Beyond the rhetorics, manavelins and fen of stagnant water is the Quiet, Unspoken Plural Wiles and Why’s of a nation’s distress -By Jimi Bickersteth

The restlessness in the air from the circumference to the centre of the nation was like the fen of stagnant water (apologies to William Wordsworth) and with it, the permissiveness that permeates and enveloped the entire environment. It goes without saying, that the stillness of everything holding no one to formalities made me somehow uneasy, or perhaps more aware of my anxiety of the nation. One, having no-philosophy, little direction, little ambition, unknown goals, and, lastly, but not the least, leadership absence.

It all made me uneasy as a writer. I recall that as a writer, never do one have a vacation or think of one, especially, at this season of subterfuges and ‘presidential declarations’. Well! For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing, and this season of highwired drama, intrigues, ‘betrayals’, conspiracy of sacred silence, PDP masquerading as APC and APC as a confederacy of PDP rejects, the clamour for restructuring, and agitations for self-independence all around the federation would in any case not afford one the luxury of a holiday.

The assaults by terrorists on the express, on the rail tracks, murder at the cathedrals, killings, debauchery and kidnappings all around were like watery icings on what otherwise should have been the coming of age of the nation’s democracy and a wobbly dent on its anniversary cake. I began to wonder what may likely happen in the future, now, that a ‘Northern’ president could not proffer solution(s) to the rabid issues of cross border banditry and terrorism. Let me hasten to add in parenthesis straightaway, that those sponsors bankrolling the banditry, whoever they are, that, this one “protest” too many, and the idea of holding the 167 hostages from the train waylay as body Shields until PMB speaks to them amounts to mere rabble-rousing and has consequently become quite pointless.

But it’s a democracy and all were free and at liberty to pursue one’s agenda unmolested, particularly, when a government has been boxed and pummelled. What has become worrisome however, was, the persistent hijacking of the ‘protests’ by some other vested interests, reducing legitimate aspirations and demands to a mere ’glamorous’ Circus show or at best a Boy’s scout’s jamboree of burnfire. The setup was intriguing. One of the few things the Army taught me that made sense was the value of knowing your enemy. This should hold true for the presidency.

The resultant ecstatic excitement of a motorcycle ride, which the incessant rumpus amounted to; requesting for systemic disruption, destabilisation of the polity, and as it could be inferred, and rightly too, make the country ungovernable, which, of course, infer a felonious enemy action, whose grouses were often not well marshalled. The whole scenario swells unimaginably with politicians in the land feeling like a blonde in a cowboy shirt and blue jeans, duck waggling past the window with the arrogant knowledge that all of us were looking at her with concentrated interest and finding what we saw pretty good. In truth, the people noticed them, but that was all. The problems of maintaining our subsistence had a bigger fascination for us than any well-made blonde in a pair of close-cut jeans.

The politicians motives were forcing them to assess the people the way any farmer will look at any cattle he is thinking of buying. Yet, without answers to the nation’s problems, but didn’t like admitting even to themselves what the answers were; oafs! At the
moment the people were outside looking in, like a member of a theatre audience. The curtain is up; the actors and actresses were on the stage, for 2023, the plot was beginning to unfold.

Nigeria is broke, that was caused in part by the strangely uninspired set – a political class who have ruined life’s and destinies – a setup that could make a good B movie. The country is broke and its political class are willing to pay #40 million for nomination form to contest for the presidency and #20 million each for a form to contest for political party posts and PMB’s argued vainly about not giving posts to the highest bidder. Has the whole process not being monetised abinitio?
Nigeria is broke, yet, politicians are quite ready and willing to spend billions of naira on campaigns and ‘votes-buying’ to win the election in order to lead a broke country. Funny isn’t!

The political class have the people on the ball of their thumbs and make a smear of them on the wall, and are in dire need of interventions to redeem a deep-frozen people and political system whose normal process of deterioration and decay has just begun. Too much had happened immediately after the APC’s convention and ‘consensus’ gala or what looked like one, to give my mind a chance to do more than accept the stunning fact that the nation was stuck. But now, as I sat in a lounging chair, dry-mouthed, my heart still pounding, I realized that the nation was in a lot more mess than its peace-loving people could have contemplated.

At this realisation, I felt myself turn first hot, then cold. I went so cold it was as if I was standing in the way of a raging arctic wind. I think this start of the last leg of the PMB’s administration should have seen the nation put fresher brains into position of authority and aim at ending the nation’s treacherous nightmares before the next round of elections.

