The value system of the old, emptiness, delinquency of the new: The story of our tragedy (IV)
The gradual depletion and subversion of our values in our public life over the last 40 years or so has resulted in this tragedy, where our sense of right and wrong has been blurred, our pecking order and respect for hierarchy have crumbled, and our sense of shame has all but disappeared, leaving us in […]
The gradual depletion and subversion of our values in our public life over the last 40 years or so has resulted in this tragedy, where our sense of right and wrong has been blurred, our pecking order and respect for hierarchy have crumbled, and our sense of shame has all but disappeared, leaving us in this wilderness where crooks have taken over the leadership of our otherwise great country.
Under the tutelage of these despicable characters, the values of contentment, honesty, humility, diligence, consideration for the other, fairness and justice, etc., have been thoroughly divested and dethroned, and people like Gen. Gowon must be groaning silently seeing how decency is made to stand on its head and how our society continues to sink into the abyss.
The tragedy is that today, we cannot really say what our society stands for. As Frank Sonnenberg said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything”. Indeed, our society, especially our political leadership, is falling for anything, just anything! Recall what is happening in our National Assembly, ostensibly the ultimate saviour of the common man?
In fact, the appellation ‘politician’ today conjures an image of deceit, dishonesty, falsehood, shamelessness and of course corruption. Consequently, not many of us in politics wish to be known or addressed as politicians.
How did all this gradual dismantling of our value system happen? This may not be the place for details, but it is not fair either to simply gloss over it.
First, secular environments are not the best of atmospheres to grow and nurture values. And we can see this in the gradual dissolution of the moral fabric of Western, specifically American societies. Today, the LGBT movement in the West has destroyed the institution of the family, the cradle for the transmission of values.
As our societies become Westernised, we also become devalued, mimicking the Western metropolis. Second, as Prof. Smith of blessed memory would say, it is the job of teachers and leaders to give the young a glimpse of things worth fighting for.
Indeed teachers and leaders of old did and the records are in their books. But today our religious, educational and political leadership have become sucked into this blind pursuit of money. Politics used to be called a game of numbers, but our politicians have turned it into a game of naira (at the primary elections, it is US dollars).
Third, the consequent moral vacuum has now been occupied by corruption in all its dimensions. Political corruption in particular has become the strongest institution in the country, invariably determining the next president, the next cabinet and generally calling the shots! Here we are, down and out, at the mercy of crooks, who are bent on unleashing their hedonistic agenda, tearing apart what remains of our moral fabric and pushing the polity to another precipice.
Many wise men have advised us that society is always a reflection of the values that define it. Fredrick Douglass said, “The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous.”
Nelson Mandela had occasion to say that “As the years progress, one increasingly realises the importance of friendship and human solidarity. And if a 90-year-old may offer some unsolicited advice on this occasion, it would be that you, irrespective of your age, should place human solidarity, the concern for the other, at the centre of the values by which you live.”
It will be pertinent to recall that this advice on human solidarity, justice and fairness has been a recurring theme in precolonial African governance. A little over two centuries ago, Usman Bn Fodio had occasion to say (in his Bayan Wujub al-Hijra) that, “A kingdom can endure with unbelief but it cannot endure with injustice.”
Abdullahi, his brother, wrote in Diya ul-Hukkam, “Two most shameful things are arrogance in a learned man and falsehood in a leader. If you converse, be truthful. When you make a promise, fulfil it. Beware lest your deeds march short of your words.”
Shehu Usman added a warning, “When God desires to destroy a State, He hands its affairs to the extravagant sons of the rulers whose ambition is to magnify the status of State power, to obtain their desires and indulge in sins.” So help us God. (Concluded)
Text of speech delivered to mark Gowon at 90, organised by Barewa Old Boys Association (BOBA) on November 9, 2024, in Abuja