Now, a contaminated nation
By Mohammed Bello Yunusa Since the country began to experience contaminated fuel, I have been trying to know what that means or translates to. I came to know that contamination, adulteration, half potent and ijebu are convenient synonyms. Contaminated fuel is a type that has other things or elements that make it of less quality […]
By Mohammed Bello Yunusa
Since the country began to experience contaminated fuel, I have been trying to know what that means or translates to. I came to know that contamination, adulteration, half potent and ijebu are convenient synonyms. Contaminated fuel is a type that has other things or elements that make it of less quality and low performance than a normal fuel.
In the first week of February this year, some half potent fuel was imported advertently or inadvertently as arguments for subsidy removal or non-removal were raging. The fuel, though similar to the Koko toxic waste, was released to the market. That is when troubles started for citizens who incurred high costs in vehicle damage and the subsequent unquantifiable loss of time or man hours as citizens struggled to access fuel at filling stations. Those who have not lost their vehicles to the adulterated fuel are incurring huge costs in terms of real productive time at fuel stations as several hours are spent to access fuel for various reasons. You see, ijebu fuel kills the economy.
The initial statement issued from the NNPC that there is enough fuel in stock only terminated at media announcement. The citizens are still wallowing in the consequences of toxic fuel importation and scarcity. Why? Public institutions charged with responsibilities of managing the situation are contaminated.
The fuel scandal is replicated in our lives every day. Forget the fact that Nigerians are basically consumers of second-hand commodities. In addition to second-hand and possibly third-hand machines and vehicles of all categories and uses, we import used pants, socks and all manners of undies. It is possible to have used toothpicks in our supermarkets. Why? Our import controls are diluted.
Beyond importation of accident vehicles as used vehicles, used vehicle parts are more patronised ahead of new parts. For instance, used head or rear light bulbs are rated better and more expensive than new ones. The new bulbs last only a few hours. Ordinary torchlights particularly from China are purchased by citizens who know for sure that they will be replaced in the next night or two. Why? The vehicle parts and torchlights are substandard or half potent.
The state is responsible for keeping law and order by protecting law-abiding and punishing the irritant. In our case, the law-abiding citizen has no avenues to seek redress and can become the victim of police, court and correctional centres poor delivery of fairness and justice. The citizens, too frustrated, often take the laws into their hands and this has left a huge moral question on the governance. Why? The system is perverted, fake or ijebu.
In this country, school systems are copied and pasted. That the nation has the wherewithal to impact the knowledge and skills is not an issue. The schools can be closed as long as the teachers want. It is not anybody’s duty to forestall such closure. It presents an opportunity for citizens to send their children and wards overseas for certificate courses. Public servants whose salaries cannot last two days in a month send their children and wards to the most expensive schools in Europe, America and the Middle East. We have a half potent anti-corruption crusade going on.
Our sense of national priorities is ijebu and half potent. The government has a huge number of primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions that are better described as degenerated, dilapidated and abandoned due to extreme poor funding. The same government spends a huge amount of money in millions of foreign currencies in the name of PTDF, TETFUND and federal scholarships to strengthen and boost other universities and economies. This is wasteful and anti-national development. Yet, beneficiaries are let go to labour markets of any country. Why? Our values and priorities are fake and adulterated.
Our youth, males and females, are adulterated. In communities, self-realisation and display of good manners are collective pride. Our youth, that are today not embodiment of African, American or European cultures, values and perspectives are merely wandering in the wilderness of life. Adults and elders are representations of dimmed beacons of hope and translucent role models. Successful artists, business people and thieves in whose offices unpocketable huge sums of money have vanished are equally celebrated. Why? Our collective conscience is polluted. We swim in a huge body of contaminated values and priorities.
The national security system is a sham; it is contaminated. Massive ritual, political and unexplainable killings and kidnapping have come to dominate the national life. The array of security agencies lacks the ability to forestall the trend. Citizens go about legitimate activities in high fears. Farmers purchase own securities to farm. Neighbourhoods buy own security from the open market to allay fears. The “big men” have bought and taken over public security personnel as private body guards. The substantial majority remains vulnerable and unprotected. The subsisting security provisions cannot meet citizen Ayokunle’s needs because it is diluted.
The one man one vote, a copy and paste system that is far removed from any known community process of establishing leadership and authority among indigenous people of Nigeria, has a heavy dose of contamination. It has come to be associated with one man multiple votes in Nigeria. The electoral system is fraught with several ills including unchecked dubious commercialisation. The mindsets of the politicians are that of buying naked and absolute power; in this, they invest in politics so as to guarantee unlimited access to our common wealth. The outputs are incapable, theft tempted and unwilling but powerful leaders. These sets of leaders deliver poor, diluted and badly contaminated governance and leadership.
From these, it is obvious that it is not the fuel that is fake and contaminated. Our national life is greatly perverted, diluted and heavily warped and contradicted. We lack priorities and adequate controls to progress as a nation. Our youth have lost direction and role models. If you look at Dr Fayemi and Fani-Kayode, their caps point to a role model. The youth must not be denied of this. As a nation, we must admit our individual and collective failure and collectively resolve to filter impurities in our ways and institutions. Inability to do these translates to perpetual contamination, ijebu modes of living indicated by poor security, poor governance, declining development and quality of life.
Yunusa is the Executive Director, Socioeconomic and Environment Advocacy Centre, Zaria