In the course of my moving around, I have weekly found myself in diplomatic circles, often introduced as Cuban’s friend.
But in this circle, I have felt embarrassed when they ask me some questions about Nigeria. I am not fooled, these questions are not harmless or are they mere social banter while waiting for cocktails.
A good number of them are probing questions for them to get information and data for their home countries.
But when they ask questions, whose honest answers I cannot lie about, I felt like the earth should swallow me.
Within the Diplomatic Avenue Abuja by 12 Apostles Catholic Church, is a filing station and the long queue snakes round the Embassies in this zone.
So when one of my Onyibo friends ask me about the fuel situation in Nigeria and why are our refineries not working? Who among the presidential candidates do I think will solve this problem?
We are the ones demarketing Nigeria and the diplomats are filing reports back to their home countries about what they have seen and heard from Nigerians while on mission in Nigeria.
I have tried my little lies to paint a glossy, glorified picture of a better Nigeria but when presidential candidates start spewing inaccurate statistics, shame catches me.
These diplomats, follow Nigerian news, especially social media. So when we hit each other with deep seated tribal spears, they note. When we tear at ourselves based on foreign religion, they wonder how come despite our claim to being religious, we are more corrupt than China that is predominantly atheist?
With these running through my mind after a diplomat I suspect to be a secret agent, asked me if I think Socialism can work in Nigeria, I lost interest in the brunch.
He spoke with knowledge of how Nigerian rich men will never allow Socialism to work, how they corrupt Labour Unions and activists with trappings of earthly pleasure. I asked him to show me where Capitalism has worked in Africa? How come no African economy is like that of USA?
Most Labour union leaders are living larger and detached from the workers. Activists are merely pontificating without organizing in rural and urban ghettos, the required momentum to birth a new social order.
Finally, we talked about the Kuje bomb last and how safe are foreigners in Abuja.
