By Victor. C. Ariole
If you inhabit a dung heap, you can still ensure that you are sitting on top of it. That is the other perspective…For you (power seekers), I have mounted a special perspective.
– Wole Soyinka: Chronicles, 5
Riding on any political party to power implies that a special perspective drives that party for it to willpower. However, the neuronal capacity of personalities or the main person driving the party to achieve the particular “special perspective” campaigned on could create hindrances or make great impacts and the metaphor of a dung-heap and the ability to make it a resource-heap is the special perspective Nigerians expect of the 2023 power hustlers.
Nigerians on their own, individually, work hard to make “lemonade out of the lemon”, the absence of good governance throw at them. In effect for the heap-dung they find in the polity, they make great effort to try to sit on top of it through the possibility of making a resource -heap out of it, seem to be always thwarted by a greater force beyond their immediate space— National; Like every now and then, National grid failure seems to be the order of the day.
Dung-heap could be transformed into gas or even fertiliser resource-heap and it takes the power seeker to transform it to a “special perspective” for the goodness of the majority, if that power seeker has a great neuronal disposition to withstand the vagaries of challenges and transform them to opportunities. During the Gulf war, it took the culturing of a maggot-like species to eat up the oil spill that made the place look like dung-heap. Just implant a modular refinery in each of the local governments and see what it means to follow a minimalist thought pattern to turn the dung-heap of Nigeria to a resource-heap with great number of artisans. Artisans in quantum, functional ones will turn dung-heap to resource-heap. On the basis of Nigerian dung-heap that is in dire need of being transformed into a resource- heap, the population of youths must be made relevant, and it seems the utmost National perspective, as the special perspective to be mounted to transform them into resource- heap. The best of those transformable heap is the over 2 million youths that ought to be in school who are now idling about as Federal and State universities are forced to close down as no interest is showed by the government to call a meeting to end the strikes embarked upon by the weaker force – the employees. The government as the strong force must learn to sit on top and turn a “dung-heap” to a resource- heap for the prosperity of Nigeria instead of an unwarranted extension of the dung heap.
The just-ended Nigerian Universities Games (NUGA) that attracted over 75 universities in Nigeria showed how zealous Nigerian Youths are and are willing to transform their raw energy into proving their worth and making Nigeria great. That gathering, as momentary as it was turned UNILAG into a pilgrimage site. This time not for prayers but to showcase their strength that seems wasting, out of no youth empowerment policy to have the youth transform Nigerian dung-heap to a resource-heap.
Hence the expected mounted special perspective for Nigerian politicians who are seeking power is: Youth Empowerment and Functional Infrastructure Development Backed By Sustainable Energy Supply. Enough of other sugar-coated rhetorics. The youths are not beggars. They need what could make them sit on top of the dung-heap and transform it to a resource -heap exportable to other countries especially the weaker African countries that need to wake up and strengthen the collective resolve of Africans to face the world in which Africa’s over 1.2billion population contribute merely 2 % of the world GDP.
The dung-heap is like what the Chinese rover just proved on the Martian surface by indicating that heating it to over 6000C could make oxygen available. The person or personalities sitting on top of the Nigerian dung-heap could provide heating material that could turn the heap to a great resource-heap. It is infrastructure, it is refined human capital, and it is motivation to set in motion the great potentials of the youth and make it sustainable.
Nigeria is capable of producing 5million barrels of oil a day and it is like a dung-heap if it is not locally transformed to be of service to Nigeria’s economy as both the human capital and the investing opportunities meet in such transformation. Implant modular refineries and change the youths’ perspectives to a special one
The challenges created by insecurity are mere signs of no personalities or person sitting on top of the heap like having greatly self-actualised people to energise the dung-heap to a resource heap and it starts by damping the dung-heap at a base to satisfy the physiological needs of Nigerians. That is, 200million Nigerians if well-identified, should never have any of them lacking in food and shelter, and it is possible. Brazil was able to do that from the time Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff took over in 2003 and 2011 respectively; their being victimised out of power notwithstanding. They were just seen as anti-feudalist personalities who must be stopped to continue seeing a more deprived black population in Brazil— covert or unexpressed 120million of a total population of 215 million Brazilians.
Just like in Nigeria, a section of the elite believes that poverty-ridden Nigerians must be allowed to remain poor to avert competition for resource control with their preferred offspring. What a weak mindset! Sage Awolowo said it: those people you failed to educate could come up, one day to be your nightmare, and it is happening as Gumi reports that over 100,000 of them are in the bush armed with K47 or AK 49 making life unbearable everywhere in Nigeria. So, among those seeking to be president in 2023 – APC: Bakare, Tinubu, Osinbajo, Bello, Amaechi, Ngige, Umahi, Okorocha; PDP: Obi, Fayose, Anyim, Ohuabunwa, Saraki, Tambulwal, Wike, Bala, Atiku and others like Moghalu and Hiudeen—Nigeria should mount a special perspective barrier for them and evaluate their vision on such special perspective.
Major Paul Kagame took up such a special perspective, sat on top of a “dung-heap” in Rwanda and today made it a resource-heap serving its neighbors in East and Central Africa.
Ariole, Professor of French and Francophone Studies, University of Lagos