I sat here, staring at the bright television screen, fighting against my rising panic about the state of the nation. How was the nation to get around its present snag. Then it dawned on me that this multiethnic, multilingual nation of 200 or so nationals have been making things more difficult for itself by its self-inflcted rigidity and sticklers for a no-philosophy democracy. This current experience is self-rule. You can only have democracy after having a nation with an identifiable identity, goals and realistic objectives of state policy. What it were now is an all-comer, consensus things at a time the world is taking greater interest in Russia attitude and America’s and NATO policies in Europe, Nigeria is being bogged down by things that possibly could not have happened twenty years back.

It is noteworthy that all around, the nation is overcome with grief and deep sorrow caused by the incessant violent bruises to its wellbeing and a NASS that is somewhere amidst the labyrinth of malcontents, deceits, lies and rubber stamping – a layer of an almost non-existence for a body that has so far been passive.

The 9th NASS, subsumed by sheer weight of office, or perhaps suffering under the influence of the silence aura of PMB, himself, one of the very negligible members of the country that had immensely benefited from all the charades and shenanigans, owing partly, to his profession and the lopsided and accidents of circumstances and history, his place of origin and birth.

PMB, it appeared has his hands laid hold of the NASS, that’s because integrity creates a sense of being and spiritual presence that forces a reaction in the hearts of men. They appeared to have changed with the core values of the exalted chambers getting altered and have suddenly, become like ‘adults’ learning and finding difficult how to do things their positions and office require of them properly. Those were the remote and immediate threats from within to the nation’s peace, wellbeing and collective corporate existence. Threats it thought to be an illusion created to deceive at first, but were now assuming the status of glaring truths and reality of the facts. The nation’s response could be felt in the social and political uncertainty all around and its attendant state of ferment, gloom, outlook and prospects.

Arguably, the state governors and the 9th NASS, were the most docile assemblage of the Third Republic and must sheer the weight of liability as they got a vicarious thrill out of watching our dear nation go on the decline from the Boko Haram assaults, insurgencies and agitations. The audience -the nation, besmirched the circumstances and the exotic maddening glow brought on it by reckless killings, arson, insecurity and an APC government struggling to assert control and authority and managing both quite poorly.

The experiences really exposed the nation to what it really was; in-between the solutions were the state governors hiding under Abuja, a NASS and PMB, and both of them, with peculiar limitations, staring from under a heavy fringe with some subdued eagerness and PMB’s bravado to a helpless people. This being the case, the picture the nation now have of its real PMB, is that of a kind of wild-rose unreality, ruthless, determined and quite without pity; one, who nothing disturbs the even tenor of his life, not even ethnic profiling. Of course, there shouldn’t be too much room for sentiments in politics. It’s a huge responsibility and huge business and the pressure to succeed come from all angles, I doubt if the state governors, the NASS and the PMB’s administration shares the sentiments.

There are a thousand mysteries of right and wrong that have baffled Nigerians, hence, the mild cries of honest hunger for truth in the nation. Cries that seek to pierce the silence beyond the grave, but echoed back only a repitition of their unanswered cries and the great note of questioning despair that darkens the nation’s horizon and paralysed its men.

Why should life be as it is? Why do some men starve while others feast? Why does virtue often languish in the shadow while vice triumphs and flourishes in the sunshine; why does failure so often dog the footsteps of honest effort, while the success that comes from trickery and dishonour is greeted with a grand applause; why is there so much unnecessary pain, sorrowing and suffering in the land, when there indeed should be none.

It is at this point that the state governors, PMB and the NASS need to resolutely show the resolve not to permit the catalogue of problems to plunge them into doubt, and cloud them with vagueness and uncertainty. It is upon a life-plan and foundation like this that they need to add to the equipment that is in their power to secure, and here, time is of essence, as they offer combined service that should not be as a gilt-edged menu to starving sailors in a raft in midstream. It is irritating but not stimulating.

The ship of state appeared to have caught an inferno and the occupants are asleep. Breakdown the door if you have to salvage all and drag them out of the sea of despair, but save them, they must. The president need to as a matter of urgency and necessity go after and that includes those of the state governors who were taking the wrong advice, trying to crash boundaries of decency and good sense and going the wrong way by taking wrong motivation, wrong desires from the wrong people.

There’s a chance, he’ll be misunderstood, criticised, and rejected. Sure. But he must be sufficiently motivated by his love for the fatherland and the oath he swore, as he applies tact, intelligence, wisdom and boldness to do and say what need to be done or said, with love strong enough to tell the truth while there’s still time. He does not have to wait for extraordinary opportunities he can use the ordinary and make them great in an extraordinary manner.

