I AM NIGERIA

#IamNigeria

PAST: MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MY VALUES AND NOTED ACHIEVEMENTS

I was born 61 years ago with blood, sweat and tears of some nationalists; I was named by Flora Shaw in the 1980s. I suffered under the oppressive colonialism and its acculturation; yet I can still stand on my toes.[i] I have maintained a range of natural environments, from semi-deserts in the north to the tropical rain forest in the south. Only in my womb, I encamp over 250 ethnic groups which exist till today with mutual understanding and indubitable harmonious association. In fact, I tirelessly governed 36 states. I preached balance and peace to Islam, Christianity and the traditional religion and lecture them on their importance to co-exist.

Credibly, I was a student learning under the British Masters for years where I learnt the quintessential nature of governance, the administration of justice and the regulation of a country. I graduated with a First Class Honors in Democracy and Good Governance; I also graduated with a First Class in Masters of Governance. My academic prowess and dexterity as embodied in my resume has birthed me a job in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As an intellectual person; I have authored many books namely, the 1979 constitution, 1989 Constitution and the operational 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where I opinionated certain cardinal procedural rules and ordinances for the good governance of my country. 

Yes, I am Nigeria! I boastfully and tirelessly control a landmass of 928,768km2 with a well-defined legitimacy and sovereignty. With my organizational skills, I organized the most populous society of people in Africa and the 7th largest population in the world. I am the most economically developed in Africa with the highest Gross National Product [GNP] in the continent. I know you will be inclined to believe with no iota of doubt that being the giant of Africa is not a child’s play but indeed a great feat.

I wish you read and digest with equanimity this chronicle of my own life. How I started, where I am and where I am heading. My best song is that which is composed in 1978 by Pa Ben Odiase;

Arise, O compatriots

Nigeria’s call obey

To serve our fathers land

With love and strength and faith… 1

I don’t know why I so much like this song but I think I do because my name is included in it. But no doubt, I love unity, I believe in service and also the labor of those (our hero past) who has fought tooth and nail to get me a space of where I am today. My best color is green and white which stands for agriculture and peace respectively. I have the third largest manufacturing sector in the world with the largest agricultural output in the universe. As a result of my relationship with other nations of the world, I am committed to world peace. This is evidenced in the important role I played in the United Nations Peace Keeping Missions. Most recently, my troop were the military backbone of the UN Mission in Liberia. It is worthy of say that I was one of the main founders of the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union).

I am a very brilliant and innately intelligent person who is not pedantic; I am neither finicky nor fastidious in all I do. I accept the disposition of others counts, fueling the voiceless and strengthening the unheard. In short, I believe in justice. But there has been a current twist in my attribute since I employed others to govern my company (the Federal Republic of Nigeria). The administration of my company is dubious and hectic. It is not a lone man business. I know you will believe that the administration of the 36 states is not an easy task hence, I employed people whom I thought were competent enough to administer the power of my prestigious company and this has been the genesis of my problem.

Furthermore, I am bewildered and stupefied that my children have acceded to the gargantuan Anglophonic enunciation as an expedient communication language. They jettisoned their culture for a foreign culture which is nothing but mere deception, post-colonialism, acculturation and hoax. If I may ask, how could you love another man’s child and hate yours? How could you love what is counterfeit, substandard and valueless than the original, standard and invaluable one? When are my people going to wake up to the reality that black is beautiful? When are they going to realize that being a Nigerian is not a mistake? When are they going to be free from the uncouth and vulgar deception of the colonizing race?

Coming together of various interests in the company, unity and peace of workers, accountability and good administration are all I preached when I was in the company. But now, what is prevalent today is divided interest, insecurity, unaccountability which has resulted in diminishing the recognition of the company around the world compared to the primeval achievements. 

My autobiography is not only to say of my achievements but also to unravel the mystery behind the backward state of the company (the Federal Republic of Nigeria) since I retired from governing the affairs of the company.

PRESENT: MY FAULTS, CITIZENS PLIGHT, POLITICAL WOES AND CRISIS

Fulmination, vilification and regret swept across the face of thousands of Nigerians who have suffered harrowing and distressing fates. There is a dilemma I seldom experience since I was old enough to feel what some Nigerians are passing through since inception. I will be telling lies if I do not agree that these day my emotion swings that I sometimes think of not been born here, I once thought of just finding some peaceful place on the planet to live out the rest of my day watching the drama of Nigeria like a Big Brother Reality Show. I sit in a corner with my chin resting on my palm looking at the “orere”2 of Nigeria as my people would say. I took on the assignment I was given few days ago with the title “I AM NIGERIA” where we are told to reflect on what it is to be a Nigerian in the past, present and future tenses. We are told to make research and consult people. I met with Iya Sidi3 who was gathering a piece of firewood as usual for her everyday cooking using the “adiro”4. I asked her about how she feels being a Nigerian and whether she would still like to remain a Nigerian in the world to come. As she began, her words pierced me like a tailor’s sewing needle taking me back to the knowledge of how we won our democracy with blood, tears, and might of some nationalists but somewhere along the line we succumbed to state creeping fascism. The thick cloud of discontent with politics, politicians and even the Nigerian project continue to form a huge pall with existential consequences for a people impoverish by bad economic management, insecurity, causing pain for those who watch their family, friends and even foe yield the gift of life, in agony, as their blood run like a stream down the gutters of their neighborhood.

