The tragedy of the black man in modern history has to do with reading and knowing history but wilfully refusing to take in the rich lessons contained in it. If we did the fate of the black world would be far different from what it currently is worldwide. Let’s undertake a little clarification intended for bigger benefit, so we stretch the point a little further: the black man wants respect, he desires the world to bow at his approach; everywhere he sets up fire, protesting maltreatment, torture, denials and disregard, insisting he must be recognized as a a first class world citizen. He does this year after year, now running into centuries with little results.
Yet, if he read history and took the lessons very seriously, he would have long found some truths that would have been of great use to him. One of it would have been that fate has nothing to do with this challenge; that it is not in his star he must be relegated to a near subhuman status. More importantly, he would have discovered that respect, dignity and regard are not given as we will do with gift items. They are products of rich endeavours, benefits of creative hard work, something earned, first by evidence of sound management of self and secondly, quality contributions to existing civilization.
In your space you show high organizational ability with clear evidence of great results. It is at this point the world bows to you without asking. The rest of Africa was colonized but Ethiopia escaped the dehumanization scourge just for the reason that the same asset the invaders had, Ethiopia also had: well developed organization. This is the lesson of history we ought to know; that we should have developed our space and be a productive nation, very able to cater for our people, then the world will come saluting and all we do will be to thumb our chest and say strongly and with great pride that we too belong. It hasn’t happened, we know this much, it is the reason nobody takes us very seriously. Only a few not in a position to significantly alter our fortunes know why we are not making progress; the vast majority don’t know.
We don’t need to go very far to see what is wrong with us. When a leadership class doesn’t know value is far, far superior to vision and even power, they inevitably run an otherwise well-endowed society and their people to a state of perdition by way of reckless, thoughtless actions and standpoints. When you have a political class that stands for nothing, it is only a question of little time before events begin to show or prove they have been on the wrong lane for too long. Our leaders like octane politics; inside their attitude, words and actions are very inflammable seeds. Till today, the majority of our citizens don’t know why Boko Haram came, taking lives and destroying everywhere. What do they actually want? Is it such that we can’t discuss and find amicable solutions to? If it is poverty that is behind the brigandage, how come these deviants are able to recruit thousands and to buy sophisticated weapons?
Can a group be hungry and afford to be buying weapons of modern warfare? Aren’t some groups sponsoring them? Currently, there is this argument over who is a terrorist or bandit. If both kill and destroy with lethal weapons, what then is the difference? Wouldn’t calling these bandits terrorists give us the added impetus to deal with them squarely? Yet, we prevaricate while their misguided actions make human lives so cheap. The military came to power illegally and were motivated by demented civilians to distort structures that were outcomes of negotiations. The aberration is creating huge problems and stalling development. Instead of reason and good judgment many insist they have the power and must use it in its raw form; they forget that one can win a war but not the peace and if you can’t win the peace, nothing works.
There is so much cognitive dissonance. Evil politicians engaging in double speak, holding on at particular times to rich principles which they are not ready to stick to when the table turns against their interest and those of their group. Frantz Fanon told us even when new facts emerge validating their early positions, dubious leaders will still change on the excuse that several developments have changed their perspective of a standing and generally accepted principle. This is a major reason our country has not made progress.
Few hours before penning this discourse news broke that the Senate which rejected electronic transmission of results even when the electoral umpire said it could do so has reversed itself. For many of us it was no good news. Some felt that the Senate they ought have stuck to the path they chose earlier; while the debate went on, divisions grew along tribal and religious lines, this was and still is unfortunate. It happened because the norm of nepotism is high, some section in the 21st century still run with the false thinking they hold advantage and so could foist anything that could serve their narrow interest not that of the larger society and its future. Some of us saw Senator Kabiru Gaya from Kano state and Chairman, Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms on television praise the change in position; Yet, he is chairman of the committee who on the floor voted against the resolution of his committee for electronic transmission. Only in Nigeria would one see a chairman vote against the resolution of the committee he headed; See this level of absurdity! Now on what basis is he applauding the change in stance?
Now the North is almost completing an eight year, two-term tenure in a plural society. If we mean well, the seat should move to another section precisely the South East on account of peace, equity, fair play and justice. Suddenly hell is breaking loose and demons are finding their ways out into the country, cognitive dissonance is the tool. Those who held sound positions are changing positions, ideals they held dear have become obsolete and of no meaning. Octane politics is gaining ground. For many it is about numbers gotten on very spurious grounds, military unfair balkanization, so then the seat of President should be thrown up, that is democracy, they forget even America had to bend backwards to elect a Black whose father is African. They refuse to understand that democracy can also be about compromise.
Our former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is loved so we spare him an x-ray of his character but in 2011 this is what he told a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) convention when a Southern minority was President, “The founders of our party in their wisdom devised rules for rotation of power between the North and the South in response to cries of marginalization and dominion. We wanted peace and justice to reign. And we put it in our constitution (sect7:2c) and we know what a constitution means. The provision has not been altered. In 2002 an expanded caucus of our party met and reaffirmed that policy. I have always put Nigeria before my ambition.”
In October 2021, Atiku tells us, “Where the President comes from has never been the problem of our country, we never had Southern or Northern President but President of Nigeria.” He latches on to merit, somebody just reminded that the devil always precedes with noble intentions. When all sections are yet to have their place, we talk of merit. Would it be correct to say we can’t find competence across all the land? Merit is great but wouldn’t it have been far better to start it as a holistic package and get done with quota system, federal character, discriminative admission cut-off marks. Octane politics inflames, it doesn’t build.