In Adamawa, hate-mongers rule

But then, why should I care? I am after all only a stakeholder but not an insider, indeed, if there is any stake left in the state, to die for.Yes, I realise that when the people of Adamawa State speak about its affairs, they do so with a lot of venom and despair. They speak […]

But then, why should I care? I am after all only a stakeholder but not an insider, indeed, if there is any stake left in the state, to die for.
Yes, I realise that when the people of Adamawa State speak about its affairs, they do so with a lot of venom and despair. They speak ill of the leaders and wish that everything that has been happening in the state were different; this is despite the fact that many so-called Indigenes of the state are actually not themselves loving their neighbour. But I am not a hypocrite like them. I will tell it as it is.
I know my roots and they spread across the state but I wasn’t even born anywhere near home. Yet I believe that I have as much right to be bothered about Adamawa state as anyone else and my fellow Adamawa people have just as much right as me. And still the question remains: why do I care?
I don’t have any answers because I am not a very philosophical man. Yet I know this; I have no desire to live in the state because of the ugliness in it. Most of the sad tales of this democracy have their roots in Adamawa; it once had a governor who had no compunctions being somebody else’s boy; the most recent ruling party chairman and the oldest to serve in modern Nigeria’s politics comes from there; it produced the first and most powerful Vice President in this democracy; yet it remains one of the most backward in terms of social infrastructure, liberal democracy, welfare of the civil servant, poverty alleviation mechanisms, healthcare delivery, respect for human rights, social harmony, resource management and what has now become the latest word in our democratic lexicon, “stomach infrastructure.”
I loved my significant time in Adamawa as a child, to the extent that I always planned that I would leave the state and only come home to rest and wake no more. But I no longer think it is home anymore. The state is now worse than the grave that I had desired. It makes one a rolling stone that gathers all moss wherever one finds himself. Today anywhere I lay my head becomes my home; it is so shameful to see that in spite of its enormous natural and human resources, it has lagged among the most poorly managed and brutally abused states, thanks to its very selfish and sadly, extremely uncivilized public officials.
Forgive the overly sentimental tangent this article is taking, but I am trying to make sense of my world as I write. It is hard to be purely rational when one’s home is being serially destroyed by bigoted, small-minded, cruel bush people.
Adamawa state is my home. I grew up there. My memories and identity are tied to the place. My tastes, my relationships, my way of thinking, in short everything that makes me the individual that I am, are due to this state.
But what kind of place is it now? It has become a place where the vicious behead people, where government officials are unwilling or incapable of making judgments based on the principles they have sworn to uphold. It is a place where cowardly leaders think only of their children, their wives, our votes and not of moving the state forward or making living worth its while.
There is so much negativity going on which is affecting our basic needs of hearth and security. While the wheels of disharmony turn, the ordinary folk are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet; thugs set the agenda. Non-issues become the state’s central debating points. Since 1999 Adamawa has lost its selling points and dullards are screaming malicious words with God on their lips and hatred in their hearts.
All these in a state with so much potential and wealth. If only we can ensure that the truly needy, regardless of their creed are protected and helped; if we can move the education system to produce thinking people and not kangaroos; if we can create a government in all its guises which is dedicated to honesty and the rule of law, the state wouldn’t be in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Then the future will be more secure for all of us. This is all within reach.
Instead there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel and all I see is darkness populated by hate-mongers. It shouldn’t be so. If the face of Adamawa is as twisted and ugly to you as it is to me, we should do something. We must challenge our elected representatives to tell us why things go so wrong.
We can support the downtrodden. We can gather together in huge numbers to make a stand not for any political reason, but to show the bigots that they are not the only ones in Adamawa state and that their cruelty is unwelcome.
We can think for ourselves and not simply allow those with so-called authority to dictate our thoughts. We can be fearless indeed, words and thoughts to uphold the values that our state needs to hang on to fairness, compassion, kindness, freedom and justice. This country is becoming so hateful and in my opinion, Adamawa people are unwittingly spearheading it all.