The nation was guilty of the crime of presumptuousness, complicity, conspiracies and high treason against itself; and, all must begin to focus less on who’s faults and failings, but, on reconstruction, reengineering and rebuilding and national integration with a regenerated spirit and a potential to accomplish great things. Indeed, the nation must be willing to take another look at itself.

What the APC’s and Buhari’s “change” has to contend with and get right in the nation’s complicated recovery process is the how to factor in the rebuilding and reengineering phases. Much as the government has not so publicly proclaimed, but, its body language, the ever dwindling fall in oil prices in recent times, instability of the Forex rates and trading market, the technical devaluation, etc are pointers that spoke volumes and the ear-piercing shriek in the conjecture, unspoken and undisguised (one may be right in the conjectures) were that, the nation may be entering a new phase of structural and vertical adjustment regimen.

With the benefits of hindsight, past attempts at restoring the nation’s once budding but now failing and flailing economy with austere measures and commensurate belt-tightenings had been anything but a blessing, and had made its entering into the mainstream of world politics and striving to approach the much desired freedom from economic shackles not only pedestrian, but had also made its economic independence, look a mirage.

One could feel it deep down in the general tenor of the body language of PMB, which seemed to suggest that the nation’s economic recovery plans is not in our hands, and that the developed world or emerging economies must exercise (in the absence of Foreign Direct Investments due to instability and uncertainty of the clime) liberal economic control, loans, aids and or grants, attempts that had failed in the past and may still fail without an efficient debt management portfolios. The imagination of the nation’s leaders viz-a-viz the expectations of the people must not dim the clearness of their judgement.

Nonetheless, in spite of its limitations, the nation’s ruling elites and political family must continue to strive and assert control over the political and socioeconomic development and direction, and serve a ‘go-home order’ on those who had monopolised the nation’s collective interests and destinies.

But even at that, the nation needs a wholly homespun solution(s) to its economic malaise, but, must first tackle and win the ‘game of war’ imposed as obstacles to the nation’s path to progress and prosperity by the unease all around as it embarks on ambitious programmes aimed at raising living standards in a nation whose problems started from the basic premise that:
i. Its expenditures has been financed by intensification of the rate of crude oil exploration using monopolistic trading lack in control and proper accountability,
ii. The expenditure pattern encouraged more monies spent on recurrent than on capital expenditures,
iii. By external borrowing and inflation of the public debt profile through internal monetary measures,
iv. Investments in agriculture, industry, trading and petrochemical by lucky few and cronies that have access to crude oil blocs,
v. External indebtedness rose and debt servicing increased foreign exchange reserves sharply, the tragedy of this was that incomes become so low, leading to demands in increase in wages that could no longer take workers home; and access to basic services, such as health, housing and education became so limited. The investment in the energy/power sector became inadequate,
vi. The nation is now faced with crisis of ‘over-population’ of a not too critical widening gap that is between the upward curve of population growth and now much flatter or even falling curve of indigenous production of food and other prime necessities,
vii. Too little attention paid to administrative constraints in mobilising and managing resources for development, and,
viii. The nation has found itself exposed to a world which had developed quite different systems and with these, a far greater technological power – Technologies stimulated by the needs of their societies, which are now of growing complexity and wealth far beyond the nation’s limited talents, scope, depth and technology; while shipping the outdated fashion, equipment, instruments and mess to the blighted nations including Nigerian.

PMB must have noted that the nation got itself immersed in the cul-de-sac as a result of a combination or aggregates of all these factors, and has therefore, experienced slow and distorted growth and its rubbing the nation’s the wrong way that tongues are being wagged. Thus, the crippled nation and its mass of suffering humanity was now been pummelled by agitations for self-independence and resources control. The people received motivation from the appearance of new methods of making a living, which, always confronts mankind with new problems or organisation and conflicts between those attached to the old ways and those who want a clean break with the past.

In view of the complications and the tremendous speed with which things are taking place today, it is not surprising that those problems and conflicts should be very acute. The slow growth of the nation’s economy and political evolution by widespread weakness of planning, decision-making and management capacities, portrayed the nation in a depressed and disturbed state and the more faint-hearted should feel the nation is in a very bad state and not likely to get out of it anytime soon coupled with the increased rancorous noises of agitators for separation and or restructuring.

The ruling elites must reach out and appropriate the ground rule. PMB must be more daring, keen, active and aggressive, his high stand must not be compromised either by his exco, the NASS, the state governors, politicians and or the public service. He must be ever watchful in trifle; his standards must not be “What will the nation, say”? but “Is it worthy of me”? He is on the big stage of history where every move is going to be one of unconscious grace. Now that he appeared to be wide awake, it is those in his company, in his kitchen cabinet, who are conscious of their motives that would be the awkward ones, who are seeking in public to undo or to conceal the carelessness of the gesture and motions of their private life.

