I had a dream

After greeting and hugging with a couple of my old comrades I asked about the reason for the gathering of the crowd. I was told that residents of a particular compound were locked up by unknown persons and were told not to attempt coming out. Then a debate broke out about the state of the […]

After greeting and hugging with a couple of my old comrades I asked about the reason for the gathering of the crowd. I was told that residents of a particular compound were locked up by unknown persons and were told not to attempt coming out. Then a debate broke out about the state of the nation.

It was a Tower of Babel and everyone had to shout to be heard. Over the deafening din, I distinctly recall two of the arguments. Basil from the Southeast was positing that the problem with Nigeria was Northerners who contribute nothing to the nation but insist on enjoying equal privileges with Southerners. According to him, it was Southerners who really fought, struggled and worked hard to build the country. I could not resist asking him whether there would Nigeria as we know it today if Northerners did not sacrifice their lives in leading other compatriots to fight for the reunification of the country following the senseless civil war of 1967-1970.

When he argued that this was the only contribution the North ever made, I asked him whether tilling the soil to produce almost all the food and cash crops that sustained the country before the oil doom and subsequent descent to dependence on imports did not constitute hard work, he failed to give a coherent answer. I added that till today, most of the drudgery and hard work seems to be done mainly by the Northerners. “Who are the majority of farmers, cattle-rearers, butchers, labourers, shoe-shiners, security guards, hewers of wood and drawers of water?” I asked.

The second argument was proffered by Henry from the South-south who argued that what the nation needed was for all its people to sit down and discuss devoid of any preconditions and no-go areas. According to him, such a conference of all stakeholders is necessary to fashion out a model of running the country more efficiently for peace and progress commensurate to its natural endowments.

Somehow, Henry’s argument seemed more sensible since it did not attempt to lay the blames for Nigeria’s woes on any section. It also clearly preferred dialogue to an Ill-defined confrontation between self-styled progressives and so-called parasites! Indeed, his position points to the fact that not all or even most Southerners are belligerent just as not all or most Northerners are parasites. It is further proof that profiling and stereotyping based on tribe, religious belief and sectionalism are just instruments used by power-mongers from all sections of the country to further their selfish goals.

However, I still disagreed with Henry on the main core of his argument. There have been enough, in fact too many, talk-shops on and about the way forward for Nigeria. There were just three simple things to be said: one, the country is clearly adrift, heading towards the brink and its citizens facing imminent catastrophe; two, the current ruling class not only cannot remedy the situation but are the cause of the calamity and three, the simple and sincere people have to take back their country – or risk losing it to a cult of mercenaries. At this point, the debate died down and I wanted to know Basil and Henry’s reaction when a knock on my gate woke me up. It was 10am.

I used the opportunity to stroll out to see my ill neighbour whom I met outside his own gate discussing the strike situation with a bunch of other neighbours. Everyone seemed to be in full support of the action and wished it would finally end the regime of bad governance and injustice that has been the lot of the country for several decades now. However, it is as the saying goes: “If wishes were horses beggars would be princes.”

With nothing else to do, I went back to bed and tried to figure out the meaning of the dream I had. The best answer I could come up with is that it was like the talk on the street – mere wishful thinking. It needs to be carried to the next level or remain a pipe dream.

Nigerians have been struggling for the entrenchment of democracy and good governance since the era of military rule but the return of democratic governance in 1999 has produced a civilian dictatorship that is even more corrupt and ineffective than the soldiers. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has managed to drive the country into crises that even incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan recently described as worse than the civil war. Corruption, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and now insecurity have reached unprecedented levels yet the PDP still gets “elected” overwhelmingly.

And just when the people have started asking questions, the government created a perfect bogeyman in the name of Boko Haram to terrorise the citizenry and lately manipulate their religious and sectional sentiments in order to exercebate disunity. Now, even ordinary people are aware that beyond the original ragtag Boko Haram, there is a conspiracy involving local and international forces determined to cause maximum chaos and possibly civil war for economic and political gains. Meanwhile, security forces who would receive one quarter of the federal budget this year continue to kill, maim, impoverish and otherwise brutalise innocent civilians in the name of restoring peace which they destroyed in the first place.

The situation now calls for the fullest strike and massive protest against not just the removal of fuel subsidy but all the senseless abuse of power that the people have been subjected to over the decades. The ongoing strike presents just such an opportunity for mass action.

So, what is stopping us from taking concrete action to change our fortune? Basically, it is the fear of death, deprivation, detention or injury. Yet, we know that nothing good comes without effort; great change needs much sacrifice; fortune favours the brave. Moreover, any one above the age of 40 really has nothing to lose and everything to gain by joining the war against injustice. According to the current life expectancy in the country, we have less than ten years left to live. Why don’t we sacrifice these to help endow a better nation for our children and grandchildren who would hopefully pray for us in gratitude?

Muhammad Hassan-Tom is an Abuja-based public affairs analyst