SOS: The ship of State is heading the wrong direction due to a very faulty satellite navigation
Series: Buharism and the Fierce Urgency of Now
ECHOES OF THE GREAT AWAKENING
THE NIGERIAN RENAISSANCE, NATIONALISM, RISE OF THE INTELLIGENTSIA AND THE IMPENDING REVOLUTION IN NIGERIA
There is a revolution coming.
It will not be like revolutions of the past.
It will originate with the individual and
with culture, and it will change
the political structure
only as its final act.
It will not require violence to succeed,
And it cannot be successfully
resisted by violence.
- Charles A. Reich
NATIONAL REBIRTH NOW OR NEVER!
AIM AND GOAL/OVERALL OBJECTIVE
The overall goal of such a vision should be to make nationalists of all Nigerians, converting them from ethnicity, tribalism, regionalism, nepotism, favouritism to Nigerianism, turning them away from corruption and self-centredism and making them embrace wholesome living and imbibe universal altruism in all that they think, say and do in their various little corners within the NIBE/Nigerian Federation.
LOOKING BACK
Nigeria was once a foremost nation pointing the light for other African nations to follow, but today like the eagle which was brought down from the sky by an ant gnawing at her wings, corruption has brought down Nigeria from her once Olympian and soaring height, such that in the comity of nations she has been reduced to a mere footnote and smaller African nations including those which gained independence recently are the ones now speaking for the continent.
The soul of Nigeria died the day, Sunday 15th January, 1956 when oil was discovered at Otuabagi and Otuogadi in Oloibiri in the present day Bayelsa State by Shell Darcy. That day it was too that the spirit of enterprise, competitiveness and innovations died, and following afterwards, Nigeria lost her heart and senses of rightness/justness and wrongness including of course, universal altruism. Hence what passes for Nigeria today is the relic of her old self walking with her head and legs up.
Thus, in conceiving the idea of Scorpion we are embarrassed by the current abysmal level of corruption including stagnation to regression in every facet of that country’s life and disappointed at Nigeria’s current zero image at international level.
However, we hasten to warn that in taking the history of corruption in Nigeria from the discovery of oil in 1956, we are by no means insinuating that the nation's socio-political, economic, cultural and religious malaise began with the discovery of oil during that period as we do believe without apologies that corruption within the entire human community started with the fall of man as exemplified in the creation story. What is more, as students of Nigerian/African history, we are not unmindful of the negative impacts of such chance encounters with the Arab invaders in the earliest centuries, enslaving the natives and seizing their lands as evident in the North of Africa, followed afterwards by the Europeans, consequent too upon their enslavement of Africans, and colonialism with the resultant consequences of the Europeans too, plundering Nigeria's/Africa's resources.
Therefore, a proper dissection of the origin of corruption in Nigeria/Africa must take serious cognizance of the corruptive influences of Arabism, slavery and colonialism in Nigeria/Africa dating back to 4500 BC through 1800 till the very present as already anatomized in MIND LEPROSY! And not ignoring other such contributive factors as neocolonialism, neofeudalism, militarism, the civil war, neoliberalism, globalization, the so-called fair trade, etc, etc.
NIGERIA IS A VERY BIG TOILET FULL OF WORMS!
The level of corruption in Nigeria is such that the whole country has been converted into a big toilet/lavatory wherein dwell as worms without exception, all Nigerians. In this very big toilet, the worms called Nigerians not only dwell, but feed, eat, drink, breathe, move and have their beings - take them out of this toilet and they will die just as if you remove worms from the toilet and put them in a clean environment, they will each die in a matter of moment; for it is not in the nature of worms to live, feed, eat, drink, sleep and derive their beings in a clean environment. Therefore, every space in that big toilet is a mere extension or an annex of the big national toilet, be it the church, mosque, workplaces, marketplaces, institutions, on buses, at bus stops, in homes, schools, colleges, the universities, the military, every political space, the police, professional associations, INEC, palaces, hotels, etc, etc.
