A little boy woke up one morning and discovered a vacancy at the most crucial session of the family’s past time. The place of his Dad was vacant. He had grown too fond of this person before his disappearance. He ran to his mother and asked, “Where is my Daddy?” His siblings pretend all was okay without the visible presence of the Dad. The little boy, though considered to be immature, knew that for his Dad to be absence at that time meant something other than what his mother and siblings are pretentiously indoctrinating him. But how long will they keep the secret? No balloon can stay too long under water by itself. Secrets have their way of popping out to the open!
One day, he heard a clue and knew that his Dad was dead. “But why didn’t they tell me earlier?” he asked. One fateful day, the boy ran wild at everybody and to everybody’s hurts. Because he lost his security and no one cares to give him any. Though every body pretended that without the father, every thing goes on well, but the child knew the importance and the part the father plays to shape him until he is man enough to take care of himself.
The scenario pictures Nigeria. It is over forty days since Mr. President’s exit out of the country with no substantial proving of his being alive or dead. No information on how he is fairing. No word came from him to let Nigerians know that he is their president. Even in this era of modern communication sophistication, no picture of Mr. President has been shown to Nigerians to help them know that their “father” is hale and kicking or fighting to survive whatever ill-fated ailment that has befallen him. Since the disappearance of Mr. President, the House of Assemblies, Minister, Governors etc. fed us with one bull story after the other that Mr. President is okay. But how long will this secret be kept? And why the delays on having the Vice President run the affairs of this nation before the President’s returns? Nigerians needs an explanation. Otherwise, like our little dear boy in our anecdote, chaos is brewing and may soon burst loose.
Silence, they said, is the best answer! But Nigeria’s silence is not an answer to a choice made with good conscience but a recompense of inactions that brought the present crop of leaders into power. It was evidently proved that the 2007 elections were filled with irregularities. The President vouched to that fact at his inaugural speech. The Uwais committee’s reports (despite his contributions to the 2003 electoral mess) testify to it before the world. But Nigerians kept silence. We also are aware that Mr. President is not sound health-wise, yet we kept silence. Our elite furnished us with lies and make-belief to have him be in office so that they will do what they are doing now. How sad! But where is Daddy? Are we going to keep silent on this also?
Check and balance is a good feature in any democratic setting. But it appears like in the case of Nigeria, there is a kind of connivance that exists in the three tiers of government that bred what we have as Democracy. Are we still keeping our hands crossed in silence? This connivance led to the non-implementation of freedom of information bill which escaped the two tenures of Obasanjo’s regime. We were silence then. The repercussion now is that we don’t have to be told where Mr. President is, and we must be silent. Yet some little minds are asking, “Where is Daddy?”
The Armed Forces, Para-Military and other security agencies have a lot to handle as insecurity is gaining ground in minds of Nigerians. By keeping quiet as to the whereabout of Mr. President, they are indirectly taking sides with the Executives, Legislatures and Judiciary to drown Nigeria into the sea of hopelessness and economic backwardness. And when the little boy will take to the madness that is brewing inside of him, then they will also pay the price of keeping quiet. While the politician who use this opportunity to enrich themselves at the detriment of the nation will fly abroad as most of their investment flourish there and their children are properly studying without fear of strike or school closure of any sort. Then the deceived would be left alone to dance to the music composed by deception.
Don F.B. Malali, Kaduna
[email protected]
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