THE NIGERIAN WOES: WHERE THE BEATS LED US
Yahoo o oo
Yahoo zee
....... One million dollar, dollar dollar
Elo lo ma je ti n ba se si Naira ?.........

Fellow Nigerians and social media friends and readers, it's yet another day on the planet. It's been a while since I last wrote any article on the nation's status quo. My silence, obviously has different meaning to different persons of varying personalities. To a few, I have gone bankrupt with the right words while some might as well felt I have equally felt the pang of the hard-bitting Nigerian economy which culminated in my inability to be able to afford mobile data. Hilarious, as the latter seem, it's not an impossibility, given the present state of the Nation. Whatever reason anyone might have ascribed to my deafening silence, I guess it should be a relief that recession isn't one of them.

Chief Dele Momodu, my mentor and respected Nigerian had once asked if Nigerian leaders watch television and I doubt if they read news from Nigerian dailies too, talk more of a social media post. My posts and that of other notable writers such as Reuben Abati and Doyin Okupe had no doubt meant nothing to those at the helms of affairs of this multi ethnic country. So, why bother? On a second thought, I felt I'm too young to give room for despair, hence, putting another serious thought into this. At least, this article isn't just meant for them, it's equally for us. In fact, it's more about us!

Those four lines above were the lyrics of a famous Nigerian song in the late 2000, sometimes around 2007. People danced to the rhythm throughout the length and breadth of this nation. Even, the non-Yorubas, without minding what those lyrics meant can't wait to roll those fingers in the air on hearing that cyber crime eulogy. The people in power said nothing about that but felt a song that spoke about the state of the Nation at that particular time was damaging the image of the Nation. Whatever Irredentism that is! The point is, that song among other sequels did not just come to entertain us and disappear, they left indelible marks on our mind and fail to escape from some parts of our brain. We practically got this penchant for amassing fabulous and ill gotten wealth unconsciously until we get to a position to unleash that beast in us. We got brainwashed!

What I am pointing at in clear terms is that, an individual won't loot millions of dollars if there is no force propelling such homo-sapien towards such immoral and perfidious act. That individual is no doubt a product of his/her environment. Governor El-Rufai said in 'The Accidental Public Servant' that he wondered how people hoard the Nation's common wealth and still sleep well at night, I think I have an answer. What they listen to and see around them made them believe that the best way to live happily after leaving office is to steal as much as possible. The mathematical equation is simply; the amount you stole (Loot, l) plus your smartness with cover up (security, s) equals happiness after office (Happiness, h); l + s = h. Simple arithmetic!

It's true that 'change begins with us' but the National Assembly should be the starting point. Just so we are clear, they have equally been affected by that same fear of becoming a pauper after being voted out, so we doubt if they would ever agree to let go their bogus allowances. They have given us excuses as to why they won't be letting their gargantuan chocolate go, but that is an effort in futility since they are unfortunately the one to decide what happens to that. That explanation is inane in all fronts.

At this crucial time that the nation needs rebranding and reorientation, the least the National Assembly can do is to come up with laws that guide against lyrics that eulogises economic and financial crimes. Maybe when this is done, we might not need the EFCC. Whether we concur or not, we are what we see, hear and do. May God help us!

Will read

when will you read?