Fertility And Poverty Are Siamese Twins -By Muyiwa Adetiba

I have a friend of over fifty-five years. I consider him a close friend. He is brilliant and dogged. Whatever he sinks his teeth into, he doesn’t let go easily. This makes him a good ally and a formidable foe. But it can also make him an exasperating friend when the line between his doggedness and having a tunnel vision becomes very thin and he crosses it too often for comfort.

An example is the #EndSars movement whose third year anniversary we just marked. Like many people, including elders which we both are, he was supportive of what seemed like a protest of ‘enough is enough’ against the excesses of the Nigerian Police. That he was more vehement in his support than people his age was something I put to the fact that he had more ‘young men’ than most in his home.

But when some elders and people with discerning minds started questioning what seemed like a wanton destruction of Lagos but was ona closer scrutiny, something which seemed more deliberate, more strategic and more political, he doggedly clung to the old ‘ideals’ or mantra of #EndSars. Was the protest then hijacked? Did genuinely disgruntled youths play into more cynical minds and more adroit hands? Why wasn’t the protest called off when government acceded to the initial key demands of the protesters?

Or was there a deeper, more political game being played by unseen hands? These and many more will come to light someday soon including what really happened at the Lekki Tollgate on that dark night of October 20 because nothing is hidden forever. But why the protesters chose the Tollgate – and certain targets- in the first instance is becoming more politically apparent. It seems to me – and I may be wrong – that the plan to financially and morally cripple the ambition and legitimacy of a certain Lagos based politician has long been in the works.

My friend of course is Obidient. In this he was in good company over a year ago when a lot of people were dissatisfied with the two main parties and wanted a third option. This large company has thinned out somewhat over time when fanaticism took the place of support and those with contrary opinions were rewarded with vile, personal abuses. He has remained his loyal self. Unfortunately, in his loyalty and singlemindedness, he seemed to have joined the choir of those singing the death of Nigeria as a nation.

He does not mind the return of a more vicious #EndSars. Everything negative about Nigeria is being dredged up and exaggerated. It is his right. But he insults our intelligence and his considerable intellect when he pins all the woes of a nation on an administration that is just about 200 days in government. This is not to suggest that there are no missteps with the current government. They are inevitable in a government which wants to give the impression of hitting the ground running and therefore susceptible to trials and errors.

I also consider President Tinubu’s somewhat nepotistic approach to government appointments another misstep. Beyond these missteps however, what I find distasteful are policies that are belt tightening to the rest of us but which leave the political elite to continue with the indulgences and profligacies of the past. I may be blind, but I have not seen any cost cutting measure concerning the political elite so far.

That said, it was not the man in Aso Rock who caused the Kano State Governor to arrange and finance over two thousand weddings on a single day. It was not the first time and the State is not the only State that indulges in mass weddings. The answer will be that it is a cultural thing or maybe religious since both go hand in gloves. It is interesting and instructive that key wedding gifts included conjugal beds and food.

The clear intention being sexual indulgence and procreation. Many of the newlywed are unemployed or underemployed. Many are unemployable because they lack skills. They should be the last to be encouraged to marry let alone financing their wedding.There should be no romance without finance according to a popular song of the 80s. It is a sign of failure of leadership and an abdication of responsibilities of Northern leaders that this still goes on.

Leadership is about taking tough decisions that might fly against cultural norms. It is about tough love. Children are a gift only to those who can nurture and provide for them. Otherwise, they become a burden and a worm in the fabric of a society. It is irresponsible and should be a sin to have children that you have no intention of taking care of. It is irresponsible of leaders who encourage it. The result is that Northern youths are streaming South in search of survival. Some take to crime in the process. It is not wholly their fault. They did not ask to be born.

Nigeria’s population is said to have increased almost 400% since independence. By contrast, that of UK, our erstwhile colonial master has increased by about a tenth of that with most of them being migrants. Ditto USA. Japan and China have actually shrunk – if that is possible. This helps to put things in context. It is not as if these countries love children less than us. It is because they love a better quality of life more. They love the world into which those children come more. One of the differences between animals and humans is that we take – or should take- parenting more seriously. Otherwise, we would not be better than dogs if it was left to procreation from sexual indulgence alone.

Nigeria is the fertility capital of the world. It is also the poverty capital of the world. The north is the fertility capital of Nigeria and also the poverty capital of Nigeria. It is not by coincidence. Fertility and poverty are Siamese twins with crime being an immediate junior sibling. Whatever little economic growth that is made will be eaten up by population growth. It is therefore not surprising that sections of the north wallow in poverty in spite of the tremendous resources of the region.It is also not surprising that crime has gone up there. What is surprising is the attitude of the northern leadership to this development. Hiding under religion and culture is cavalier at best and grossly irresponsible. It is also selfish and self-serving when it is used as a manipulative tool.

So my good friend and his fellow travelers who gleefully point out the ills of the nation and the deteriorating economic indices of the country should have the intelligence and good conscience to look beyond this nascent administration for the country’s woes. It is ironic but those who have ruled us the longest have left us poor legacies and even poorer examples to follow.