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Rebranding our collective Amnesia

July 25, 2009

Amnesia is a medical condition where the person suffers from memory loss. In Nigeria most of us suffer from collective amnesia, though not yet a documented medical condition but a condition nevertheless that refers to our generous ability to overlook past misdeeds of  public office holders and go on bended knees to offer them fresh (and juicer) public positions. In other climes your sterling performance while in public office is a sine qua non for your movement to a higher public office. Here in Nigeria it is a different story with all manner of people who by any standard can be labeled crooks, having easy passage into public office with nobody raising an eyebrow.


People commit all sorts of crimes against the people and do not blink an eyelid when it comes to asking them for their vote. A politician can actually call Nigerians stupid and at the next election he will be requesting “stupid” people to vote for him. I am amazed that a man who once told Nigerians that phones and air travel are not meant for the poor could find his way through the ballot box to get elected into the senate. Not one journalist has thought it fit to ask the “honourable” senator if he was misquoted when he made the statement or if civilian life had made him to see the poor in a different perspective, because I fail to see how anyone with scant regard for the poor can preside over a body that makes laws for Nigerians, majority who simply exist below the poverty line. So it came to me as no surprise when he was quoted to have told a group of visiting Nigeria professionals that “all is well with Nigeria!” As long as he and his cronies are feeding fat on the sweat of hopeless, downtrodden and emasculated Nigerians, then it is “well with Nigeria.”

What of the two popular ladies in the legislature who decided to dip their hands into government coffers? Funnily enough both have a connection with the former president of Nigeria. While one is his daughter the other was rumoured to be very close to him. Though that is not the issue, what surprises me here is that all too soon Nigerian have developed their usual amnesia to the fact that these ladies were involved in financial scandals. Soon they will decide to vie for higher elective office and with their utter disregard for what Nigerians think of them, coupled with the prevailing amnesia they might just win! Ordinarily, with the type of scandal they were involved in, they ought to have respectfully resigned but they didn’t because they knew that Nigerians will forgive and forget all as usual!

What of the former number two man in the military junta who escaped death by whiskers over his alleged involvement in a coup plot and who had to shed tears on bended knees to appease a junior officer ,sending people led by his daughter to request for amnesty for him and the restoration of his  rank(am not quite sure if they didn’t ask for arrears of salary).What makes this type of amnesia annoying is that instead of thanking God daily that Abacha did not live to execute the judgment of the military tribunal they decide to insult Nigerians by requesting for amnesty. This was a man that was part of Abacha’s government and obviously benefited from the government. Why this same man (not General since his rank is yet to be restored) has not come out to tell Nigerians who masterminded all the atrocities committed in a government where he held sway as number two beats my imagination. Was he forced to be the number two man in the government? During his days as military administrator what benefits did he live behind in his state? If he wants amnesty can’t he speak for himself instead hiding behind his daughter!

Former Governors who ruined their states and who have thick case files with the anti graft agency (EFCC) have now found their way to ministerial positions and as usual with our collective amnesia no one has bothered to ask what qualifies a man who did not perform as governor for ministerial position. Sadly, a cursory look at the ministries handled by these ex-governors revealed that “the more things change the more they remain the same.” The ministries they preside over will simply not be found in the list of Federal ministries impacting positively on Nigerians. Perhaps they are aware that Nigerians easily forgive and forget, so tomorrow if one of them decides to try his luck in a presidential election nobody will remember that he failed Nigerians both as a Governor and a Minister.

Two years gone (down the drain?) we have all forgotten the lofty promises of our dear President on how his priority will be to declare a state of emergency in the energy sector, revamp the economy and put the smile back on the face of the ordinary Nigerians. Maybe his amnesia made him to forget his promises or is it Nigerians who developed amnesia and forgot the promises made by Mr. President?

In Nigeria, public official officials are not held accountable for their statements, actions or inaction. To these public officials, the masses (read Nigerians living below poverty level) are just statistics, a mere number to be added up during elections. In other nations “a hungry man is an angry man” It is a fact that majority of Nigerians are hungry (though as one public official said years back…”Nobody can say Nigerians are hungry until they start to eat out of garbage cans!) but the hunger in Nigerians has not made them angry contrary to the popular notion; instead it has led to amnesia. In our villages, Universities (where they ought to know better) and Churches, we all honour public officials and conveniently forget that the wealth they are parading is our money they stole. The wry smile etched on their face when honours are bestowed on them, is the same smile they wear on their face when they condescendingly tell the masses that they will remain poor because they don’t work hard enough and that it is height of laziness and irresponsibility for them to expect the government to do everything for them (read for government to perform its duties).

Until we can cure ourselves of this malaise of collective amnesia by holding public officials accountable for their action or inaction, this nation will keep on drifting like a rudderless ship lost at sea. Waiting for the Messiah that will come and change Nigeria for the better is like waiting for Godot! Our crude mentality of resigning to faith with the attitude of “it’s their time, let them chop (eat) and go” will only lead us to disaster. Its time for change, our destiny lies in our hands, we must act now!

 

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