Just as darkness is the absence of light, so would I attribute violence, extra-judicial killings, acts of terrorism and every other social vice that has plagued this supposed great nation of ours to idleness. An idle mind isn’t just the devil’s workshop; it’s the devil’s headquarters. A hungry man can’t but be angry. So what happens when you have a hungry idle man? What a combination! You see him harassing commercial bus conductors, leading mob actions, waylaying helpless citizens etc.
“It must be clear that the Nigerian government cannot protect your workers or assets. Leave our land while you can or die in it…. Our aim is to totally destroy the capacity of the Nigerian government to export oil.”MEND warned the oil industry giants in January 2006 via email. They were true to their words as we know how many expatriates, civilians and law enforcement agents lost their lives ever since.
I rack my brain, trying to figure out the cause of these terrible happenings that befell Nigeria in the past few weeks, the #Aluu killings and that of Mubi amongst others. Despite that I don’t want to hastily conclude, I still want to say that idleness has a hand in it all.
I find it hard to comprehend the logic behind why the so-called trained police force, will have to be assisted by Vigilante groups, a group of uneducated, untrained men. Some states even go as far as passing laws to legitimize them. Sometimes, I wonder if deep thoughts were put into these decision making processes. The most bizarre twist is that these vigilante groups are answerable to no known authority, they are absolutely free. This however means that whenever they decide to go rogue, then nation better start preparing another amnesty plan.
Aint we tired of how emergency services arrive too late at emergency scenes or are we just going to sit in our “tokunbo” cars and pretend to be comfortable on roads that claim more lives yearly than even the Boko-Haram sect has ever done.
The judicial system has failed to the height that we now find enemies in the police force and friends with the devilish instinct to lynch our fellow citizens. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, former attorney general of the federation in his speech at October 1st Platforms 10.2 event, said categorically that Nigeria has the lowest number of convicts in record in the world, despite our population of over 150 million. It’s either that Nigerians are one of the most well behaved people in the world or the criminals are here with us. Don’t ask me! We all know which is correct.
As many of us who think that the best way out of this ‘naija’ palaver is to lay low, stay out of trouble, get a good education, don’t owe any debt, say your prayers and get a decent life, you just need to think again, because the stench from the rotting system will definitely catch up with you, either in the form insecurity, poor healthcare system, unemployment, injustice or insensitivity.
We must be reminded that democracy is a government of the people, for the people and by the people. The ‘people’ in the definition actually refers to the over 150million of us all, and just like the numerous parts of a motor, we are all just as important as one another in our functionalities, right from the president, through to the market women and the almajiris.
One mistake common to us Nigerians is thinking that the responsibility of managing this nation and our lives solely lies with the government, forgetting that we all have a part to play. Moreover, our government has not minced words in telling us that they don’t give a damn, and that we are all on our own and that not until our existence affects the daily production of crude oil or the ambience in the presidential villa, we are considered non-existent.
A system that doesn’t have measures for check and balances is one that is about to run aground. The Nigerian system was originally designed to check and balance itself (executive, judiciary and legislative) and curb one another’s excesses but what do we have today? The three arms have formed a coalition, taking us as far away from the promise land as we could get, what is worse is that they seem not to be relenting. No thanks to corruption.
A couple of weeks has passed as Lagosian are still trying to adjust to the new traffic laws which in my opinion is not the best our legislature could come up with. Let’s neglect that it is loaded with so much fine to the tone of #30000 and #50000, which makes me conclude that Fashola’s government is broke, the laws are victimizing, incomplete and also serves as a tool for harassment.
In 1972, right hand vehicles were banned, it became a law that anyone found on the road would be impounded and the licensing officers that registered such vehicles would be prosecuted. This law clearly states the object of concern (right hand vehicles) and who will bear the grunt should it find its way to the road (the owner of the vehicle and the licensing officer).
It’s high time we all manned our duty posts, screaming, praying, resisting, criticizing, encouraging, #occupying till things change, be law abiding, vexing because we all have a part to play in the betterment of this ‘great’ nation.
Jide Niyi-leigh
Jide_leigh@yahoo.com
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