In One Accord?

How we attempt to outmuscle ourselves daily on here because of politicians who'd care less of our opinions because of such trifling lack of a powerful single-voice with which to press for good governance and fiscal responsibility is utterly saddening. To say the least. These displays of affectation for parties and candidates rather than a united front for issues of governance only serve to inform these self-serving politicians that we - the governed - will remain divided along lines of mundane irrelevance giving them all the impetus they need to keep us divided.

What good will come from that but a glorious repetition of clueless governance, a vicious cycle leading us farther and further from realising the noble goals of our founding fathers. It is beyond shame that the youths, a category that I've been unfortunately stuffed into, are the most divided because of their self-righteous insistence on being more knowledgeable about this candidate or that party than anyone else. Hence, an insanely ridiculous amount of time is spent on researching more about their "heroes" and "heroines" to counter the accusations of their peers on the other lane.

If a fraction of that time is expended on issues of policy, of manifesto, of ideas, of strategies involved in a more robust electoral process, so as to be better prepared to ensure that those fielding themselves for electoral positions know that it's not gon be "Business As Usual" since the electorate will demand for true representation and good governance IN ONE ACCORD and WITH ONE VOICE, if only a fraction of our time (as youths) is devoted to this, what a difference it'd make.

But no. We'd rather argue amongst ourselves and divide our focus and opinions on the most mundane trivialities.

Respect The Contract

Yes, expectedly, you (in plural) here have called me out on my incessant upbraiding of the government of the day, asking that some of the mudslinging (if it's really so considered) should be hauled at the sponsors of terrorism and the terrorists themselves. I can identify with your pain (if such emotions truly exist) in how true some of the colours I've had to paint this administration in have come to light and have reflected poorly in your premises for being on the side of government. However, your penchant for dodging the real issues seems to be impervious of any curative measures. It seems you always need to be reminded of pertinent issues that no shouting match can silent. Well, here is more.

I remember what this same government you seem to be defending with all your might did when Jonathan's cousin was kidnapped in Bayelsa. The military personnel deployed evoked a Nigeria-at-war sentiment. The sheer number of Armoured Personnel Carriers engaged in trying to rescue one man was benumbing. They combed the entire area like fine hair and made sure that in no time the privileged cousin was back to the warm embrace of his family. Why was it so important then and not so now? Well, he was a close relative of the powers that be and as such, no expense was spared to get him and safely too.

But these girls? Who are they related to? Nobodies. Bloody civilians. They can roast for all this administration cares. Our military, given the right morale boosting, is worthy of great endeavours. But not when there is more politics at play than the fate of hapless children not priviledged enough to be from the political royalty. Not worthy enough to even have their parents consoled by the top echelon of political jobbers (until their hands were forced).

We did not elect Boko Haram for our welfare and safety. So, we don't point fingers at them. They are not answerable to us. So, we don't join issues with them. This government took upon itself that duty and responsibility and in so far as we play our part in paying their salaries and spending so much to make them comfortable enough to do their jobs (darn too much, more than enough), they pretty much must do it.

Underline the word MUST.

That is the social contract that binds us together and as clearly spelt out in the Constitution, the first priority of the government is the welfare of the citizenry. Don't let that escape your consideration.

(The YOUs know themselves)

The Status Quo That Must Not Be Disturbed

What we as a horde of followers are proving beyond reasonable doubt is that no matter how vacuous the craniums of the (s)elected "leaders" (*spits* leaders ko, bleeders ni) are, they know one thing, and they know it so well. They have understood how inured the average Nigerian has become, that he or she will rather stay "managing" adversity as well as remain averse to bleeding and death, even for a cause, just or otherwise.

The politician, often not the brightest bulb in the box, knows all too well that irrespective of educational class and academic achievement, these lily-livered citizens are cowards in the depths of their beings. Not just your average-Joe coward either, far from it. These are a special breed, or a hybrid, if you like. They mix it all up, crossbreeding talking without facts to fighting those who even attempt to put in a word for them or induce action for their own sakes.

And having perfected the art of enshrining poverty in perpetuity in the land, the politician tells his soul to relax, eat and be merry because, for a pittance, he can always call on an army of hungry mouths to do his bidding, therefore cementing, in sempiternity the status quo.

Shameless Politicking and Mortgaged Tomorrows

The folklore of the "Brown Envelop" as a means of making possible what may be illegal, unjust or downright untenable under the law is well documented in the annals of Nigeria's history - at least from the maradonic days of the evil genius. The colour was not arbitrary nor was it accidental. It was a deliberate attempt at camouflaging its contents from the casual observer, as though it reduced the magnitude of the offence when it went unidentified and did not don the giver with a lawbreaker garb. (Although, there are a minority whom this ploy did not deceive and who could ingeniously fathom the amount contained in any brown envelop merely by glancing at the matter (i.e., weight and space) of the envelop and applying the time of day, multiplied by the status of the giver and divided by the status of the recipient).

