THY WILL SHALL NOT BE DONE

To the wicked, the voice of reason is inane; to the kindhearted, it is soothing. Doing what is right isn't an option, but a duty, for the kindhearted; for the wicked, it is a onerous and an undesirable endeavour. Wrongdoing is an unjustifiable and inexcusable engagement and it is even the more galling if a perpetrator of such has been put in a position of trust. I'm not preaching to the converted, but appealing to the false-hearted. For how much longer can we, as Nigerians, afford to make combating corruption and graft in government the biggest talking point? When do we actually begin to take our welfare, and wellbeing, into proper consideration? Why do we keep attacking each other while our common enemy has a field day at the expense of our immature attitude to the affairs of state? Where is the alternative route to progress when the so-called elite are just a bunch of sycophants and pretentious experts at everything? A case in point was when Nigeria entered into a currency swap deal with China and some so-called educated people went berserk! Many of them don't even have the vaguest idea of what a currency swap deal is all about. Do they know how many highly industrialized countries have similar deals with China? The United Kingdom, South Korea, and Singapore are just a few examples. Have they given our situation and circumstances the due care and attention they deserve? With the utmost respect, I'll refer them to the following:

http://www.reuters.com/article/china-uzbekistan-swap-idUSB9E7EN02P20110419

http://uzpedia.blogspot.com/2011/04/uzbekistan-signs-currency-swap-deal.html

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/31/content_7635007.htm

If only people could stop being lazy armchair critics and know-all-experts, there's a fountain of knowledge available out there to educate themselves with, and have informed ideas about what they say and think. It's only when we are adequately knowledgeable about what we're talking about could we give constructive criticisms and suggest alternatives. Must we just try to pull down those trying their very best to do the right thing by all of us? Why is our collective mind so beclouded with prejudice and intolerance? These questions, and more, should be occupying our thoughts so as to create a pathway to social justice, collective progress, peace and unity.

I keep on saying that I don't have time for people who criticize just for the sake of it when they don't have anything positive to contribute in facing up to the challenges that face our country's survival as a viable entity. What exactly is the problem with trying to right the wrongs that have been done to us? Is it really an issue trying to haul back the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been stolen from us over the years? Is it unjust to punish the guilty according to the law, and deter others? It is beyond my understanding why, with the incontrovertible evidence of mass pilferage of our resources, some people still take umbrage at attempts to do the right and just thing. If anything, Buhari is too slow and docile in confronting the biggest threat that we face, and that is corruption. How long would it take before the judiciary is reformed to prevent the abuse of court processes? Venal justices and judges are in situ and prolong the dispensation of justice. Lawyers whose pecuniary interests are at odds with their conscience dominate the legal system and have become a clog in the wheel of national progress. Yet, in the eyes of Buhari's detractors, Nigeria is going back to the Iron Age! What a load of codswallop! Yes, Buhari hasn't done many things right and we have a collective right to take him to task on those; but what is our justification for crucifying him when he attempts to do the right thing? We can't eat our cake and have it. Would it be beneficial to return to the old days of free-for-all stealing? I'm sure that is not what the suffering people of our country desire. Some may wish that, but I can assure those that do that thy will shall not be done.

I'm sick and tired of having to waste time on Saraki and his ilk. Saraki's humiliation must be total and complete, for he has taken us for a ride for far too long. Every single one of the thieves must be equally humiliated, I don't give a rat's ar*e which political party they belong to. In addition, every single name contained in the Mossack Fonseca revelatory list must be probed. I don't care about the APC, nor do I give a monkey's about the PDP. A thief is a thief and the law must be equally applied to each and everyone of them if the fight against corruption is to be total. Nigerians get sicker by the day with revelation after revelation of new fraudulent cases and indictments. We need to know what monies have been recovered and how, where and when they are going to be utilized. We need to know how many of these thieves are being banged up in prison for their treasonous exploits. It is only when these begin to happen that Nigerians would have confidence in the direction the government is taking. Hope would be restored and despair would recede. This life of incessant power outage and lack of petroleum products must have an end point. No jobs, no money, no power, no petrol, no hope! Why? The suffering is now intolerable.

On another note, the Fulani herdsmen rampaging through communities all over the country must be dealt with promptly and most severely. Enough of the killing and maiming of residents and landowners. Why are they being treated differently from Boko Haram or those blowing up oil pipelines? They are all terrorists. If those herdsmen are left to continue with their killing spree, Buhari would have a lot to answer for and he would justifiably be regarded as being complicit in the wanton destruction of lives and properties. It cannot be one rule for some and another for others. Peaceful coexistence should not be jeopardized by a few bloodthirsty herdsmen who think they own Nigeria.