With the threats of separation, secession, regional self-independence, fulantisation, Islamisation, other divisive tendencies the NDA, ESN, MEND, MASSOB, IPOB and what have you, strident and deafeningly loud, the general ought to know that discretion is the better part of valour. The president should sheath the sword, the elders would say in Yoruba: to bá to rí ọlọ́fun gẹ̀dẹ̀gbẹ̀ do mi nù, òun pàápàá ò ní r’ómi lò. The president should put on the kid gloves and deploy persuasion as he with keen intelligence halt the innocent football of socio-political malcontents from destroying the nation as it were. It is his sacred duty, to wit, to, with, a great sense of equanimity, and equity stop the slide and inherent looking backward to what might have been instead of froward to what may be. These worries for the old past weakens the efforts to develop the future. Raise your words not your voice, it is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.

The ruling elites have always been separated by decades of different philosophies, forcing the nation through dins of confusion and Nigerians were getting bored. Though, this was an age that seems to diminish service and exalt glitz, some of our preferences and practices may not be very important, but our principles regarding personal liberty, integrity, morality – these are not up for sale or compromise, not any more. Poor leadership cannot be allowed to further mess up our sense of perception and or paralysed our dreams.
PMB must choose who have his ears. The nation must be seen to be constructing a new, vital, social etho and tradition which can give it a moral foundation and character on which to revive a nation that was capable of achieving its potentials.

The NASS, PMB do not need to change the world to improve our lives, wasted efforts that would be. If only they will improve on living conditions, good health care delivery system, good housing scheme, qualitative education and employable graduates. Create employment and empowerment schemes, improved agricultural policies that would lead to increase and improve yields and food chemistry and production; and the people would be better off and so would the nation.

The nation has had enough of the surfeit of classical ‘the roads are rough’, and were now in need, and indeed, desire leaders who are in themselves sufficiently stabilised and motivated to be able to turn problems into possibilities. This tough times can teach us to grow, to learn and to overcome its oceans of overwhelming odds and to get back on the path of success and garner people into their confidences. There is no victory at bargain prices, leaders are just to learn that apart from being firm, strong and thorough, they need to further deepen their appreciation of their response to enhance their performances.

Our compatriots need not despair, timbers that are firm do not warp, twist or pull apart under pressure – “Akọ igi ò gbọdọ̀ ṣoje”. The strength of timber lies in a tightly woven grain frigid winds may at times whip up choppy waves. The roadmap and border margins are here. Ẹ̀kọ ti f’ojú mímu hàn. Arguably, the cause(s) of dissatisfaction and ensuing conflicts and protests in the land arises because it had always often forgotten that as a people, with different histories, learning and coping styles, and united with no-philosophy, other than unity in diversity, and a sloppy 1999 constitution and national pledge.

The people ‘across the Niger’ have and always have had their ideals, of what makes up the knowledge of good, bad and evil – what’s right and what’s wrong for the nation, its background, and its diverse nationalities, but the drafters of the sloppiest document that binds all together and which the nation operates today took contrary views. Thus, everyone has an opinion, and keep spending till eternity arguing over opinions, personal intuitions and getting nowhere, meanwhile, there were many issues festering under the surface of the shattered mirror, broken hopes, and ropes that needs to be dealt with before the nation can move forward.

One of which was its fuzz notions about true federalism and the winner-takes-all principles, the fuzz idea won’t get it nowhere, as the nation has found itself at the mercy of circumstances, unable to solve the myriad of problems confronting it, and have found itself facing the same obstacles over and over, habitually in reaction mode; unable to navigate the deep knee bends of life, nationhood and federalism and understand fully the basis of the nation’s diversity.

It is imperative that the whole thing had to be turned over to the people to decide what they want and how they wish to cohabit. Here, one is of the view that it would be ill-advised and quite unreasonable to ask those that have all along took advantage of the mess, the shenanigans and charade and immensely benefited therefrom to advance solutions for the problems they helped created. Their solutions might be a wee bit inappropriate, that the nation may remain a circus show.

The truth is that, the nation was lacking in orientation, philosophy and ideology that should guide the youths and train them in civic duties, obligations, and passionate commitments. Two wrongs don’t make a right, is a well-worn cliché, but the youths think money drops from heaven and kept mixing enthusiasm with age and losing our sense of idealism.