The task ahead is not going to be easy, but with the collective efforts of all Nigerians at home and abroad, all friends and well-wishers of Nigeria across the globe, joining us in this crusade, by reporting all sharp practices in that country, including all their unpleasant experiences in the course of doing business, or just visiting Nigeria for other enterprises, we are well able to uproot this evil tree in the House of Nigeria.
Above all, with God on our side, we are able to root out corruption and general insecurity in the erstwhile giant of Africa, make her a paradise of glory and a beautiful bride for foreign investors and tourists once more.
We therefore, call on all Nigerians, friends and well wishers of Nigeria to send us information, documents, facts and figures detailing all forms of corruption in that country. Although, steeped in stupendous corruption, the current Government may not be willing to take action against established corrupt cases or be favourably and genuinely interested in fighting corruption as the saying goes, “He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones,” we are prepared to press for prosecution of all cases relating to corruption in any form in Nigeria by enlisting world leaders and relevant international bodies such as the United Nations and Transparency International.
According to a recent information on Nigeria, courtesy of the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 100 million Nigerians live on less than $1.00 a day. Oil - rich Nigeria, and indeed, Africa with all its superabundant natural and manpower resources has no reason to be poor.
Although, our focus at this time primarily is Nigeria, we should welcome information on corruption from other African countries on other African corrupt rulers/persons.
THE CLARION CALL
THE GREAT SUMMONS
Throughout the length and breath of Nigeria, the bugle is being blown to summon all Nigerians to answer this national call. This call is to be Nigerian in all things Nigerian without recourse to ethnicity and violence; this call is to be humane in all things and be selfish in nothing. It is a summons to integrity; courage; to excellent service to humanity, this call is to every Nigerian to occupy their minds with serious things; to wipe out injustice and lay the foundation of an egalitarian society of fraternal proximity, to be punctual to work and to be committed to our employers. It is a summons to the employers that the workers deserve their wages; it is also a summons to workers not to turn their places of work into places of merchandize. Yea, it is a summons which places loyalty to fatherland above all else, to creativity and individual initiatives; to every Nigerian to carry their own cross and depend less on the Government; it is a summons for purposeful and visionary leadership and a dedicated, creative and committed followership. This call is an appeal for dialogue and understanding; it is an appeal against endless borrowing by the Government; it is an appeal for the diversification of the economy and a form of privatization that is fair to all concerned.
THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY
The Nigerian economy is currently comatose, despite our earlier warnings to King Rehoboam to emabark on GAME - Grow the economy, agriculturise the nation, manufacture, export. It is quite astonishing that in the face of the nation's very weak Naira, some self-serving Nigerians who had contributed to wrecking the nation's economy in their bacchic enthusiasm to serve the West are back from their hideouts/comfort and dead zones recommending further devaluation of the Naira.
More worrisome is the fact that they and the next Finance Minister whom we already know is coming to implement Western economic policies against the reality of the Nigerian/African condition will soon recommend the removal of oil subsidy and canvass application of Quantitave Easying which is another way of devaluing the Naira through the back door, whilst they will also be made to swallow the poisonous baits of endless borrowings as we are already witnessing under King Rehoboam.
We are appalled that in spite of the red signals on the economic frontlines, King Rehoboam is plotting on how he will further discolour the character of the Nigerian polity through sectionalism, nepotism, regionalism and religious bigotry, planting his kins people in plum, key, sensitive and strategic positions in all of the public offices in the land with the hope of prolonging his region's hold on power perpetually - a situation which from our Crystal Glass will plunge the nation into unprecedented chaos, leading to coup/s, counter coup/s, another military misadventure, ING and such other dodgy arrangements they will come up within the body politics.
As the ship of State drifts and drifts and drifts rudderlessly on the high sea, buffeting against intractable gales, more dangerous than tsunami, we cry and warn at the same time that crises of immense proportions are on way to hit everyone, the Nigerian workers, the greater majority who now face staff auditing soon to be carried out in both the public and the private sectors as nothing, repeat, as nothing is being done to power the economy. What is more, we can hear the cries of many hapless Nigerians demanding self-determination like never before in the face of the unparalleled HOPELESSNESS that has set in.