However, all that is history.

Today, white envelopes have gained on their brown sisters as the need for concealment of what used to be deemed criminal has been sacrificed on the very same altar that witnessed the death of the collective moral codes. The dearth of a sense of right and wrong, occasioned by a stifling and deformation of the conscience has meant that crimes no longer need to be committed in the dark confines of obscurity. The fallout of the inability of the justice system to live up to it's billing has been the reality of our experience where the high and mighty get away with anything while the low and dirty get docked for petty lifting.

Small wonder multinationals are trooping into the country to invest and we think it is because Nigeria has become an investment hub. The lawlessness in operation here is an indication of a bleeding economy and the sharks of business cannot resist the temptation of a tasty meal. The result mostly tells itself in the statistic of the pool of local entrepreneurs knocked out of business as a consequence of a haemorrhagic economy while these companies gleefully smile, not to our banks, but to their country's banks. Mostly.

You would think with all these, Nigerians, you and I, would demand for change by the majority! Well, you would be quite honestly in error. The first course to the buffet that is the 2015 elections is proving to be a case in point to test this hypothetical averment and what are we seeing? The defrocking of the dubious politician.

For their selfish purposes, they have not allowed the fear of the revelations of their true intentions to deter them from contaminating the public space with the putrefaction of their naked ambitions. Rather, they have brazenly displayed such unadulterated selfishness at every instance from defections to institutionalised corrupt practices. It has been a free course in political selfish interest.

However, students who should reap the advantages of these gratis lessons, Nigerians who swear by their allegiances to one politician or the next, are not paying attention. Rather, they are allowing themselves to be distracted enough to miss the pain of the truth biting them in the butt.

Defections, especially the motives for them, ought to open their eyes to the insincerity of these political jobbers, but if only they are paying attention. It has come to the stage where it will be nigh impossible to convince these Nigerians of their gullibility even if such convincing were attempted by someone who came from the dead. The naïveté is numbing.

No doubt, some envelopes (white more than brown) would have secured their irrevocable fidelity but how much good will that do? Their weather-beaten faces at the jamboree-esque rallies that commemorate these defections look all scrawny, poverty-infested and hungry. Should any casualty be recorded and any of these "faceless" supporters loses their precious little lives, their political principals would not even hear of the loss nor consider it worth his time to shed a few crocodile tears at their passing.

Nonetheless, rather than search for lasting change, these Nigerians pocket temporal reprieves - that may not last the month - and go into exertions that leave them sicker than they were in the morning. And having sold their birthrights for a broth, they now endeavour to mortgage even the future of their own children and dependents.

I should stop here; it's nauseating.

Peeking ahead... BLEAK

Often, the thought of a better tomorrow provides the spur to keep one going through hardships and turbulence. The knowledge that a time is coming when all these will end and will be consigned to the past, only a memory to be visited sometimes, makes you resolved to go on. Such thoughts evoke a determination to stay the course, keep going, until the certainty of victory causes a cessation of the 'aluta'.

In the case of Nigeria, however, the situation is different. Where is the better tomorrow to look forward to going to come from? Is it from Benin Republic, that's even now gaining from the brain drain that is education in Nigeria? When will all these end? When will that time come? 2015 has already been compromised in our very before.

Where's the determination to stay the course? Where, the guts to keep going? The die is cast, there shall be no victory to assert for the common folks, for those without linkages (nay, 'connections') to the common till, for those with no one with a hand on the National Cake. Nothing to lighten the burden because when you look ahead, the bleakness stares right back at you, unblinking. Dark. Foreboding.

Look around. The dramatis personae are already spoiling for a fight. The consternation of political stars are already aligning for the epic showdown. The personages are not secret. Look closely at them all? Where's the Messiah among them? Yes, we shake our heads collectively with the stark realisation. There is no such person. We shall be the collateral damage when this fight is done and dusted. Or children, the bloody drumsticks for the battle soundtrack.

The Messiah has probably not been born because among these self-serving individuals, we see none to bank on, none on whom we can depend for the salvation of what could have been Africa's proudest nation and the jewel of the Black Race. They have made it clear: their first and final interest is selfish. And in doing so, they have successfully raised a nation of selfish people. Absolutely ingenious.

What this implies is that even the next generation that may succeed them, if they allow (since most of them have been around for as long as the memory stretches) will not be any different, worse maybe. The quest for the materialistic at any cost is behind all the crimes reported in the dailies perpetrated by the youths. They want riches, not by hard and sustained effort, but RIGHT NOW. So, even tomorrow is not guaranteed. Nothing, at present or in future, is there to lighten the pain of today's hardship. Nothing. Colour me obstinate but don't even get me started about praying.

Pessimism? Realism? Desolate-ism? Call it what you want. The stark truth is clear. The aluta will CONTINUA unabated for a long, long time to come. UNLESS...