On a final note, I have serious concerns about the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed. If he hasn't been compromised, he really has to put his skates on and begin the much needed reform of the Justice system. Enough of these endless adjournments of corruption cases, and the flagrant abuse of court processes being perpetrated by the so-called learned profession. Enough said.           

FACTIS NON VERBIS

Sometimes one cannot but wonder why Nigeria is so plagued on so many fronts at the same time. What the heck is wrong with, and about, our country? The quicksand of misfortune seems to be rooted in our country and nobody seems to have credible solutions to the myriad of largely self-inflicted wounds destroying the very fabric of our being and tearing apart the very wool that our commonwealth was woven with. Now, you may ask what the reason for my ire is today and I can honestly contend that the reasons are far too many for my humble brain to comprehend. All for us seem to understand the ‘why’ but not the ‘how’. We’re, for the most part, so pretentious in our individual belief that we know exactly how to solve our nation’s woes. Self-appointed intellectuals and experts, not to talk of those who have turned mudslinging into an art form, often come up with one ‘panacea’ or the other. Flip-flopping is the new trend, today they are for and tomorrow they are against. For and against what exactly? ‘Principle’ has become a swear word in the ears of Nigerians; it’s now a case of ‘touch ye not my anointed, he’s from my tribe or clan’. Trying to clamp down on corruption is now tagged ‘witch-hunting’ even when the facts are stacked to the high heavens. Judges, lawyers and bankers are in cahoots against the very notion of nationhood, their ever-bulging pockets unfillable. Politicians? Don’t get me started on the slugs! How and why on earth did we deserve these scumbags?

Define the thought of going back to the days of military regimes a retrograde one, but can anyone, in all honesty, say we’re better off now than we were during even the worst of military regimes? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the crass brazenness of our modern day ‘politicians’ gives me no option. Though not clamouring for a return to those dark days of our evolution, but a brief return wouldn’t do us any harm, if only to round up those who have destroyed Nigeria, and wasted millions of lives in the blind pursuit of riches, and bang them all up until they have coughed up their illegal acquisitions and accumulations. These shameless armed robbers that call themselves politicians incessantly bang on about fundamental human rights. What about the human rights of over 180 million Nigerians they have ruthlessly thrashed and mercilessly trampled upon? What about the destinies of tens of millions of young people that have been decimated? What about the entitlements of millions of pensioners they have appropriated to themselves thereby sending them into penury and early graves?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Ninety-nine point nine per cent of Nigerian politicians are worse than armed robbers! Ninety-nine point nine per cent of Nigerian lawyers are worse than armed robbers! Ninety-nine point nine per cent of Nigerian judges are worse than armed robbers! Ninety-nine point nine per cent of Nigerian bankers are worse than armed robbers! Need I say more? If Buhari is alone in this fight against corruption, he will lose. There’s no doubt about that. We, ordinary Nigerians, are complicit in this fight against sanity because we make excuses for the armed robbers and condone their remorseless attack on our common destiny.

Look at the state of play today. Corruption cases going on forever while many have been abandoned altogether. Looters burying money like corpses and pleading not guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence. Still, we defend them just because we hate the face of Buhari. What these apologists for corruption fail to see is that Buhari isn’t even fighting for himself, he doesn’t have to. As poor as he claims to be, he’s still not begging for food and struggling for survival like most Nigerians currently do. He is fighting for you and me, for our children and grandchildren, and those yet unborn. It is only in Nigeria that I see people attacking the very person who is fighting their corner. What sense does that make? Many of us, in our comfort zones in the UK, US and other places, abuse our keyboards thinking that we’re feeling the pains of Nigerians. Utter nonsense! Many of Buhari’s traducers wouldn’t survive the harsh realities in Nigeria for six months and they see themselves as experts in the art of governance. We all need to readjust our expectations and refocus on the real issues that need confronting if Nigeria is to cease being a laughing stock and a basket case.

We’re not in a democracy in Nigeria, but rather a kakistocracy; that much is abundantly clear. When you have eighty senators tagging along to court with Saraki, with scores of SANs. Can any sane person imagine that absurdity? When you have a half-educated excuse of a governor, gaining notoriety by the hour, proving beyond any doubt that he actually is a heartless thug, taking it upon himself to destroy any notion of nation-rebuilding that we all should work tirelessly to engage in? What an absolute nudnik!

Lest you deduce from the aforesaid that I am giving Buhari an unalloyed thumbs-up; I am not, not by any stretch of the imagination. He has made avoidable mistakes and we have a right, and an expectation, to take him to task on those from time to time. Fundamental human rights must be protected, even in the face of unimaginable transgressions. That’s for another time. What I cannot fault him for is his strive to bring a semblance of accountability to governance and to deracinate corruption and confront its unrepentant perpetrators. In that quest, I believe, he deserves our total and perpetual support. It should be one for all, all for one. We should not only say it, but our deeds must  from now on portray our desire. Factis non verbis.