To the myopic mind, this article might be disgusting. However the fact is that Nigerians are stupid people who deserve what they’ve got. Yes, Nigerians deserve the misery, enslavement and degradation a clique of politicians have inflicted on them. How you may ask, are Nigerians stupid?
Majority of Nigerians and are not prepared to emancipate themselves and their children from tyranny and oppression. When I say Nigerians I do not refer to the few set of people who have gallantly stood up against injustice and oppression. When I say Nigerians, I am referring to a great number of us, who are scared to stand up for our rights. My aim is to reach out not to political activists, but to the grumbling masses. Yes, the grumbling masses are very stupid indeed! Anyone who cannot stand up for his right is stupid and deserves the situation he finds himself in. Collectively, Nigerians are stupid for allowing a clique of politicians to steal what belongs to them. Yes, collectively we deserve what we’ve got and we will continue to get more deprivation until we stand up for what is right.
My past articles have brought me nothing but trouble. I receive deaths threats daily and my dear mother told me to quit expressing my views. I took time out to analyze why I do what I do and I now understand why we as Nigerians have been psychologically shackled for so long. I told my mother that I must die someday and so will she. I told her if it means for me to die, I would die for expressing how I feel. My mother told me I must be mad to say that. I then told my mother that she is wrong, has been wrong and will remain wrong in that aspect. Yes, my mother like your father and mother, like our political fathers and mothers have gotten it all wrong! They were and are still too scared to die for their rights. The average Nigerian sees someone who is killed protesting against injustice and oppression as a fool. The average Nigerian thinks he or she is wise to have kept quiet when others were killed protesting for their rights.
The average Nigerian is a fool who deserves all the misery and deprivation he experiences. Why should some politicians hold millions of Nigerians to ransom for over 40 years if the people are not stupid? We deserve what we’ve got because we collectively shied away from fighting for what is right.
I have always wondered what we as Nigerians would have done if we were in the shoes of the blacks in South Africa during the regime of apartheid. With the current mindset of Nigerians, I believe the regime of apartheid would still have been in place. Collectively as one people the blacks in South Africa fought and died for justice. Young and old protested to their deaths until justice was served. Ask yourself this question ‘can I die for what I know is right?’ ‘Will I be a fool if I die protesting against injustice and oppression?’
For over 40 years, the military and political class has used intimidation and brutality to crush dissent. They know that Nigerians are stupid and scared. They know that if they shoot at you and kill you, others will flee. They know that if you are thrown into jail others will never fight for justice. Who is then the fool? Collectively we are fools who deserve what we’ve have gotten. Until we change this attitude prosperity will never come. Change is in our hands, we must fight for it even if it means protesting till we die. Was Malcolm X a fool? Was Martin Luther King a fool? No! They were not fools to die for what they believed in. These are Black Men like you and I who were willing to die for justice.
How long will Nigerians continue to be afraid of death? We must die someday whether we like it or not. We must die someday whether we are poor or rich. Just as I will never allow anyone rape my wife and go unpunished, so I will never allow anyone to rape my rights and go unpunished!
I believe in a Nigeria where everyone created in the image of God is free and equal.
I believe in a Nigeria were the rights of the weak and poor are respected.
I believe in a Nigeria where the people elect those who should govern them.
I believe in a Nigeria where the resources in my land are used to develop my people.
I believe in a Nigeria where the rulers do not steal what belongs to everyone.
I believe in a Nigeria where a Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw etc agree how they should to live together.
Anything short of that is a crime against my conscience and against my God given freedom!
Anything short of that gives me the right to self determination!
I have decided to die for what I believe in. How about you?
Dr. Howard Lawson Jaja
New York
USA
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