The Odd is the Norm -By Sesugh Akume

A reason everything we built, did or had in the 60s was better than what we had subsequently up to this present day is the effect of the colonisers on us colonisers our society. Even our conduct had limitations we had some shame but with time we stopped ‘acting’ and became our ‘real’ selves. These real us is what we see today, a far cry from what the white man left, and increasingly so. I don’t necessarily mean the white man is inherently better, I speak in a particular context and generally. Come along and you’ll get the point.

In ’99 when Obasanjo was made president straight from prison he was your average hillybilly bushman, talking anyhow as he liked, acting however he pleased. Obasanjo would dip his fingers in his nose publicly and at any opportunity without minding. Guess what? Nigerians found this hilarious. He had an excuse for every abuse of the system. He called this perverted civil autocracy our own ‘home-grown democracy’ whereas it’s no democracy at all save for the pretences. He’d say ours was a ‘nascent’ or ‘fledgling’ democracy, so ‘mistakes’ were to be allowed. Two decades on, we are doing the same thing but now say it’s ‘tradition’ it’s the way we do it. It’s the way we are. We institutionalised mediocrity (and shamelessness) as our culture.

Well-brought-up children are taught not to pick their nose, not to chew with their mouth open, not to talk with food in their mouth, and so on. It’s called etiquette. Adults who missed that growing up learn too. In fact polishing up is and should be a life-long endeavour for everyone. We practise proper etiquette because we don’t want to put others in a difficult position, so that we don’t come away as uncouth, uncultured people. It’s that important. It’s why people enrol in finishing schools, enroll for and take different etiquette courses. For instance, cabin crew, royalty, beauty queens, diplomats et al, don’t conduct themselves the way they do because they were born so. They are trained. And there’s a reason for it. Part of which is to elevate and dignify their positions.

Keep laughing at that sordid image of Buhari acting like a bushman (that I think he is) sitting in a living room and picking his teeth. He wasn’t caught by paparazzi, that’d be scandalous enough, he was actually captured by his official photographer. His worshippers think they are mocking Nigerians, they don’t understand the that image does Nigeria, the office called ‘President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’, and the social and cultural fabric of the country. No wonder all around Abuja I see people stopping and peeing just anywhere, and facing any direction, the men especially.

Let’s keep laughing at, clapping for, endorsing, condoning, and cheering on bad behaviour from people who should model what is the best of the best of us. We all are sinking more and more in this hole.