When George Orwell wrote his world classic, Animal Farm, he may not have had Nigeria in mind. He may also not have had Nigerians in mind when he created those memorable animal characters in his allegorical novella. Although there are human and animal characters in Nigerian folktales, the use of animal metaphors in our political lexicon by our politicians makes me think that George Orwell may not be too far from us, even though he is a white man.
Apart from differences in race, language and colour, human beings are invariably the same. Since some human experiences are so universal, they obtain in other parts. Therefore, what happens in one environment or region of the world may also happen in another region. For instance, most colonized peoples whether in Africa or Asia, share common experiences of domination, deprivation, exploitation and alienation among others.
Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) and Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari’s deployment of animal metaphors in their separate but related Facebook postings that portray the power play in Aso Rock is worth interrogating. Not quite long ago, Aisha had accused some cabals of hijacking Buhari’s administration in her famous BBC interview. Buhari also retorted that his wife belonged to the kitchen, the living room and the other room.
Since Buhari left the country for another round of medical leave, things have not been the same in the country. Though the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has done well, there are fears that some people do not want him to exercise even the powers of the office even in acting capacity. The allegation of favouritism in the appointment of his key personal staff, which was later found to be untrue, is a case in point.
In fact, there are people who don’t want the country to move forward. Buhari’s lengthy medical leave is not healthy for the polity. As an acting President and with the menacing eyes of the cabals, there is a limit to what Osinbajo can do. His handling of the resurgent Biafra agitation, the Arewa youths quit notice to the Igbo and the persistent calls for restructuring of the country, though encouraging, justify my position.
In Buhari’s absence, some people might be up to a game, believing that he will not return. As a result of the power play, Senator Shehu Sani observes in a Facebook post that: “Prayer for the absent Lion King has waned. Until he’s back, then they will fall over each other to be on the front row of the palace temple. Now, the hyenas and the jackals are scheming and talking to each other in whispers; still doubting whether the Lion King will be back or not.
“Now, the Lion King is asleep and no other dare to confirm if he will wake up or not. It is the wish of the hyenas that the Lion King never wakes or come back, so they can be kings. It is the prayers of the weaker animals that the Lion King comes back to save the kingdom from the hyenas, the wolves and other predators.”
As if in response to Sani’s post, Aisha Buhari affirms that: “God has answered the prayers of the weaker animals. The hyenas and the jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom. We strongly believe in the prayers of the weaker animals. Long live the weaker animals. Long live Nigeria.”
Although the Sani and Aisha’s quotes have varying lengths, expressiveness and thematic range, they are virtually saying the same thing with related metaphors. Both are talking of Buhari’s presidency, his sickness, recovery and the pranks of the cabals. They refer to the cabals as hyenas, jackals and wolves. There are instances of cross references to the Lion King, kingdom, prayers and weaker animals in the two quotes.
As an animal, a lion can be described as a big cat but it can be used to refer to an individual who shows the strength and courage, attributes associated with the lion. Hyenas refer to large, canine-resembling carnivore while jackals refer to any of the several wild canine species. It can also refer to a person who performs menial/routine tasks or a person who behaves in an opportunistic way.
A wolf is a large wild canid of certain species of Canis lupus. It can refer to a man who makes amorous advance on many women. It can also refer to any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person. A predator refers to any animal or other organism that hunts and kills other organisms primarily for food. It can refer to someone who attacks and plunders for gain. It can also refer to a sexual predator. With these descriptions of the animal metaphors, Nigerians are free to guess those being referred to in the two distinct but related posts.
While the reference to the Lion King is positive, the reference to the hyenas, jackals, wolves and other predators are in the negative, though all of them are wild beasts. If by weaker animals, Aisha meant the masses, it can be regarded as positive as well.
Nigerians are also watching to see the human hyenas and jackals that will soon be thrown out of the kingdom. No doubt, the rumbles from the seat of power show that all is not well with the polity. The nation is sick and needed serious curative measures. All is indeed not well with this our animal farm where some animals are more equal than others.
That the nation is sick is why most Nigerians are daily calling for its restructuring while some groups are agitating for separate existence. Except the various component parts of the country sit down and decide their future in truth, equity, justice and honesty, so long will the hyenas, jackals and wolves of this kingdom be whispering and scheming for power.
Sending the hyenas and jackals out of the kingdom soon while the kingdom retains its imperfect systems and unjust structures will not help matters. Buhari’s Nigeria is sick and requires urgent surgical operations to keep it afloat. The hyenas, jackals and wolves are symptoms of the larger problems facing the nation. We suffer from structural imbalances and leadership deficits in all sectors.
Except these broken links are fixed, we still have to battle with more hyenas, jackals, wolves and other predators while our supportive and praying weaker animals wallow in abject poverty and neglect despite the long live wish. The president should get well and return to continue the job that Nigerians elected him to do. One thing Buhari should do is to listen to calls by Nigerians to restructure the country in the image and likeness they want.