Of course, Iya Sidi continued, unwrapping the unsavory history of the past which transcends to the present and a clarion call for hope which actually to some people is uncalled for, which in fact will yield no profitable result in the future. Iya Sidi ventured into unraveling the mishap of the uncommon epic. She began again;

“Na wa o5, this suffering is too much. I can count with my finger tips a handful of problems confronting this country. This country faces challenges virtually in all spheres thereby leaving citizens with dashed hope. “We are Nigeria”, “you are Nigeria”, “I am Nigeria” and “we all are Nigerians”. It is laughable that only Nigeria faces plethora of problems like corruption, crime and terrorism, unemployment, unaccountability, problem of ethnicity, economic imbalance, and many other societal ills. But then, I remain a Nigerian”.

This was the end of Iya Sidi’s answer to my question. I know if I had permitted her, she could have said a lot but then little words sometimes are full of meanings. The problems specified in Iya Sidi’s comment will be a basis for expatiating on the present state of Nigerians. I don’t want to say too much at the beginning lest I become a loquacious fool, one that leaves the clearly blazed path and heads for the bush.

Furthermore, CORRUPTION has eating deep into the bone and marrow of Nigerians. Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It is one of the geneses of our problems as Nigerians. Corruption is a global menace but Nigeria suffers most of all. It starts from the government down to the citizens. If you ask a five year old what he intends to do when voted into political power he will boast of siphoning public funds, excessive use of power and the likes; it is worthy of notes that any policy, exhibitions and enactment made in “in curium”6 has an adverse effect on every sector in the country, the government and the citizen alike. But saddening enough the citizens suffers the brunt. Being a Nigerian in the present time is demanding as they need a bold move to correct bad policies, rogue politicians, power-hungry demagogue and the old who have packed our democracy into their “Agbadas”7.

According to the Transparency International Corruption Index, Nigeria is ranked 149 in 2020. It is demeaning that between 2011 and 2015 over $3.6 billion disappeared from Nigerian public coffers. Unfortunately, this stolen sum resulted in a loss of potential roads, schools and homes planned for construction. That perhaps require only one-third of the stolen funds.

Also, corruption in Nigeria affects poorer families most severely. The levels of inequality continue to increase in the country due to corruption. The Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics has it that in 2020, 40% or 83 million Nigerians live in poverty. Without arguing further, corruption is the major cause. According to Hannah Easley, “this country still has many steps to take in order to successfully defeat corruption and continue developing”. Citizens must speak out against corruption and government must be held accountable in order to fully combat the issue. Government should strengthen their institutions and close loopholes that allows for corruption to continue in Nigeria. For now Nigeria is taking actions in hope of at least decreasing corruption in the coming years.

Moreover, the menace of UNEMPLOYMENT In Nigeria has fostered unsavory fates to the masses. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics in 2019, the rate of unemployment in Nigeria was 23% and the underemployment rate was 16.6%. Another statistics put unemployment in Nigeria from 1999 to 2020 at approximately 9.01% increasing drastically year in year out. The rate of unemployment in Nigeria presently is confusingly high. Nigeria has the most robust economy in Africa. But reportedly in 2019, it has an overall employment rate of 25%, with an additional 20% of its 186 million people being underemployed.

Thousands of students graduate each year with no hope of getting their bearings. You can imagine how such a person feels. After spending a huge sum of money on education, some of them still wander the streets in search of greener pastures. Unemployment in fact is the cause of most of the social vices like rape, robbery, cyber crimes and such other crimes. The Bible was credited to have it that “an idle hand is the devil’s workshop”. The same Bible say “a hand that work not should not eat”. My question now is what then should be the fate of Nigerians who are willing and able to work but could not get any. Our country is making life unbearable for citizens. Unemployment in Nigeria is a growing concern that stems from the country’s much political and economic issue. Though Nigeria is very rich in natural resources like oil, these industries are actually causing more harm since the country has not diversified its economy.

