Are We Ready for Freedom?

I have an eerie feeling that the political latitude we seek in Nigeria might meet us unprepared. After years of military rule, botched transition to civil rule, and misrule by civilian leaders coupled with the ferreting away of the common man’s last hope by a jaundiced judiciary, even the most enlightened of the citizens might not recognize the Nigeria that would emerge from the ruins of the political behemoth that has for long held us captive.

At present, aggrieved Nigerians are contented with pursuing the fox far away from the play grounds of chickens. But because the chickens are somewhat used to playing catch-me-if-you-can with the fox, they might not feel comfortable in an environment that is suddenly devoid of that rat race, for which, from birth, they learn survival strategies.

Of what use is freedom if the freed can not handle it?

This thought must have bothered Albie Sachs, a jurist and social activist, when he was confronted with the irreversible attainment of freedom from apartheid that South Africa now enjoys. Sachs must have thought hard and long on this subject for him to have written “Preparing Ourselves for Freedom” for his fellow South Africans.

Despite fighting tooth and nail against apartheid, everyone can see that black South Africans, who form the majority in South Africa and suffered at an incredible level during apartheid, were not ready for freedom from constant unjustified beatings, political persecutions and torture of the highest order.

All black South Africans sought were the release of Nelson Mandela and all political prisoners from prison, the restoration of their franchise and enthronement of democracy in their country. All these have been realized but have black South Africans been able to take advantage of the new order?

How many kids from Soweto make it to college or university? Hasn’t South Africa one of the highest crime rates in the world?

For us Nigerians, the situations in Libya and Egypt have some lessons to draw from. Egyptians wanted Hosni Mubarak out of power the same way Libyans now seek the ouster of Maummar Gadhafi. When revolting against Mubarak, Egyptians did not spare a thought for the aftermath of his departure. And with the Egyptians who now have to contend with military rulers, so it might be for Libyans. What next after Gadhafi?

Nigeria, however, presents a peculiar challenge. Our revolution is not against a particular sit-tight ruler. Instead, we revolt against a system that has been skewed to filter away the best and most qualified while making room for morons and complete nonentities to steer the ship of the state.

Ours is a country in which Lucky Igbinedion, a former governor of Edo State, was adjudged by his father, Gabriel Igbinedion, to have failed in his first term as governor of the state but still went on air to plead that his son be re-elected for a second term! His warped logic was that when one’s child fails a class he is made to repeat that class. As it were, Lucky repeated the class but failed out!

Every state in Nigeria has a history of failed civilian leaders. Sadly though, many of them are still hero-worshipped and accorded enviable social status befitting only successful leaders. When the EFCC put up a show of attempting to arrest James Ibori, a former governor of Delta State, in Oghara, naked women and youths of the town protested in his defence.

If you have ever travelled to Delta State from Benin City, you must have noticed that unemployment and highway robbery are rife in Ibori’s home town of Oghara. If Ibori had been that good to them while he was in government, the town’s educated youth would not have resulted to thievery and thuggery as means of survival.

These instances are to show that the ills we complain about in our society would not vanish the minute corrupt politicians and political jobbers are shoved out of office through our agitation.

The reality is that a sizeable number of Nigerians prefer the chaotic ways and manners in which Nigeria is run. How do you justify the fact that a fifty thousand naira salary earner rides a car, has built a house, owns several cell phones –including concubines and commercial motorbikes- and possibly a commercial danfo bus that delivers an agreed sum daily?

When you encounter the fellow at a social function, he will out-spray a successful businessman. The young boys who see him as a role model have taken to yahoo-yahoo so as to live up to his billing.

Sadly too is the fact that behind every corrupt politician there is a multitude of foot soldiers, hangers-on and praise singers who prefer the status quo to remain. Take out the politician without his hangers-on, foot soldiers and praise singers and you haven’t solved the country’s issues.

I maintain that no self respecting governor, commissioner or minister personally steals ballot boxes during elections. That task is undertaken by Nigerians like you and I. The reward is never political appointments but peanuts which range from hundreds of thousands of naira to a pat on the back to a “rice and stew is plenty” party after the election.

And because the street urchins who undertake these tasks are considered useless to the society by you and me, they sign up to kill and main for the politician who creeps to their hideouts promising them all what not. In actual fact they feel important because for once in their life they can actually determine the outcome of something as important as who becomes what in our country.

That again is the failure of the system we have built. But my fear is that too many of us are now used to that system. Letting go of it will need some convincing.


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