A country was emancipated from the dominance of another (non)-coloured people, and all her Tribes- people of all roots -rejoiced!
Alas! The celebration was repeatedly transient, fluctuated by a variety of Coup d’etat.
Shortly after they became independent , there came the first plague .
Tribalism.
It engulfed the air they inhaled, and no sooner had they suspected than it became systemic. It ran through all ranks and file, within the nooks and cranies of the land.
Several leaders came and went, most of them helplessly myopic.
Many policies got written on the pages of National dailies, the good ones unfortunately, ended prematurely.
A lot of views across many spheres of life, the elite and the less opportuned alike. Conferences and confab couldn’t save the day .Why? A good number of these opinions and clamours were deeply jaundiced.
If a family of many children with diverse interests exists, irrespective of their differences they should respect a common birth. A surname,a family name should envelop any nicknames they may have had.
Even if the uniting factor of a Country is questionable, should the common ground of humanity in people be negotiable?
Hardly had they begun on the long awaited journey than a national epidemic crept it.
Corruption!
A word, a notion, a way of life of some. Some others’ weekly sermon ,and the title to quite a number of prints.
It got more airtime than the gospel! Propaganda arose of whose umbrella shielded it, whose broom could sweep it all away.
All forgetting one simple logic.
It was neither physical that it could be covered , nor a substance of mater that could be flushed down the pit.
“Corruption is a delerious philosophy of right and wrong, a belief system, and state of the mind.”
It could only be conquered by a ‘recalibration’ of the default state of the mind…This is the curative psychotherapy that the people are in dire need of,the rebanding course required on a long-term.
The worst was yet to be seen, not until the tripartite effect of Kidnapping, Insecurity and Terror crept in into the land…
Along came a clamour, a voice, and an outcry-Secession.
An untold brutality;Much was lost,many were lost too. A gory sight, a painful memory, a lingering crisis…
There came a new family of discord branded by none else but the first culprit of the century.
Actually , a name wouldn’t fully fit in for a set of twins.
Militancy was the first, Insurgency was the other twin!
How these two got conceived and put to bed remained controversial,still they were nurtured by the milk and honey that all believed flowed in the land.
Surprisingly, as unwanted as their births remained acclaimed, the duo- Militancy and Insurgency– thrived and blossomed .
An anormaly of some sort…while the planned conceptions of expected normal growth became stillbirths, or worse.
Estates became losts , fields became camps for for the Internally Displaced Persons .
Many went on exile in their own land.
How did all these become their lot? A question on many lips. A cankerworm waiting to wreck havoc…
“A Country enriched with much became deprived of much; a land blessed with many, sadly, lost her affluence to the greed of only a few…”
Many other ills then crept in when the core defence was overwhelmed with ineptitude, with incompetency, lawlessness ruled the days and nights.
Where lies the redemption,any ray of light in these tunnels?
There could be,and if only these people retrace the lost core values that were once shared ,otherwise the old path leads only further away from independence; the old path leads into anarchy.
Unity of purpose to fight a common enemy.
A decision by all and sundry to be a positive change agent
‘Change’ ought to be more than a mantra or a perceived thought,but a way of living and minimum standard among noble norms.
Loyalty to the land , and not to some cabal,in purging out all vices- The vices already labelled as corrupt or unlawful , and also the ones yet to be written in Black ‘n White (which are just not right , by any known standards!)
“Rulership must be by example, leadership with reponsibilty ; ‘Followership’ by credence, and ownership with accountability.”
The only way to a better tomorrow is to rebuild the cracks of today.
The loot of a few should be retrieved and channelled to better the lots of many. That is the real Equity -to which any whom must come should do so with clean hands.
A new National pledge that Ambassadors of this land mustn’t forget…
The Pledge:
One creed – love
One calling – service to mankind
One expectation – sincerity of heart
One advocate – equity
One religion – humanity
One policy – honesty
One judge – conscience
One degree- hardwork
One resolve – unity
One occupation- brother’s keeper
One reward – posterity
One tribe – human
One character- Selflessness
One voice – everyone’s…
#Viva Nigeria!
~~In my own words~~
Femi is a Medical Doctor and a Writer.