The old saying, ‘you’re only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime’, holds true. Eré géle l’eré àkèré, àkèré gan ò s’eré géle mọ́. Some of the nation’s youths, green, energetic, vibrant, naive and lacking in confidence and guts were a sizeable army of milling, willing tools and recruits in the battle for the soul of the nation. Violence begets violence, force begets force. Take for instance the nation’s experience in ‘the 12-day in hell’ showdown popularly known as #ENDSARS, (a period during which emotions overode wisdom, tact, reason and good value judgement on the parts of the government, the civil populace, the youths in general and the Police system in particular) ignited by widespread flagrant human rights abuses.

At the time, it became difficult to distinguished from Thomas Hobbes ‘State of Nature’ – solitary, poor, nasty and brutish; elements that were quite clearly incompatible with the real values of a democratic society and setting governed by the supremacy of the rule of law. The impunity of the nation’s police force in general and its SARS in particular was thus a challenge that the youths responded positively to and scored a plus and in the same breath a minus minus.

The youths lost the initiative at the time, owing to lack of focus, visible leadership, moderation and strategic assessments, hence, hoodlums seized the protest to cause mayhem across the nation, disrupted civil life and assault innocent persons and almost instituted generalised anarchy.

I wept at the sight of Oyingbo bus terminus and the Fagba railway line both in Lagos, as the ‘youths’ went on rampage, caused mayhems and destroying all together, the same democratic process which gives them the freedom and right to protest in the first place; and compelled the government to act with the requisite decisiveness and despatch to restore law and order and preserved constitutional rule.

The protests impedes the democratic rights of other citizens to freedom of movement, expression and the liberty to pursue their legitimate and lawful livelihoods. It was a succinct contradiction for the protesters to act in ways that will further worsened the economic well-being of the very people they were fighting for. Seeing the June 12th protests at Ojota, I asked myself, in good conscience, must it always be like this!.

I humbly opined that when this youths get into a situation that can hurt them while attempting to stand on the stream, the government should get involved, their parents should get involved, society as a whole must show concern. Get involved! Save them! with some compassion, pacification and moral suasion with fear by pulling them out of the fire.

The Greek word for ‘save’ means to take immediate, decisive, and continuous action. Here the word ‘fear’ means, ‘a strong dose of respect for something that’s life-threatening, dangerous or alarming’, and the phrase, ‘pulling them out of the fire’, means you don’t have a moment to waste. I have noted above, the house is burning down and they’re asleep. Break down the door and drag them out if you have to, but, save them. Don’t sit back and say it’s not my responsibility to go after those who take a choice to go the wrong way. Although, the nation has failed to impress the army of youths and disappointed the wealth seeking
conquistadores, it delights them, to them the nation is brimming with natural riches. It was like a living daylight in the jungle.

The nation’s unhealed wounds whose stench has refused to go away, and its unresolved issues bordering on the national questions should be centre-piece of government’s concern. For the gales of protests and anger to subside as it assuage the feelings, longings and cultivates the support of everyone, and end the agony of those in the throes of the danger – excitement of a people dropped in the creek, left alone to hold the baby. Find a solution it must to the simple definition of the nation’s politics.

The grand old man in the rock so caught up in an endeavour that time somehow seems to be altered. He must be deeply aware, without being self-conscious, stretched or challenged in all this flow, the true Idea behind the job is to invest his abilities to create value for Nigerians; to plant and build and invest ways that would cause the people to flourish and affecting material side of life, but must also reach the deeper levels of the nation’s thinking pattern, mental images, emotions, beliefs and response in situations of need. Well! the camera is filming every aspect.

In the final analysis, the cure for the nation’s protracted national problems which includes the poor equations in its body chemistry is to strengthen the democratic process rather than engage in acts that can lead to generalised anarchy in which democracy cannot thrive. The process of change should be supported by all, and this cannot be done in an atmosphere of endless protests and rancour that are crippling the nation’s economy already weakened by the global economic meltdown and the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’ve contemplated all the time the picture of a dark and treacherous nation, hopefully, it could not be as horrible as the present. Something has to give with a little faith though.

P.S.
In a lighter mood: there was an Ifá corpus called Ọ̀wánrín Ogbè. In time past, there lived two good friends, one gave the other a pot and in turn took a medicinal bracelet that his sickly daughter wore as necklace to ward off death. The one that got the pot used it in his kolanuts farm and it was booming and doing well. After so many years the owner of the pot requested for it, which means that the friend had to cut down the kolanuts tree in full bloom to retrieve the pot, and he in turn on the eve of his friend’s daughter wedding requested for the life-saving bracelet. It was not a matter of who was right or wrong, both of them lacked patience and perseverance and paid dearly for it.

I submit.

#Jimi Bickersteth
Jimi Bickersteth is a blogger and writer.
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