Patriots and scoundrels

-So?-So what? Oh, the latest? Well, let’s see, ok here are a few notions— the phoney ceasefire, the precipitous drop of oil price and its expected effect on the economy, APC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s N1 per annum salary if and when he becomes president. Should I go on? -Phoney ceasefire?  Why? -You really want […]

-So?
-So what? Oh, the latest? Well, let’s see, ok here are a few notions— the phoney ceasefire, the precipitous drop of oil price and its expected effect on the economy, APC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s N1 per annum salary if and when he becomes president. Should I go on?
-Phoney ceasefire?  Why?
-You really want an answer? It is staring us all in the face. Ever since the ceasefire was announced, Boko Haram has not for a moment let up from its dastardly campaign of violence and destruction. Uprooted by the military from Gwoza which the insurgents had seized, they have now moved to Mubi, sacked it and dispersed its inhabitants who had to flee for their dear lives. What sort of ceasefire is that?
– But the government insists it stands by the agreement, could the continuing acts of mayhem then be some kind of one last act of infamy or braggadocio on the part of the insurgents, one last flurry of evil act just to tell government that ceasefire or no ceasefire they would continue to do as they want?—
-Which makes the word phoney very apt. The thing with armed insurrection is that once it starts it is difficult to put down and the reason for this is that it has no command structure. As soon as recruits are trained in how to shoot and sent on operation, they are no longer answerable to the group head and in no time several cells develop operating independently of one another. Sometimes they become antagonistic to one another and this rivalry could be so intense as to cause a major fight for supremacy. In such circumstance, how can you be certain you are dealing with the dominant group whose words are binding on the other groups?
–You mean there are several insurgent groups? –
–I wouldn’t know. All I’m saying is that in a situation where the ink on the ceasefire agreement had hardly dried up before the insurgents resumed their nefarious acts, means one thing and it is that either the whole ceasefire thing was a pact with some inconsequential unit of the insurgents with little or no influence on the group or that the whole escapade was all a hoax calculated to achieve a predetermined outcome.-
-Hoax to achieve a predetermined outcome, which in plain language means what?—
–Your guess is as good as mine-
-So we’re back where we started– the abductions of women, killing of innocent people and the sacking of whole villages and rural abodes of law abiding citizens will continue…
-You bet they will and unabatedly too, making an all-out war with the insurgents inevitable-
-But that is a situation nobody wants. It’s too grim a prospect and besides, it’s having unintended consequences-
-And how’s that?—
-Without the war against insurgency how else would we have known that the armoury of the military was depleted or inadequate for the campaign, so much so that there was this apocryphal story that the insurgents were wielding better arms than our soldiers, some of whom, finding themselves outgunned, had to beat hasty retreats during several encounters. And in a desperate attempt at solving the problem, plane load of raw cash had to be flown to South Africa to purchase arms and ammunition, quite against that country’s law against financial transactions—
–So where are the unintended consequences there?
–Oh! Your malaria has befuddled your gumption! The monies, billions of them and in dollars too, were seized by the South Africa authorities. They did that not once but twice and as I’m talking to you I’ve no recollection that they’ve released the monies-
–The South Africans are still holding on to the money?—
–Well, I‘ve not read anywhere or heard that the monies have been released. Though Goodluck Jonathan and his people are not showing their anger about the incident from the roof top, nonetheless, it has muddied the usually calm diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africa.—
–But who gives a damn about soured relations, the South African authorities should return the monies—all of it to the last kobo or else—
–Or else what? What’ve they done wrong? You broke their law as it pertains to international financial transactions and they acted as they saw fit, and now you are throwing tantrums, as Fela Kuti would say, you are just doing shakara and putting on yanga. There is nothing you can do about it–
–Look, this a matter of patriotism. No country rubbishes my country without exciting my umbrage. If you’re not patriotic, I am. Right or wrong my country first. Ingrates– that is what they are. Nigeria stood by them during their period of trial. While under Racist rule, Nigeria gave money for the war of liberation effort, provided sanctuary for those fleeing apartheid persecutions, and scores of South Africans took degrees from our universities. Now that they are free, they are poking their fingers into our eyes.
Ingrates!
–And I say yours is an impotent umbrage, lacking in sense and reason. Recounting Nigeria’s past effort at decolonisation, particularly as it concerned South Africa may be a good display of historical knowledge but it misses the point. If those governing Nigeria are so full of themselves that they break all the laws and go scot free, an odious attitude that has given the word impunity currency; by seizing our money, the South Africans have showed us that laws are there to be obeyed and this applies to both the high and mighty as well as the lowly and the wretched. Come to think of it, why must a self-respecting country seek to smuggle such a huge sum of money into another country? The whole sordid affair smacks of something morally and ethically odorous. So, by all means get angry and take umbrage but direct them to the appropriate quarters.
Anything less amounts to playing the ostrich-
–I insist, good or bad my country first—
–Well, I rest my case but not before saying that patriotism and such nationalistic fervour, in a situation like this are the refuge of scoundrels, with due respect. As long as you remain misguided, so long would you continue to suffer humiliation in the hands of countries that normally should show you respect and honour—
 –Ha! Scoundrel, misguided etc, you cannot sustain a rational argument without resorting to abuse. You’re nothing more than a South African lap dog! Ethically and morally, South Africa is not any better than Nigeria, have you forgotten that when Jacob Zuma is not chasing women around Johannesburg or is it Pretoria, he is busy building mansions with government money. Deny it, lap dog— –I rest my case–