In addendum, one of the major problems confronting Nigeria and Nigerians is the problem of CRIME and TERRORISM. Nigerians in the present time can no longer sleep with their two eyes closed. According to the Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria has 8.31 indexes in 2020 which increased from 6.31 indexes in 2011 growing at an average annual rate of 3.69%. Nigeria has one of the highest terrorism threat levels in the world. Only in Nigeria we have the Boko Haram Insurgents which is responsible for over 21,980 deaths since 2011. The Fulani Extremists who are responsible for the “kidnap-ransom” activities and death in a large number. Only in my Nigeria, we have unknown gunmen whose motive for terrorism is not more than just to kill. Living in the present day Nigeria is like sleeping in the manger and waking up in danger, it can be compared to living within the arc of a circle.

Aside from the above problems facing the present day Nigeria, there are other problems ranging from unaccountability of political office holders, insecurity, maladministration, economic instability, problem of national unity, problem of patriotism, injustice, problem of leadership, just to mention a few.

Iya sidi has really enumerated most of the points I needed to complete my assignment. She jinxed me on citizen’s plight and political woes of Nigeria. I was apt listening to her and this wonders me of how she gets to know all these things. She is one of the few market women we have in our village. But the truth is; the current situation of Nigeria has turned virtually all citizens into activists, it has turned a baseless fool into an average thinker, an illiterate to a learned person. Which way Nigeria?

FUTURE: CONTIGENCY OF HOPE       

Which way Nigeria? The current prohibition has fed us with delicacies of uncertainty, hopelessness and desperation. But the glory of the future, the liveliness and enjoyment of Nigerians will depend vastly on the joint exertion of might and strength of both the citizens and the government. We must all strive to build a healthy nation. That reminds me of one of the greatest poem ever. Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson, an Englishman; it says “that which we are, we are; one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but stronger in will. To STRIVE, to SEEK, to FIND and not to YIELD”8 never to yield! The Nigeria we want can only be actualized not in our dreams but by the effort we all exert. Since it is the joint effort of both the government and the citizens then the government should not jettison her part likewise the citizens should also maintain the status quo. They should not exhibit any act that is in tandem to national unity as the betterment of the nation is the betterment of all.

 Despite the current cacophony of ethnic jingoism, sectionalism and secessionism, I believe that the vast majority of people in the country consider themselves to be first and foremost Nigerians. We cannot wind back the hand of time and simply realign along tribal lines. We cannot undo the commingly that has gone for generations. This premise is to modify the received knowledge and a cliché that Nigeria is an artificial construct foisted on us by the British and if this conventional knowledge is not corrected the possibility of hope in the actualization of our future goals will be unattainable.

The historical performance record of our political leaders has been stunningly sub-par, but we the people should not now abdicate our own duty of responsible citizenship. As citizens, we must take into cognizance that which we need to contribute to the growth of the country.

I met with Lakunle9, the village goldsmith who boasted to have sharpened the rod of the devil. We exchanged pleasantries as usual. I asked him, in what state did he see himself as a Nigerian in the future? “As my grandpa would say, confusion is a state of complete isolation from what to do and what will happen as a result”, Lakunle began; Anguish, severe pain, and heaviness of hearts dominate the rest of his words. First, he recounted his lowly, poor and humble birth. He travelled down memory lane and stressed on how their ancestors had find it so hard to live. His words are spiced with truth and meaning but his conclusion was ambiguous. He concluded that being a Nigerian in the future will not be a different thing from this present time. He further compared the future of Nigeria to “TOMOSOKO”10, dusk sun; the type that deceives young farmers and makes them thinks it is midday when evening has come. He said we Nigerians were in the future already. A fool at 61 is a full forever. When will the impossibilities be possible? When will Nigeria begin to enjoy the package of the new Nigeria?

The possibility of hope as a future Nigerian is nipped in the bud. Being a Nigerian in the future is just an imagination since no one knows whether the continued existence of Nigeria will be extended into the future. With cries of secessionists, terrorist attacks, lack of unity, unaccountability, maladministration, corruption, insecurity and the likes. The various Nigerian groups might still resort to breaking of ties and which may deter them from co-existing in the future.

Conclusively, being a Nigerian in the past is sweeter, being a Nigerian in the present is bitter, and being a Nigerian in the future to me is better and greater only if we will let it be. We are Nigeria, You are Nigeria, I am Nigeria and we all are Nigerians.

1. See lines 1-4 of the Nigerian National Anthem
2. Orere is a Yoruba word that means the environment
3. Iya Sidi is a Yoruba name that means “Sidi’s mother”
4. Adiro means oven in English but in ordinary Yoruba parlance it is a set of three stones used for cooking.
5. Na wa o is an exclamation of anger used in the case of disappointment
6. In curium is a Latin word that means “through lack of care” it also refers to a judgment of a court or a decision made in error
7. Agbada is a flowing wide-sleeved robe worn by men in much of West Africa but particularly peculiar to the Yorubas
8. See Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Lines 67-70
9. Lakunle is a Yoruba name given to a male child
10. Tomosoko is the evening sun that deceives young farmers and make them thinks its midday when evening has come