Experience has, however, shown that drivers, and sometimes, occupiers of such vehicles, often act in manners that make nonsense of the messages convey by their vehicles. Sometimes, drivers of the piously embed vehicles drive in such reckless, disorderly and ungodly fashion that make one wonders if they are actually serious about messages their vehicles convey.
This, of course, is the tragedy of our nation. Metaphorical representations of such vehicles and drivers abound in every facet of our national life. They are everywhere. They occupy high places at the corridor of power. They hold high offices in religious circles. They occupy strategic positions in the education sector. They even operate within the various national security outfits. These are men to whom talk is cheap. They are men who don’t act what they preach. They are men of two parallel worlds. In the inside, they are snakes. But they pretend to be doves at the outside. Hypocrisy is their stock in trade. Deception is their trademark. They sing the national anthem with pride; recite the national pledge with relish, but stab the nation in the back at the slightest prospect.
As a nation, we have not made much progress partly because of our hypocritical and deceitful inclinations. At their inaugurations, our leaders often swear by the holy books to uphold the constitution and operate in the fear of God. With several stories of several billions of naira either missing or being misappropriated, over the years, one begins to wonder if they actually believe in the sacredness of their oath of office. It is amazing how we play fools with God. Whom do we actually take God for? A dumb deity who sees and hears nothing?
We have turned deception into an art. We claim ours is a constitutional democracy but in all honesty we operate a system that promotes injustice and slaughter justice on the altar of political expediency. The end justifies the means. Mind you, this doesn’t just start now; it has been a long standing tradition. While some hapless guys rot in prison for offences considered trivial, many who should have been forgotten in jail remain strategically positioned at the corridor of power determining the fate of millions of their ill-fated compatriots. When an incurable drunk is behind the wheel of a priceless exotic car, your guess is as good as mine. This, of course, has been the unfortunate tale of our country.
Unfortunately, the hypocritical bug has gotten to hitherto revered religious institutions where, naturally, one should expect a reasonable measure of godliness and piousness. Today, we have prophets, seers and clerics, of all shades, who desecrate the name and altar of God, like the biblical Esau, for a pot of porridge. The altar of God is now being corrupted by men who claim to know God but whose god is actually mammon. How does one explain the double standard of a ‘man of God’ who preaches faithfulness to marital vows but himself secretly keeps several concubines. Regrettably, these so called ‘men of God’ boast of a passionate and highly fanatical followership. Talk of the blind leading the blind. What a pity!
The traditional institution is not equally faring better. Today, across the country, we have respected monarchs, who occupy sacred ancestral thrones, but carry themselves in manners that could actually incur the rage of the gods. f you have ever given your car to a mechanic to fix or you have had course to deal with plumbers, electricians, carpenters etc, you will appreciate the ingenuity of the average Nigerian at cutting corners! Ironically, these are people with varied religious convictions.
Virtuous such as discipline, integrity, hard work, honesty and selflessness have taken the back seat. Gone are the days when student unionism was anchored purely on principles and ideological leanings. Today, student union leaders secretly hobnob with the very oppressors that they are supposed to boldly confront. If Mandela had acted in such a manner, perhaps, South Africa would still be under political bondage today!
A nation that is built on falsehood and deception will continue to breed nutty and boorish people. No nation makes real progress with such people. If we must get it right as a nation we need to uphold truth, honesty and integrity above other such brazen self centered values that have stunted our growth as a nation. It is not enough to make a profession of faith. We need to match faith with corresponding work.
Tayo Ogunbiyi
Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Ikeja