The news reported by the online Sahara Reporters of the attack on Obasanjo by an “irate” Nigerian man at Lagos airport has attracted and is still attracting reactions by way of comments on the online news site. The reactions range from calling the man a hero to wondering what has become of our African values of respecting our elders.
The news reported by the online Sahara Reporters of the attack on Obasanjo by an “irate” Nigerian man at Lagos airport has attracted and is still attracting reactions by way of comments on the online news site. The reactions range from calling the man a hero to wondering what has become of our African values of respecting our elders.
Obasanjo, by any definition, is elderly and so it is truly wrong, in the light of our cherished African values, for the “irate” man to have attacked him. However, it is important to x-ray the message behind the man’s action.
During the era of racial segregation in the USA a person of colour was expected to give up his/her seat to a white passenger on the bus. On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, a woman of colour, refused to obey the bus driver’s order to give up her seat for a white passenger. Her refusal turned out to be the much awaited catalyst that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her act of defiance became the important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement in the USA. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation and it is said that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rode on the back of this to prominence.
Rosa Parks was “irate” at the racial segregation that was then in practise in the USA and hence her defiance and challenge of the system on that fateful day was her way of saying Enough Is Enough. In the same vein the “irate” Nigerian man that attacked Obasanjo is angry at the failed Nigerian system. To the average Nigerian, which this “irate” man represents, the “leaders” and the failed Nigerian system are one and the same thing.
The question must be asked, though, as to what is there not to be irate about in Nigeria? Is it the death traps called roads? Is it the death-in-waiting cubicles called hospitals? Is it the state of electricity supply in the country? What about the general poverty in the land? And the state of the educational systems in the country? Why should the Nigeria Labour Congress have to take to the streets to demand payment of a mere N18,000 minimum wage while legislators are said to receive salaries far above that of President Obama? The list is endless!
Every average Nigerian should be “irate”. In fact it is long overdue! We have embarked on prayers alone for far too long. Nigerians are known to be very prayerful. We take the problems to the Almighty Creator and then sit back expecting miracles. We fail to back up our prayers with action. Even the Lord Christ gave us the injunction to “work and pray”. In the context of this piece it will be “pray and work”. The “work” is to give action to our prayers; to let the “leaders” know how we feel. This is what the “irate” Nigerian man has done: backing up his “prayers” with action!
So, is this man’s singular action the long awaited catalyst that is to spur people into action and finally affirm Enough Is Enough? Could it be the true waking up from the seemingly unending sleep of docility by the masses? Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, Civil Rights Groups in the country should please ensure the safety of the “irate” Nigerian man and demand that he should be given fair trial in a court of law. Our learned brothers and sisters of the law should galvanise behind this man that dared to think and do the “impossible” and ensure he gets a fair trial. The international community should ensure the man’s safety through constant visits by emissaries wherever he is held.
May the “irate” Nigerian man’s case never be like the several Nigerians that die in police custody for unknown reasons or because they “attempted to escape”. Amen!
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