₦airaland Forum

A version of this article was published in my June 21, 2014 column. It is still relevant today.

The other day I was reflecting on Nigerians’ new favorite pastime: endless griping about the increasingly disabling dysfunction of the country. And I realized that one theme that often stands out when we bewail our present conditions is that we almost always sentimentalize the past.

In other words, many Nigerians find relief from the worries of the present by taking a mental escape to the past.

For instance, when Nigerians bemoan the “indigene/settler” dichotomies in many states of the country, they like to recall, for example, that as far back as 1956, a Fulani man from Sokoto by the name of Malam Umaru Altine was elected the first Mayor of Enugu, the political capital of Eastern Nigeria. His religious and ethnic identity didn’t stand in the way of his election—as it certainly would in contemporary Nigeria.

They also remember that when the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi was governor of Kano State in the Second Republic, he appointed many non-Kano indigenes, including Christians from the South, as advisers and directors. There are several other examples of inclusiveness from the past that we invoke to deplore the politics of intolerance and exclusivity of the present.

And when Nigerians bemoan the worsening insecurity in the country, especially in the northeast, they never fail to recall that Borno State, the main theater of Boko Haram’s unceasing carnage, used to be so peaceful that its license-plate slogan is “home of peace.” Now, that slogan reads like a cruel joke.

On almost every imaginable subject—infrastructure, electricity, standard of education, tolerance, security, governance, leadership, etc.—our past has become our refuge from the scourge of our present. About the only area that Nigerians don’t look to the past for inspiration is telecommunication. No one looks back to the days of NITEL with nostalgia even in the face of the crappy GSM services that private telecom operates provide now.

I know of no society that valorizes its past, in even the most trivial indices, with as much wistfulness as Nigeria does. Here in the United States, to give just one example, rather than a sentimental longing for the past, I notice a tendency toward chronocentricity, that is, the notion that the present is superior to anything that preceded it.

For instance, when Americans discuss race relations, they look back at their past with disdain. Even though they are far from achieving racial equality, they all seem to agree that they have come a long way; that every subsequent generation is more racially tolerant and broadminded than the one that anteceded it.

As former President Obama said in one of his speeches, the fact that racial incidents like the Trayvon Martin murder case captured the national imagination and became the subject of intense national debate speaks to the unusualness of such cases and indicates how much progress has been made in race relations.

Although Americans also complain about declining standards in education, it isn’t as much a national obsession as it is in Nigeria. In fact, studies now show that young Americans actually read more print (and—obviously—electronic)books than did previous generations.

In many societies, people say things like “this is the 21st century, for God’s sake!” to rail against people who are narrow-minded, who are ensconced in their primordial cocoons, who are opposed to progress. Implicit in this utterance is the idea that the current age is an improvement on the previous ones; that history proceeds in a progressive, not recursive, direction. Of course, this is not entirely accurate, but it does capture a certain level of confidence about the present—and optimism about the future.

Nigerians don’t have even this illusory luxury. The past is a lot more comforting than the present and is therefore a better template for the future. But why wouldn’t it be? As a nation we seem to be moving from bad to worse in almost every sphere. At a time when most closed societies are opening up and open societies are becoming even more open, we are becoming more wedded to subnational loyalties than ever before. Citizens of Nigeria habitually get “deported” from parts of the country where they are not considered “indigenes.”

Corruption has reached such crushing heights that even former president Goodluck Jonathan said stealing was not corruption, and current President Buhari worries about corruption only when it is committed by his political enemies. His corrupt close associates can do no wrong—unless they fall out of favor with him. And stealing of public money no longer makes headlines news unless it’s in millions or billions of US dollars. What is more, we have become so desensitized to death that unless people die in their hundreds newspaper editors don’t put it on the front page.

Even universities that are called “ivory towers” because of their putative insulation from the reality of everyday life are affected by this national culture of worshiping the past. University teachers look to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s to reclaim the idea of the university. I have never heard or read any Nigerian university teacher brag about improvement in scholarship and pedagogy in the universities in the course of the years.

No future can be envisioned out of this depressingly dark present. That is why we glorify and idealize the past. But a country whose past is better than its present in most indices of human development is in a bigger trouble than it realizes. And, most certainly, a country whose future lies in its past has no future.