In addition to our recommendation of GAME, the nation needs to reduce the highest denomination of the Naira from N1000xx to just N50xx in order to force down inflation drastically, following it up with the reintroduction of coins and backing it up with law, thus making any refusal of coins by any Nigerian a criminal offence with a maximum jail term of seven years.
WHERE THE NATION'S POLITICAL SATELLITE NAVIGATION OUGHT TO BE HEADING/POINTING/LEADING
I'M A CITIZEN AND NOT A SETTLER
It is very embarrassing and shameful that after over a century of staying/living together as a people, we really do not yet know what we want, what we want to do with ourselves, with each of the so-called major ethnic nationalities screaming out ethnic cleansing and calling for secession each time things don't go their ways. But when things do go their ways, especially when the two 'relay athletes' who have been handing over power to one another since the start of the journey in 1960, they mouth off: ONE NIGERIA...OUR CORPORATE EXISTENCE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.
Appallingly, Nigerian citizens domiciled in their non-ancestral homes within the Nigerian Federation are stupidly and ignorantly referred to as non-indigenes, non-natives, strangers, sojourners, guests, aliens by fellow Nigerians whom they live in their midst and who consider themselves as "sons and daughters of the soil", such that at the slightest provocation, these so-called sons and daughters of the soil ask their fellow compatriots - Nigerian citizens like them, but whom they consider as strangers/non-indigenes to "LEAVE OUR LAND and return to your land/country".
It will therefore, be our assigned task to educate all Nigerians that by the sole reason of adopting a federal system of government, every ethnic nationality has lost their -NESSES to NIGERIANNESS, such that anyone within the Nigerian Federation playing up the ethnic card or such other card as nepotism, is merely advertising their folly to the whole of humanity, as in a FEDERATION, what matters, ought to matter and should so matter is CITIZENSHIP and nothing else like ethnicity, hence a CITIZEN of a country is a CITIZEN of that country and must not be known, identified, labelled, called or referred to by any other such nonsense as above, and enjoys and should enjoy and MUST enjoy all such rights as guaranteed them by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and should never, ever and MUST never, ever, ever, ever and never, ever be discriminated against or treated unfairly or be denied all their entitlements as guaranteed them by the nation's constitution on grounds of ethnic nationality, religion, geographical zone, creed or other such beliefs as to warrant being derisively referred to in their country as non-natives, non-indigenes, guests, strangers, aliens, sojourners, invaders by those who advertise their crass stupidity and delusions of grandeur, all because they erroneosly think themselves as "hosts", as the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not recognise such idiocy and folly of theirs.
All Nigerians who are infected by the SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE SOIL SYNDROME (SADSS) must be educated that in coming together to form a federation, they have lost all including land to the Nigerian nation, hence all lands within the territory of Nigeria, including their subjacent and superjacent resources are vested in the Federal Republic of Nigeria - its people and Government, so no one, repeat no one or group of people/persons, zone or ethnic nationality can lay claim to any portion of the land within the natural territory of the nation called Nigeria via any guise or delusions.
Therefore, no Nigerian has the inalienable right to tell a fellow Nigerian, no matter where they reside within the natural territory of Nigeria, be it on land or on waters to "pack and leave OUR LAND", for any reason whatsoever and no matter the degree of conflict/provocation as our first and last best options are still CONVERVATION and DIALOGUE, and not war or seccesion.
And when a Government comes to power and concentrates development in the area or geographical zone of the head of the Government of the day, including political appointments, it only in our reckoning exposes the folly and ignorance of the head of that Government and such a ruler, not a leader, without apologies, is a VERY BIG FOOL and not fit to come to that public and the most exalted space in the land.
