 1 billion dollars. Our national dailies are rife with these examples. It is simply because everyone has accepted that ‘that is the way things are’ and the rot starts at the top, then spreads through our national consciousness.
Our children’s children would be burdened with debt whose value they have not enjoyed. Meanwhile, our political elite use this same monies to oppress the average person on the street. Perception is a powerful weapon. There is corruption in every nation, no doubt but when you have a leader whose whole identity is shrouded in mystery it is difficult to build a nation with any real values. It is not rocket science to deduce the reason for Tinubu’s silence when these allegations come up. It is hard to keep up with a lifetime of lies and subterfuge.
Anyone supporting BAT due to religion or tribe cannot really be reasoned with at this point because logic is off the table and I even have a bit more respect for that. They are basically operating at the primal level early men learnt to live by when we evolved to live in tribes. Still I have a bit more respect for that position.
But when one keeps hearing fictitious suppositions about him being competent or the ‘best choice’ it is hard to stomach even as we all continue to make allowances for differences in opinion and interpretations of data. I am sorry but it is just hard to stomach.
Anyway, writers would write and people would talk but what would happen would happen.
The pitiable Nigerian state and dismal outlook is ultimately a reflection of Nigerians themselves.
As a man thinks, so is he.
About the Author
Oluwaseyi Adebola is the curator of ‘I Am Nigeria’. This is an anthology of works in writing and arts by young Nigerians across the nation reflecting on what it means to be Nigerian from past, present and future perspectives. This work also includes a social experiment that we hope would help kickstart the redefinition of Nigerian values. Read more about it and get purchase links here:
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