Something I never thought would ever seriously cross my
mind, not to talk of revealing such dark thoughts. We have, however, reached a
point of no return such that verbalizing such a thought is most definitely not
out of place, nor is it out of sync with the direction of travel most Nigerians
would wish our country to take. My confidence is certainly not misplaced if I
opined that most Nigerians would, today, not resent an enforced hiatus in the
way our country is being run to the ground. Be honest with yourself, how would
you react if you were to wake up in the morning and realized there had been a
military takeover of government? Simple question. I understand the difficulty
inherent in the contemplation of such a scenario, but being bombarded daily
with an unimaginable barrage of impunities calls for a different approach. Anyone that suggests we’re in a democracy must either be
out of kilter with reality or complicitous or both. Nigeria is a textbook example
of a kakistocracy, laced with not a small dose of theocracy. Some might say, with
some justification, that armed rebellion isn’t the solution to our man-made
troubles. I have no issues with that at all. However, it has to be said that Nigerian
contemporary history isn’t exactly replete with successful acts of peaceful civil
disobedience. Our oppressors hold all the levers of power and they deride even
our most cherished privileges of freedom of speech and of expression.
The court system is no longer the last bastion of democracy, but the first defender of tyranny and oppression. Corruption cases involving the robbing elite go on for years without resolution and if or when such are resolved, they are invariably in favour of the corrupt. The common man on the street has his case expeditiously resolved and in most cases end up with a guilty verdict. When you have ill-gotten wealth to burn, justice is inevitably skewed in your favour; to be poor in the Nigeria of today is a capital offence for which there can be no mitigation. When you're with people unjustifiably feeling the pressures of life, then you realise no amount of sermonizing about a better tomorrow would soothe. One doesn't need to have an Einstein-type brain nor be blessed with the mind of Socrates to come to the conclusion that the proliferation of churches has a direct correlation with the level of poverty in our society. It is exactly this that unscrupulous figures masquerading themselves as pastors are tapping into. When poverty bites real hard, cognitive thinking is the first casualty as people desperately look for ways to break out of the cycle, and what better way than to hide behind the cloak of religion? It's a double-whammy. Being screwed by politicians and mercilessly creamed off by fake pastors. What an existence! The whole system is rigged against the common man.
The Constitution, in its present form, is working against the interests and protection of the common man and must be overhauled. To rely on this crop of thieves that hold the reins of power to rectify the deficiencies in our Constitution is tantamount to relying on a vampire to donate blood. The courts are on their side and the fake religionists are their bedfellows. For how much longer are we going to bear this suffocative stench of inhumanity?
As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't be at all sorry to see the back of these ungodly oppressors and I would welcome a respite from their unspeakable acts of inhumanity, recklessness and stupidness. If an armed revolt is what it takes then so be it. I'm willing and ready to play my part. To die for a cause is preferable to dying from a curse. This curse on our nation has to be exorcised.