Source: http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2017/04/nigerias-future-is-sadly-still-in-its.html?m=1

This are the words of Nnamdi Kanu:
1.Buhari is a Pedeophile and a Rapist,He raped Aisha when she was little and Later Married her according to islamic Rules.
2.Go and tell Buhari,i said:He is Mad[Onye-Ara]
3.Take me to court,If u win Me,i will Denounce Biafra.
Now,kanu Having said all those words and Insulted the incubent President shows:
1.He is Fearless
2.He is brave.
In africa where even Governors Rule like a God with Intimidation and Killing,Kanu Rose to his Feet to call an Incubent President:A pedephile and a Rapist.
Buhari said:Over his dead Body will Kanu Be Released,Now Kanu is out,Buhari is sick,almost 99% Dead.
Are you seeing what am seeing
God bless Kanu
God bless his Faimily..

Farouk you are a traitor

We heard about your ambition to contest for Senate 2019

Go and sit down

bitcoinvin:
This are the words of Nnamdi Kanu:
1.Buhari is a Pedeophile and a Rapist,He raped Aisha when she was little and Later Married her according to islamic Rules.
2.Go and tell Buhari,i said:He is Mad[Onye-Ara]
3.Take me to court,If u win Me,i will Denounce Biafra.
Now,kanu Having said all those words and Insulted the incubent President shows:
1.He is Fearless
2.He is brave.
In africa where even Governors Rule like a God with Intimidation and Killing,Kanu Rose to his Feet to call an Incubent President:A pedephile and a Rapist.
Buhari said:Over his dead Body will Kanu Be Released,Now Kanu is out,Buhari is sick,almost 99% Dead.
Are you seeing what am seeing
God bless Kanu
God bless his Faimily..

Why are you quoting a criminal here ?

sarrki:
Why are you quoting a criminal here ?

Who is the criminal

sarrki:
Farouk you are a traitor

We heard about your ambition to contest for Senate 2019

Go and sit down

You must be a f*cking r*tard for calling him a traitor. Just because he stopped drooling over Buhari now warrants you guys to insult him.

Well, he has my vote if he ever decide to contest for senatorial post.

Any country that wishes to move forward do not need a president like Buhari
Buhari is stuck in the past.. The reason he detained dasuki and threw away the key
The reason he keep appointing old people into key positions to pacify them

For any country to forge ahead.. It needs a president that is exactly what Buhari is not

In short the man should just resign and go tend to his cows in Daura. Perhaps, seeing his cows will rejuvinate him.

sarrki:
Farouk you are a traitor

We heard about your ambition to contest for Senate 2019

Go and sit down

Anybody that criticizes Buhari automatically becomes a traitor
It must be terrible being you

1. Realize your millitary government were despots and alot of issues with governance can be traced to them.

2. Don't wear rose colored glasses about past about economy. Ex before oil the economy was so perfect and diversified.

3. There are some improvements we could make to Nigerian just looking at past. Then adding new layer of improvements.

For instance, when Nigerians bemoan the “indigene/settler” dichotomies in many states of the country, they like to recall, for example, that as far back as 1956, a Fulani man from Sokoto by the name of Malam Umaru Altine was elected the first Mayor of Enugu, the political capital of Eastern Nigeria. His religious and ethnic identity didn’t stand in the way of his election—as it certainly would in contemporary Nigeria.

They also remember that when the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi was governor of Kano State in the Second Republic, he appointed many non-Kano indigenes, including Christians from the South, as advisers and directors. There are several other examples of inclusiveness from the past that we invoke to deplore the politics of intolerance and exclusivity of the present.

That's Amazing I wonder what made people lose their minds in later decades making them myopic. Surround yourself with smart people and elect people based on principles.

Citizens of Nigeria habitually get “deported” from parts of the country where they are not considered “indigenes.”

What does that mean.

Corruption has reached such crushing heights that even former president Goodluck Jonathan said stealing was not corruption, and current President Buhari worries about corruption only when it is committed by his political enemies. His corrupt close associates can do no wrong—unless they fall out of favor with him. And stealing of public money no longer makes headlines news unless it’s in millions or billions of US dollars.

Still funny Jonathan can blame USA for loss.

bitcoinvin:
This are the words of Nnamdi Kanu:
1.Buhari is a Pedeophile and a Rapist,He raped Aisha when she was little and Later Married her according to islamic Rules.
2.Go and tell Buhari,i said:He is Mad[Onye-Ara]
3.Take me to court,If u win Me,i will Denounce Biafra.
Now,kanu Having said all those words and Insulted the incubent President shows:
1.He is Fearless
2.He is brave.
In africa where even Governors Rule like a God with Intimidation and Killing,Kanu Rose to his Feet to call an Incubent President:A pedephile and a Rapist.
Buhari said:Over his dead Body will Kanu Be Released,Now Kanu is out,Buhari is sick,almost 99% Dead.
Are you seeing what am seeing
God bless Kanu
God bless his Faimily..

Will you just....