(First published on May 31st 2008 at page 37 of Leadership Weekend.)
Like an empty orange ball, sacked dry by the proboscises of greedy politicians/ she is cast to the periphery of the league of Nations. Those who milked the nectar of her youth do not see anything good in her wrinkled face and fallen breast. Those at the point of orgasm induced by unfettered access to her south-South, wanted to die for her, making empty promises for her to widen her “treasure base” and out off other rivals with alternative to preserving her beauty and marketability in the world economic pageant; are now abusing her, seeing nothing good in serving her or her continues existence. I still love her no matter how battered, bruised and abused, though I have not taken suckle from her rich delta.
Nigeria at her infancy was the toast of town. Every nation wanted to hobnob with her to gain advantage in the cold war and have a dependable partner in Africa. But like a girl attaining puberty that often falls into the hands of wrong toasters, Nigeria has been raped by her lovers.
Before I come to the modern day buccaneers masquerading as the Nigerian ruling class, let me express my disappointment in the attitude of perceived “founding fathers” of Nigeria, who fed fat on Nigeria and in the twilight of their days on earth, are chanting anti-Nigerian songs. Pa Enaboro took the centre stage in Nigerian psych when at the age of 27 in 1953, he called for Nigeria’s independence, despite the other regions unreadiness. When in 1967, a section of the federation insisting on Aburi accord, Pa Enahorg as a federal minister, actively worked against the dissolution of Nigeria and the carving out of sovereign state of Biafra. In fact he was instrumental to the travails of Prof. Wole Soyinka after the latter’s visit to the Biafran enclave. This earned Soyinka a dose of detention wherein he wrote, The Man Died.
In an apparent swan song, Pa Enaboro is singing a discordance song of dissolution of Nigeria. Pa Enahoro’s ‘ rapid dwindle into abusing Nigeria, actively started with his failed demand for a Sovereign national conference and the failure of PRONACO to galvanise Nigerians against the Obasanjo formulated National Conference.
Pure and simple, PRONACO was a conglomeration of ethnic bigots with no following from the ethic groups they want to ostracise from Nigeria. Unfortunately, some rational Nigerians got entangled in this macabre dance and can’t extricate themselves. Indeed the man dies in all who keep silence in the presence of tyranny even if it is the tyranny of ethnicity.
Another group that has taken to guerrilla attacks on the corporate existence of Nigeria is the Ralph Uwazuruike led Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). Every May 25-27, Uwazuruike, like a voodoo priest tries to make the corpse of Biafra walk. Without much ado, let me refer Uwazuruike to the thoughts of those who fought the war. According to Col. J.O Achuzia alias Hannibal in his book Requiem Biafra, “Biafre as a legal, political entity is dead”. On his own part, Alexander Madiebo, in his book The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran war, especial the Epilogue-why we lost the war, left a vital message for MASSOB; When he quoted Chairman Mao.
“General” Ojukwu the protagonist of the Biafran war, has been reduced to the rubbles of a pensionable Colonel in the Nigerian Army. He did not refuse his pension and had earlier contested a presidential election to rule a post Biafra Nigeria. Uwazuruike , should stop this infantile nightmare and grow up to the realities on ground, if he wants to lead a liberation struggle.
A census of properties in Lagos, Abuja, kano, will show you that out of every 8 houses, an bebo man owns 3.
The igbos chanting dissolution of Nigeria should visit ASPANDA and ask himself why such edifice was not built in any part of South-East state. A visit to the remotest part of Nigeria, with no light no road, people Irving in mud houses, will show a provision/chemist store, owned by an Ibo man The unresolved abandoned property cases in backyard Rivers State, is an indicator that no capitalist ibo man, will commit himself to a process that will affect his balance sheet. Revolution/breaking up of any federation is not a tea party.
Ndi igbo in Diaspora will not endlessly contribute money to a bottomless pit called MASSOB, funds which Uwazuruike, can’t account for. Ndi lgbo, should bury the ghost of Biafra, reconcile with odi mbamri (tempers are still hot over the invasion of Mid-west by Banjo and the refusal by Biafra to create Rivers state) and fight for Aso Rock.
Fighting for Aso Rock, brings me back to the modern-day Pirates in power, who after plundering Nigeria, do not see any need to serve her again or leave the ship of state afloat. Malam Nasir el-Rufai, became synonymous with disaster. Many families apart from the financial lose, will forever bear the scars of el-Rufai. Bread winners died in the quest to relocate due to the “righteous” zeal with which el-Rufai was restoring the Abuja master plan. At the crescendo of this his mission, he was reported as saying that “He is not afraid to die, after all he has out lived the life expectancy in his clan” This same man, insulted the hallow chambers and the men of wisdom in Nigeria, when he called our senators fools. In the twilight of the frustrated third term, el-Rufai was on NTA, acting as a complainant and judge over Atiku Abubakar.
He even advised the vice President to resign having been indicted by a panel of which he (el-Rufai) was a member. All this he claimed he was doing in the interest of Nigeria.
Under cross fire at the House Committee on FCT investigating the allocation of plots, demolition of illegal structures, sale of federal govemment houses, el-Rufai capitulated from his high horse of arrogance and abused Nigeria that made him. Who was el-Rufai on the national scene before Atiku dusted him and brought him to head the balkanisation of Nigeria’s infrastructure in the name of privatisation?
At the said hearing, when asked if he will like to return as a public servant, el-Rufai replied “Mr. Chairman, God will never allow that to happen” Indeed the God of Nigeria must have been on a visit to South Africa to confer with Mandela on the way out of Nigeria’s leadership mess when the demon smuggled you to play the Judas against Atiku and got instead of 30 pieces of silver, a ministerial appointment, paying a female Corper a director’s salary and giving lands to your children.
Nigeria has not been fair to me. But the more my love for her is unreturned, the more it waxes stronger.
The more I see miscreants in power, favoured by federal character than the content of their characters; my love grows, throwing me into a fit. The more I see the poor given a religious/ethnic coated subservient pills, hypnotising them to fight against each other to protect the loot of Nigeria by the politicians and religious rulers, the more my love for her grows, passionate and becomes an obsession for we are at the threshold of the day when Niperians will know that there is only two tribes in Nigeria i.e the illegally amassed rich tribe ( the gold toothed Hausa/Fulani hegemony, the fake drug and sub-standard goods importers among N bros; the stock exchange/eye service looters from Oduduwa) and the institutionalised poor (the Almajiris, the army of unemployed graduates roaming the streets, the Okada riders; the able bodied men begging at every traffic jam across the country; graduates selling rat killer poisons; the HIV infested hawkers of flesh and the civil servant, the government has not deemed fit to pay the recommended minimum wage. This group of poor Nigerians are a ready tool for any combustion that will reshape Nigeria and reverse her dwindling beauty and attraction.
The higher the thieves of our mandate build walls of Jericho, to fence us the poor tribe out, the louder I will shout, for there is something inside so strong that makes me desire nothing more than to live for her love and if need be, die on her lap.
