The Drawing Board With MUSAWAL
By Ibrahim ‘Lanre-Cidiat’ Musawal
The cloud is gathering. The blue sky is getting dark. The wind blowing with an increasing energy and pressure raising dusts; moribund and vibrant, dead and living. The birds are flying in haste charting the course back to their long departed homes. The birds will surely roost, this time, neither on the city’s rock nor the fancy cages that housed them in the cities. But on the branches of the trees, where they truly belong! The trees are dancing, anticipating and singing. It is time to nourish their drought-stricken roots. All birds are welcomed! The hawks, the eagles, the pigeons, the doves; and even the ducks. It is going to rain, a heavy downpour. Dried phloem shall rise again but weak leaves and budding branches shall be blown away, into oblivion and/or eternity. It is going to rain. The storm is gathering. The signs are real. The birds are here. Are we ready?
Election period in Nigeria can be likened to a heavy rain situation and the birds’ roosting. What worry the hearts and minds are the different characters that parade themselves worthy of occupying elected offices in the land. Rogues, forgers, miscreants, murderers, stark illiterates, lettered illiterates, learned, gentlemen and the most complicated breeds; those that are a mix of all the characters. This is Nigeria, a land where anything is possible. These honourable characters knows the terrain quite well, they know how to play their cards very well. They are well trained actors. They play their cards like a pro! During election period, their utter display of faith in ‘God’ would marvel the pope himself. They pray and break fast on national televisions. They occupy the front rows in congregations and their donations are more publicized than the national budget. Don’t be deceived Nigerians, they are well trained actors. They are merely acting out a script. We have seen many politicians who rode to their various offices on this religious platform. But no sooner had they been sworn in, the devil himself was more surprised at the speed of their desertion! They call this game, the religious card.
Another dubious route in the quest for electoral victory by these politicians is the tribal card. Tribalism has been a bane to the sweet flavor of issue-based politics in Nigeria. Tribalism is fast becoming a paradigm used to determine who is who and who gets what. A mistake made by a tribesman becomes a norm but transmogrified into a heinous crime if committed by someone from another tribe. We no longer think of a person’s ability or what the person can offer for the development of our country, but we indulge in highest level of sycophancy, praise worship of mediocrity at the expense of meritocracy. The politicians are so good at playing this card that they have successfully corroded the average minds. A typical ethnic chauvinistic Nigerian can hardly maintain an unbiased and honest transparent of mind in search of truth, judicial analytical honesty becomes logical improbity and has resulted in making some Nigerians vote for an incapable tribesman or woman at the expense of a capable hand. Election and politics aside, do Nigerians really care about tribe or ethnic? Do we care if the goal is scored by Ahmed Musa or Mikel Obi? Do we really care if Boko Haram is defeated by a Yoruba president or an Igbo president? Do we really care if that invading assassin or armed robber into our house is apprehended by a Tiv or Ijaw or Egun police officer? Do we really care if it is Tunde or Shinkafi that finally ends our epileptic power issue? Do we really care? Answers to these show that Nigerians don’t care whose tribe got it done, the most important thing is it is done, successfully. Why do we then prioritize tribal and ethnic inclination to merit in electing political office holders?
The most dehumanizing card politicians play is the politics of “stomach infrastructure’. A new lexicon that had just crept into the Nigeria political dictionary. The concept is quite simple yet devilish, demoralizing, inhumane and utterly ignominious: impoverish the people , pauperize them, take away their jobs, kill their morals, make them worthless and make the hungry; and then give them a meal in exchange for their birthright to prosper and grow in their fatherland! Deal with them, beat them physically, mentally and emotionally; maim them and collect their land, and use the grains from their field to make one meal for their famished soul so they can give you the land for free and even offer to till the land for the next meal. Denied their youths a good job, create un-enabling environment for self determination and prosperity and turn them into personal assistants, shoe shiners, praise singers, drum beaters, political jobbers and wailers, and personal B613 agents. What their poor darkened souls won’t realize is that they are trading their bakery for a slice of bread. In their thirties and forties, even fifties; these youths are selling their birthrights for a portion of porridge. So myopic, they have forgotten that the likes of PMB, OBJ, Gowon, Enahoro, Awolowo, Rasheed Gbadamoshi etc all ruled this country in their twenties and early thirties. And some are still ruling!
Deliberate pauperization of a nation by our politicians and an all-means survival struggles by the citizens. This is the stomach infrastructure card played by our ‘honourable’ politicians. Far worse than the intent of the colonial masters and slave traders. Come to think of it, a bag of rice, N17000, (I doubt if each person get this much, though) given to you in exchange for your ‘thumb power’ will only suffice you for a month, if you have a small family. Or less, with a bigger family. And into the thin air the bird flew away for the next four years. Gone back to its fancy cage on the rock or in capital cities. You are left with memories. Memories of how you snatched ballot boxes, scared, maimed and/or even killed his oppositions for his success at the poll. Memories of how you cooked your bag of rice and or spent the token given to you in exchange for your future. While you sit in a local “paraga’ joint in your God-forsaken street relishing these poor memories to your fellow jobless poor friends, your elected official is eloping with the common wealth meant to cater for your lost future and that of your generations, yet birthed.
It is going to rain, again in Nigeria. Fellow citizens, be assured all characters of birds will come out to play. Whoever you entrust your vote to will decide your future. Whoever you cast your vote for will decide; how you live your life, miserable or fulfilled. What you eat, balanced meals or crumbs. What you earn, minimum wage or satisfying wage. Where you live, in a slum or in a city. What you wear, ‘akube’ or branded design. What type of education your children will have, international standard or wash down standard. How you copulate with your spouse, happily cumming or grudgilling cumming. Brethren, whoever you cast your vote for will determine even more! When you die, at fourty-six or at one hundred. Do you, now, see the power of your thumb in the making of your life? Will you trade this power for a thousand naira or a measure of grains at the poll? It is going to rain, don’t be caught un-aware. It is going to rain, the signs are glaring. It is going to rain, be prepared. Brethren, it is going to rain, go get your PVC now.
To all the birds out there, whatever character you are, whatever names you call yourself, whatever card you want to play, whatever ideologies you stand for, be sure of one thing, Nigerians are no (more) fools. We have our most prized possession; Permanent Voters Cards as our weapon. Come on with your game and we will ace up with our lion king. Make no mistakes, we will not be deterred, we will not waiver, our vote must count! Gone are the days when we settle for less. We want more, now. We want a better life, we want a better living, we want our dignities as humans restored back to us, we want to live in our fathers’ land with peace and unity, we want to stand amidst comity of nations with our shoulders high, and we want to be humans, again. We want more!
IBRAHIM ‘LANRE-CIDIAT’ MUSAWAL, a columnist with THE IMPACT is the principal facilitator and chairman, ECR LIMITED. He is a thought leader on school growth strategies, motivational speaker, life coach, a teacher and speaker of the word of God. He oversees NEW YOU INC, a human capacity building outreach aimed at molding successful and progressive individuals. He also oversees THE EDUPRENEUR NG, a solution breeding platform for private school owners, stakeholders and investors in the education project and like minds. He is a member of the board of TAI SOLARIN ORGANIZATION. He blogs on www.theedupreneurng.com and can be reached by email: [email protected]
