The immediate implication of a chasm which public information management in Nigeria has successfully created between the government and the people is that the country now has two major debating groups. The first group is made up of those who adversely criticize whatever government does or fails to do, while the second group consists of those who see no wrong whatsoever in the activities of the Nigerian government. It goes without controversy to say that Nigerians are a people daily bedeviled by lamentable maladies.
Recently, Nigeria and Nigerians are not merely diseased by infrastructural dilapidation, educational deficiency, moral rot, but also gross systemic corruption, political ineptitude and inefficiency. Nigerians now endure a social template where hunger and poverty is the normal, life is cheapened and the sore culture of death is condoned; elected executives are unperturbed by the people’s misery but continue in their vanguard of criminal impunity. What could be worse? Sadly, amidst this hip of incompetence by the Nigerian government the people are robbed of the truth of the actual situation of the country. Regrettably, every first bit of information often comes via social media which is often times not dependable.
The media also share in the blame as they sometimes keep vital information from the people based on their gate keeping theory. Even when pushed, government would go any length to horde the truth leaving the citizens in a cul-desac. The challenge now is to find out the details of the truth since plenty obstacles have been placed on the way of getting to the truth. Indeed, what we must grieve the most is the sad reality of how subtly but surely, the Herodian ruling class has succeeded in the project to benumbing the populace, making them lily-livered, cowardly and toothless amid the glaring perils of maladministration which apparently impacts injuriously on the fortunes and future of our nation. No one would dare bemoan the tyranny of lies, deceit, dictatorship and neo-colonialism that now pervades the dynamics of leadership.
THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL
This “Giant of Africa” is a pitiable context wherein the good never tops the conquest; a field where deceit triumphs over candor; oppression and injustice reign at the expense of justice, equity and humanity. Political correctness dethrones truth, and the good of all is sacrificed on the altar of the preferences and gains of a few. But who rightly is to be blamed where the truth never prevails – the ears that ought to hear but are stuffed and impermeable, or the tongues that should speak but are rather frozen and dastardly? John Stuart Mill once warned “let no one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” He is not a good man who, without a protest, stays silent or turns a blind and unconcerned eye while evil thrives. In other words, what is most required for the triumph of evil is for good men to say and do nothing.
Yes we are dissatisfied and unhappy. We have been hit and hit again, bruised and derided, cursed and defiled, and like the sheep led to the slaughterhouse, we would only complain beneath our breaths, in whispers and sighs. We cannot afford to dare “soro soke” (speak up). We have been brutally whipped and are forced to muffle our cries. Unsurprisingly, as is often characteristic, those who live in darkness, who glory in error and champion the reign of deceit would always be hateful of and repugn the light, fearful of the truth and hostile to any tongue that voices the truth (John 3:20). Herod imprisoned John for decrying and preaching against his foolishness and fleshliness, condemning his lust and abuse of power. He would seize any and every opportunity to forever silent the voice of truth. For the umpteenth time, those who steer the wheel of the nation have been found guilty of the blatant abuse the fundamental rights of Nigerians, bluntly trampled underfoot the rule of law as enshrined in the constitution.
We are in a country where the exercise of fundamental and constitutional rights of freedom in speaking, of expression of opinion and religion, of assembly and association, earns citizens different penalties and persecutions. Worst still, the presidency has mastered the habit of staying cold shouldered to responding to the plights and misery of the people, snubbing the recommendations of the legislative arm, dismissing competent judicial rulings, employing public power as weapon for personal vindictive and vengeful purposes. Radical Islamic jihadists are on a rampage, killer herdsmen and armed bandits enjoy a field day, while government soft pedals on acting decisively and definitively to inject the required remedy to stem the tide of the culture of bloodletting across the country – we have subconsciously grown accustomed to waking each morning to news of scores of lives lost, villages razed, and people displaced.
The economy dwindles by the second; we are the world’s headquarter of extreme poverty, many citizens haven’t had a decent meal in 100 days, yet 100 private jets land Kano to grace the wedding of the President’s son. Truly, we may be disenchanted and dismayed by the parlous state of our Nigeria. Our commonwealth stands in dire demand of John(s) who would tell the ruling Herods that their methods and formula in engineering the Nigerian project is far from correct, helpful and efficient. Sadly, those whom we trusted with the position to “soro soke” and hold the political elites accountable have either had their lips sealed with wads of naira or cowed with life threats. No one wants to suffer the lot of those who tried hitherto and had their heads served on Herod’s platter.
Nevertheless, we must never recline into the defeatist mentality and giving up on trying to rescue our motherland from the claws of these predators, simply because repeated efforts and protests have proven unproductive or sometimes counterproductive, leading to massive loss of lives of protesters. The youths turned up en masse, united in voice and purpose, filled the streets for days unending, enduring the cold and other hazards to challenge the government in the 2020 nationwide #EndSars protests, making justified demands that significant positive changes be made to improve the quality of lives of the citizenry, delivering the promised dividends of democracy.
Peacefully and maturely, they clamored for an end to the incessancy and impunity of brutal killings, reckless maimings, the unjust and unconstitutional arrests perpetuated by some unscrupulous elements within the ranks of the Nigerian Police Force. They asked for justice for victims and compensation for their families, a reform of the force which entailed adequate training and worthy remuneration of officers. Like the forerunner of the Messiah in the ancient dictatorial reign of Herod Agrippa the tetrarch, the Nigerian youths saw errors being perpetuated by the office holders and braved to speak out. They had had enough of all the shades of rubbish being shoved down their throats. Indeed they did speak out gently yet ardently and the government, as usual, resisted unarmed courageous and civil protesters with war trained soldiers armed with live bullets. 20-10- 20 would remain etched in the memories of Nigerians as the dark day the nation’s future was brutally strangled in the hands of its leaders.
Throw in the Towel?
Our faith teaches that change starts with the truth and only the truth guarantees our freedom, although, as noted by James A. Garfield, the truth would first make us miserable before it sets us free. Before the truth sets one free, one must recognize which lie is holding one hostage. We must recognize that Herod’s resistance didn’t hinder the truth from prevailing. The Nigerian youth cannot afford to throw in the towel for the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams and hang on to their conviction in what they hold to be true. We still can and should fight on to regress the course which looms with disaster; we can and must reverse the curse incurred by our unfortunate breed of office holders. We still can go on to create and see to the adoption of policies and practices that lead to the molding a better humane society; one which at least resembles what our heroes past fought and died for; a community for which the martyrdom of our brave and determined youths slaughtered at the Lekki Toll Plaza is remembered with gratitude.
We must share in the impulse and evangelical zeal of John the Baptist, denouncing evil with as much impetus as can be mustered, and igniting the flames of transformation across all spectra of the Nigerian state. Maybe it’s high time we walked our talk. Echoing the thoughts of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, Archbishop Valerian insists that as bearers of the name of Christ, “we can create a culture that will thoroughly sanitize and restructure the character and behavioral pattern of Nigerians, especially political leaders. This we can do by facilitating the culture of love, the culture of hard work, the culture of transparency, the culture of inclusiveness, the culture of accountability, and the culture of excellence in everything we do and in wherever we are.” In effect, we must remember that as salt of the earth and light of the world, we can positively influence, impact and transform this country by embodying the Pauline recommendations of not just preaching or advocating for and insisting on, but practically doing whatever is true, everything that is upright and pure, everything amiable and admirable, whatever is good and praiseworthy (Matt 5:13-16; Phil 4:8-9).