LET'S TALK IT OVER
As we wail again for the nation today, as in many of our consistent wailings over the years, especially whenever the ship of State was adrift as it has always been since the start of our national journey, and currrently is under Mr Muhammadu Buhari, it is our utmost national and patriotic duty to once again invite all of our fellow country men and women, wherever they are domiciled at this time - home or in the diaspora, to the national round table, even as we cry out as always: Let us do real talk; let us talk real talk now before it is too late - real talk and nothing, but real talk. And now is the time to talk real talk. And real talk we must resolve to talk real talk, not phoney or half-hearted talk, but real talk. LET US TALK TO OURSELVES NOW! PLEASE LET US PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER NOW!
At this juncture, our admonition to all Nigerians first and foremost is: REMAIN IN THE SHIP AND LET'S TALK IT OVER OR KEEP QUIET...REMAIN IN THE BOAT OR SHUT UP!
Therefore, anyone who had thought they would bring division into Nigeria, should think unity; anyone who had always thought about settlers/sojourners in their midst, should learn the simple lesson about citizenship; anyone harbouring hatred for the other person/s outside of their ethnic nationality, faith, geo-zone and political leaning within the body politics, should think love; anyone still thinking of building/creating/dreaming CALIPHATE in the 21st Century Nigeria, should be reminded that Nigeria is a FEDERATION and such nonsense has no place therein and in the modern world generally; anyone thinking of promoting their faith above the others, should be told, in the NIGERIAN FEDERATION, we shall recognise no other religion and philosophy, save Nigerianism and Nigerianness; anyone thinking of ethnicity/regionalism should be told, in today's Nigeria, such are outdated; anyone thinking of doing/practising nepotism, should be made to go for ABC lesson in FAIRNESS & BALANCE.
NOW IS NOT THE TIME (TO PART WAYS)
Now is not the time to part ways, but the time to glue together as one people bound together in love, peace, unity, freedom and eternal liberty in an indissoluble union, confluenced and conjoined together by the Great God Almighty; now is not the time; now is not the time to part ways, even as the heavens testify to it that now indeed, is not the time; and Mother Earth too concurs, now is not the time; the birds of the heavens and the earth, and all the creatures of the seas and the Ocean, and above all, Mother Nature weeping, says severally, loud and clear: NOW IS NOT THE TIME!
Yea, now is not the time to dissolve this our God-ordained UNION!!!
GOAL FOR THE WAY FORWARD
Thus, our collective goal as citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is to promote NIGERIANNESS, CITIZENSHIP, NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS, THE RULE OF LAW, THE GOLDEN RULE, UNIVERSAL ALTRUISM and such other positivities that will promote ONENESS, ONE PEOPLE, UNITY, EQUALITY, PEACE, HARMONY, JUSTICE, FAIRNESS AND FAIRPLAY and all things that will add national piquancy to our corporate existence as a nation of ONE PEOPLE, destined and joined together in an indissoluble and non-negotiable UNION, determined to live together in an environment of assured security, peace and harmony, leading Africa, all persons of African ancestry on the planet earth and the nations of the world, hence we preach the cultivation and the embracement of THE NIGERIAN SPIRIT, whilst we sing the SONG OF NIGERIA.
ATTAINMENT OF THE NIGERIAN SPIRIT
The Nigerian spirit is the spirit that stirs up the best in Nigerians.
It constitutes great visions and great dreams; dreaming big dreams and seeing to their realization; a giant will and a spirit of invincible determination; marvellous possibilities, resilience and boundless elasticity; tenacity of purpose; selflessness and loyalty to fatherland; the highest level of patriotism; giving God a prime place in the Nigerian mind and in national life; a strong abhorrence for religious bigotry and irreligiousness of religion; an enterprising and inquiry mind; an excellent spirit; dedication and devotion to duty; a spirit so strong that it cannot be discouraged; the truth, without which the citizen is not free; fearlessness; confidence in self; the fatherland, humanity and posterity, yet very humble; a sense of nationalism rather than ethnicity; absence of avarice and thievery; honesty and integrity; a sense of community rather than individualism - being one's brother's keeper, creating a sense of sanity in one's little corner in the midst of endemic or pervasive corruption; walking tall without entertaining grasshopper complex; the spirit to say to oneself after the accomplishment of a great task that the best is yet to come; the ability to recreate one's world, where one is thoroughly dissatisfied; utmost enthusiasm rather than grumbling; time consciousness rather than getting hooked to the so-called African time; a high sense of moderation instead of unbridled ostentation and acquisitive tendency; a great sense for details and observation; a sense of service rather than pecuniary consideration; observance of the country's laws and order in order to keep the peace. The Nigerian spirit is to be cultivated and practised.
