Oludayo Tade
Like before, uncertainties and tensions continue to envelope Nigerians as they throng churches and mosques to thank ‘God’ for making them cross-over into 2020. Being thankful to the supreme-being is anchored on the fact that only the living can hope to enjoy the basic goodness of life even when such goodness is perpetually scarce in the Nigeria’s socio-political space. Surviving a topsy-turvy 2019 is itself a feat as it was for the majority characterised by unemployment, unimpressive infrastructure, insecurity and deaths, culminating in hopeless docility. In 2019, the minority ruling class commenced and devised means of narrowing civic spaces.
Although there have been some movement in anti-corruption drive (with recoveries by EFCC, ICPC etc.) and boosting home-grown economy, Nigeria’s socio-economic space remains murky for the pummelled hoi-polloi. We must recall that it is this similar poor and uncertain condition that led the philosophic Olanrewaju Fasasi, also known as Sound Sultan, to construct Nigeria as metaphoric Jagbajantis high school.
While ushering Nigeria into the new millennium in 2000, Sound Sultan (SS) x-rayed Nigeria’s higgledy-piggledy situation drawing similarities between our complex problems with the problems associated with solving mathematical equations. With other words, mathematical equations have solutions if the formula designed for it is appropriately applied. By that, SS moved away from seeking spiritual solutions to Nigeria’s problems but located the solution in observing basic ethics governing human conducts. As such, a country like Nigeria in 2020 needs a ‘Mathematical’ President who can apply the right formula to solve our numerous Jagbajantis problems. If we do not believe we have problems, then we deny its objective existence and no step will be taken towards ameliorating that social condition.
Sound Sultan in the Song titled “Mathematics”, observed that our problems is as numerous as our population. Around year 2000, Nigeria’s population was around 120million but today we are above 200million peoples with a substantial percentage of this population resting in the bosom of poverty. This is what places us in the inglorious position as home to the poorest people on earth yet we have the richest men on the continent! With many people and many sins, it is easy to understand why poor people cry while the ‘rich man dey mess and leaders dey lie’. Sound Sultan’s provocative lyrics underscore the fact that the misnomer between primitive accumulation and looting of common patrimony is the condition which ‘dey make young boys and girls join bad gangs and the answer you get na wetin dey make innocent man rot inside jail and dem no fit grant am bail…..everybody join jagbajantis, solve mathematics wey dey dabaru our continent e eee’.
Besides, population explosion is a major concern in SS’s ‘Mathematics’. While the world’s population was six billion when Nigeria had one-twenty million people, the world population is now 7.8billion and Nigeria now has over 200million people! With poor social services, Sound Sultan attributes desperate move by Nigerians to relocate to saner climes where their live chances can be well sustained as the consequence of over population. Hmmm…the answer you get na wetin dey make people dey jah, comot for naija, the answer you get na wetin dey make people dey travel by hook or crook; the answer you get na wetin dey make people dey sleep for embassy for visa; the answer you get na wetin dey make people dey sell property for ticket…..kere….kere….ohhhh.
Unfortunately no plan to work on the population of the country yet; if we have anything to do in this decade we must find solution to geometric progression in human population while economic moves at Arithmetic progression or we continue to face the consequences of crime and criminality.
For every problem, there is a solution. BODMAS, which we were taught as Bracket of Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction is also useful in helping President Muhammadu Buhari solve our problems. According to Sound Sultan, B-Brotherhood implies loving our neighbour as ourselves. A people at peace with their neighbour will engender peace in the land. ‘O’ stands for objectivity in all we do. Primordial sentiment and tribal loyalty guides all that we do in the country with grievous implication on growth and development.
If we are all objective, mediocrity will be silenced and meritocracy will be elevated. D-Democracy is observance of the rule of law—supremacy of the law, equality before the law and respect for fundamental human rights. Are we observing these? If what ought to be done is executed in line with the tenets of democratic tradition, tensions and divisions will be minimised and no one will cry for injustice. M-modification of our bad behaviours is sacrosanct to having a sane country. A-accountability is open governance.
It is essential in building trust and ensures that every part of the country is not short-changed because of the greed of those holding the levers of power. Finally, Sound Sultan conceives S as solidarity. There are many diving lines and the President must ensure that fences of negative social relations are pulled down to have a strong united country as according to sound Sultan, a divided nation is antithetical to peace and development.
We just entered a new decade and how the decade will be is a function on how we work on our population and unimpressive economy. From followership to leadership, we must be committed to working in the interest of the country and ensure that the ties that bind us is not severed. This can only work where the leadership shows signs of applying the BODMAS solution to solve our problems.
Just like a teacher comes with mathematic solution to mathematical problems, Mr President as the ‘Teacher’ must be objectively convinced to be doing the right things all the time. Preparatory to His stand down in 2023, the legacy of a united and prosperous country remains the best gift Mr President can bequeath to Nigerians. The President must ensure that the local economy is boosted with quality education and health infrastructure good enough to meet the needs of the ‘big men and women’ and stop capital flight.
Above all, the President must not leave us with a divided country where the poorest of the poor on earth domicile in a neo-colonial contraption. Nigeria must not be a country where the rich oppresses and suppresses the poor while the poor show displeasure with destructive aggression.
Dr Tade, a sociologist, writes via [email protected]