Emperor (Jonathan) Nero fiddles…

Known for his erratic temperament and night time frolicking, Nero’s actions were always good natured but tended to be irresponsible, profligate and decadent. He was extravagant and behaved inappropriately focusing much of his attention on merrymaking as a result of which he slowly but surely descended into a hedonistic lifestyle.  Spending lavishly on self indulgence […]

Known for his erratic temperament and night time frolicking, Nero’s actions were always good natured but tended to be irresponsible, profligate and decadent. He was extravagant and behaved inappropriately focusing much of his attention on merrymaking as a result of which he slowly but surely descended into a hedonistic lifestyle.  Spending lavishly on self indulgence and revelry Nero was in the habit of reacting harshly to any form of criticism or perceived disloyalty. In order to finance his excesses he needed money so he set about getting it however he pleased.
Apart from selling positions in public office to the highest bidder, increasing taxes, and taking money from the temples, he devalued the currency and reinstituted the Emperor’s powers to confiscate property. The persecution of Christians was a feature of Nero’s rule and Christian tradition and secular historical sources hold him responsible as the first major state sponsor of religious persecution. He was a budding musician with a passion for the arts and spent much more time in these pursuits than handling the affairs of State.
During his reign there was a great fire in Rome and when the pending disaster was reported to Nero he was playing his musical instrument and refused to be distracted. By the time the fire had burned itself out the city lay in ruins. When the scope of the damage was revealed Nero became known as the Emperor who “fiddled while Rome burned”. Over the years it has become a figure of speech that anyone who spends time concentrating on irrelevancies or frivolities in the face of mounting problems is likened to Nero. There is a similarity between Nero and our President and First Lady.
Our “First Couple” have become so used to junketing and self indulgence that they are impervious to how obscene their open revelry is to the general public. Coming at a time when Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks and all hands need to be on deck to put an end to the needless slaughter of innocent Nigerians, hundreds of security personnel were deployed at the venue of the International Conference Centre where a meaningless junket in the name of “Centenary Celebrations” was being held. Just as most Nigerians thought that struggling to purchase fuel had become a thing of the past, queues returned to our petrol stations. In the midst of the hardships caused by this new wave of fuel scarcity, the First Couple, together with the rich and powerful, revelled in the finest food, wines and champagnes.
The first lady, who is supposed to be the “mother of the nation”, has been accused by opposition leaders of dancing on the graves of innocent children. Two weeks after the killing of more than 29 school children in their beds, neither her husband nor herself, has shown befitting sorrow about the tragedy. Our president has not visited the State but is busy touring the nation to launch his as yet unannounced bid for re-election. In a nationwide broadcast he made only passing reference the killings, and instead chose to dwell on, and be upbeat about prospects for the future. The first lady is President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) and, rather than commiserate with the families of the slain 29 children, she was instead hosting a gala night for visiting first ladies and organizers of the National Youth Concert held in Abuja.
Her appreciation of what peace is all about became very clear when she commended Nigerian youths and those who participated in the revelry for “showing a high sense of patriotism and the spirit of oneness through their peaceful conduct”.  Apparently, she is unaware that the peace the nation is looking for has little to do with good behaviour at social events and a lot to do with freedom from widespread Boko Haram killings, armed robbery, kidnapping and political thuggery!
That neither “Mama Peace” nor her handlers could see anything wrong in the self-indulgent show of self-congratulation, revelling, and dancing to teenage music, illustrates the current disconnect between the rulers and the ruled. As part of the events marking this year’s International Women’s the First Lady was involved in another junket honouring “women friendly” leaders” of the Ogun State Chapter of the PDP. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has advised the President to take a cue from what pertains in America whose democracy we claim to be copying.  As Commander in Chief he must not give the impression that there are parts of the country he cannot visit. All American Presidents visit towns where tragedies have occurred.
In January this year, the U.S. president visited Tennessee to address students and reassure them because one student was killed in their school.  This was not the first occasion in which he travelled to sympathize with innocent victims of tragic violence. In 2012, he paid a similar visit to Newtown in Connecticut where he met with the relatives of the twenty schoolchildren and eight adults who were shot. Our president even though he is the leader of all Nigerians has not been able to find the time to visit victims to sympathize and give succour. He was however able to find time to junket to Ilorin the Kwara State Capital wasting taxpayer’s money in the process of receiving political leaders decamping to his party.  This junketing merely trivializes the Presidency especially when it involves tasks surely better suited to the national chairman of the party. After the failed hope of over fifty years our president feels that another junket in the form of a “national conference “can solve our problems. Everyone else knows that youth unemployment, rising poverty, increasing militancy and de-industrialization cannot be cured by a Conference. Our president should stop being like Nero, fiddling while his nation burns.