AND LET US JOINTLY SING THE SONG OF NIGERIA
NIGERIA WILL RULE THE WORLD
Nigeria, great country, destined to rule the world
There’s no nation in the world as great as our Nigeria
With God, this Nigeria, God’s own beloved nation will rule the world,
Yes, Nigeria, God’s own beloved nation, shall someday rule the world.
God, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth,
Help us to live together as one, brothers and sisters,
Accepting one another in spite of our differences,
Understanding and forgetting such differences
And working together side by side with our children
To build a strong and virile nation, where in our diversity
Every citizen is treated equally and fairly.
God of Nigeria, give to all those to whom you have entrusted
The task of governing Nigeria to govern well in a manner that will glorify you,
Give them the grace not to think highly of themselves,
But to in their entrusted little corners think of themselves as servant- leaders;
O God of Nigeria, give our leaders the grace to be selfless and patriotic;
Give them wisdom and hearts large enough to love and serve all;
Keep them away from greed and corruption,
So that instead of asking, “What’s in it for me?”
They will ask, “What’s in it for all of us?”
Give them the grace to in judgement be impartial, remembering the poor in our midst;
Showing no respect to persons, but acknowledging you always as the God of Nigeria who has placed them in authority over us;
Give them the wisdom to be broad and whole in thinking,
And let them embrace strategic thinking and shift away from oil and genuinely diversify the economy,
O God of Nigeria, implant in the heart, mind, spirit,
Soul and body of every Nigerian, love for each other,
Respect for each other in an atmosphere of peace,
Surpassing all understanding and having respect for one another’s faith without recourse to religious bigotry in dealing with one another
On daily basis in word and in deed;
Let this spirit of love permeate every fabric of our society
So that whether in the North, South, East or West of our country
We shall in peace and harmony live together
In a country where there’s no North, no South, but one Nigeria;
In a country where there is no division as to ethnic nationality, but one Nigeria;
In a country where there’s no division as to indigineship, settlership, but citizenship only;
Where all Nigerians are citizens of one great and indissoluble country,
Having one mission, vision, one dream, one purpose, one destiny with one commonality
As one people, set to take over the world in all things-politics, science, innovations, technology, sports, agriculture, cultures, standard of living, social welfare and per capita income, etc.
Help us to build a nation where no one will be persecuted, killed for embracing or belonging to a faith;
Give us the spirit as a people to strive for excellence, competitive performance instead of the usual recourse to hereditary privilege;
Help us to do God and not religion, church or mosque,
O God of Nigeria, give us the wisdom, courage to bring up
Our children in the fear and nurture of you;
Give them and the coming generations the grace not to give up on Nigeria;
But that they should act their own part in the rebuilding of our Nigeria,
Never to be bitter, but be sufficiently angry
to challenge the status quo, committed, loyal and patriotic
And when they shall ask us in this national odyssey,
“Are we nearly there?”
Let us then respond with love and inspiring words that
“We are not nearly there yet, but on our way,
And we shall arrive very soon on eagle’s wings.”
Yes, we shall soon arrive on eagle’s wings
And some day our Nigeria will rule the world
Again we sing the song of Nigeria in unison:
Nigeria will rule the world!
Until I return, may the Great God of Nigeria stir up the spirit of the coming revolution in you, even as I profess my faith once more in our dear country: I BELIEVE IN NIGERIA.
I thank you all for your time from a full heart.
Yours in the service of our nation,
JOHN ODEY ADUMA
British Chevening Scholar and Publisher.
***We are proud to be leading the Nationalists Unity Movement of Nigeria (NUMON)
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