Time is Myocardium -By Tony Osakpamwan Agbons

For many people, global sporting events like the African Cup of Nations, AFCON, World Cup, European Cup, Olympic Games are huge events that commands attraction and attention. At the just concluded Wimbledon Tennis Championship in England, it was a great joy to see the Tennis enigma, Roger Federer dispatch his young opponent, Lorenzo Sonego in the round of 16. The legendary Swiss as customary, displayed so much artistry and dexterity with some scintillating shots.  The BBC sports commentator as expected was aghast,” …. Hmmmm, that could only be Federer! He smashed that forearm winner across court, dissecting it with forensic expertise”. However, the next stage of the tournament was a hard watch as the Swiss maestro was completely demolished in straight sets of 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 by a young Polish player, Herbert Hurkacz.  Federer simply had no answer to the booming serve and powerful groundstrokes of the young Pole. He was brushed aside in that quarter final match.

At that point, my thoughts wandered away to my undergraduate days at university and the words, Time is Myocardium came to my mind from one of my Anatomy lessons. As I ruminated over the dismantling of my Tennis idol, my imagination went wild to all the forearm shots, backhands, and booming ace flying across the Nigerian landscape. Things are falling apart, and the centre cannot hold.  Like the Swiss great, Roger Federer, time has caught up with the big elephant, called Nigeria. Our great terraqueous (to borrow the words of the clergy, Chris Okotie), has become a shadow of itself. Alas, the sword of Damocles that has been hanging over it is primed to strike its solar plexus.

The country is so polarised along ethnic and tribal lines. The government of the day which rode to power on a popular wave has jettisoned its key electoral promises to the people. This was a government that had restructuring of the country as a cardinal part of its manifesto. The ruling All Progressive Party, APC campaigned vigorously and promised Nigerians the country will be restructured if voted into Power. A committee headed by Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai was even set up post that electoral victory. The Committee has since submitted its report but vamoose, all that has been thrown into the trash can. The Nigerian people have been seriously short-changed and in typical fashion of the average Nigerian politician(s) once in power.  The painful part is that with each passing day, elected government officials take their turns in defending and justifying their failed promise on the altar of greed and short-sightedness. The end result – the nation is on the precipice and verge of collapse.

To add insult to injury, majority of Nigerians cannot understand how the full force of the State is exerted on annihilating regional agitators while the `untouchables` like Boko Haram, Bandits and Killer herdsmen have seemingly been handled with kid gloves. The argument that regional agitators like Nnamdi Kanu in the East and Sunday Igboho in the West are known faces and can therefore be hounded does not hold water. In the last few days, bandits have gone on a spree in the Northern state of Kaduna, abducting over 100 innocent students at the Bethel Baptist Secondary School. They also abducted the Emir of Kajuru, an Octogenarian from his palace in the wee hours of the night alongside 13 members of his family. Watching the Emir (85 years old) crying on social media videos after his release by the bandits 24 hours later was very disheartening. His family members are still in captivity and a ransom placed on them by the Bandits.

They are also reports of other abductions in Katsina, Niger, Kogi and Zamfara States. Other states in the country face similar problems by Bandits and Herdsmen. The bandits demand several millions of naira as ransom before releasing their captives. In many cases, they kill their victims. What is the Nigerian Government doing about it? Has there been a massive deployment of security forces in these areas as we saw in the case of the ESN (Eastern Security Network) in the East? Is there something the Nigerian government is not telling the people of Nigeria? Are the extant laws of the land now meant to deal with only a section of the country (East and West) while those in the North (Bandits, Killer herdsmen) carry on with aplomb? Certainly, there is more to this than meets the eye

It is obvious to discerning minds that the present administration is displaying and promoting a nepotistic agenda. The body language and communication by the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice is worrisome. The President in his famed media chat with AriseNews Tv was able to contextualise and situate the vagaries of life and living style of nomadic Fulani herdsmen. Life indeed has been very harsh to these marauding herders. They are nomads who have not gone to school, who walk several kilometres day in, day out to graze their cattle for their daily survival. What an irony! On his part the Attorney-General of the Federation cannot justify his fast responses and defence of a particular ethnic group (Fulani) in the country. The comparison by the AGF of the ban on open grazing in the South by Southern Governors to the sale of automotive spare parts by Igbos of eastern extraction in the North is laughable, and uncerebral by an occupant of such a highly exalted office in the Temple of Justice. These messages only show to Nigerians that `one particular ethnic group is special and far more superior` to others. The message been sounded directly and indirectly is that `one ethnic group within our shores can misbehave, do and undo` and be embraced, pampered, and rewarded while the other ethnic groups can be hunted, arrested outside and inside our shores to face the weight of the law. Errant nonsense!

The Nigerian people deserves more sincerity of purpose than it is getting from the current administration in the area of security. It was one of the focal points for the ascension of the government to power – the security of lives and property. History teaches that injustice or the perceived lack of justice is a direct ticket to anarchy. The component parts that make up Nigeria must feel a sense of fairness and justice for our country to regain stability. Studies show that people begin to resort to self-help when the apparatus of state become high-handed, unfair, and unjust. We see it already playing out with the formation of various vigilante and security outfit by the different sections of the country. The security outfits are borne out of necessity. However, the danger is that the situation can easily spiral out of control. There is always the potential for further escalation of a hitherto volatile environment. What then is the way forward?

The federal government must drop its current arrogant garb of `Mr know it all`. Governance is nothing without the people. Government exists for the people. It is therefore time for the current administration to take the back seat, drop its shoulders and come down from its high horse and listen to the Nigerian people. The current `supremo` may be a retired General, but we are in a democratic dispensation where the voice of the people must be heard and be seen to be heard. Any attempt to gag the people in any form or guise must be jettisoned. Similarly, the government should not only listen to what it wants to hear. Adequate `room and parlour` must be provided for dissenting voices in the polity. The government must also engage to speak to the people with decorum, charm, and flair. The current bullying disposition can only whip up more sentiments, frustration, anger, and hatred amongst the citizenries.

It is obvious to discerning minds that our present political structure is no longer fit for purpose. A multi-ethnic, diverse nation like Nigeria is in dire need of a constitutional fixation in the name of restructuring. Fiscal federalism remains the antidote. The prescription is simple. An urgent executive and legislative synergy are imperative to stop the drift of the country to anarchy. A national dialogue championed by both the executive and legislative arms of government has to happen. The policing of this vast country must be decentralized. The time for state police is now. Security is local. A highly populated nation like ours cannot have a single police force. It is not working, cannot work and will never work. The current self-denial at the highest level of governance is an exercise in futility and invitation to disaster. Also, the morbid silence and lack of commitment by influential political elites especially from the Southern part of the country is sadistic and `Luciferous`. They must realise that their 2023 political ambition is not guaranteed if the nation goes up in flames before then.

Majority of Nigerians believe in the Nigerian project despite its many challenges. It is the prevailing sense of injustice coupled with the nepotistic disposition of the present government that is fuelling the secessionist agitation in the Eastern and Western part of the country. Time is myocardium is a common term used by cardiologists. In heart attacks, clinical studies show that most myocardium damage occurs within the first two hours after occlusion of the coronary artery. Patient survival rate is dependent on interventions made within two hours to minimize damages to heart muscles and tissues. Dear Nigeria, Time is myocardium! The clock is ticking….

Dr Agbons writes from the UK