With most nations, there comes a time when their citizens say, “enough is enough; we will no longer tolerate or accept this”. But what do we as Nigerians do? We continue to bend over backwards to adjust and adapt. Negligence, incompetence and impunity must be recognised for what they are, failure. And we must begin to not only have a threshold to rubbish but also make it known. There’s simply not enough outrage for us to expect any meaningful change to take place. I say enough to, “this is Nigeria”.
Though an unmistakable feeling of pride wells up in me as an involuntary initial response, it rapidly yields to a sense of deep sorrow, when reminded once again that we have so many Nigerians doing tremendous things abroad; bringing great honour to the countries they represent; while the society they initially hail from, at least by blood, has all but become a global reference point for the ascendancy of mediocrity in the midst of abundant talent, a place where the sublime is condemned and the ridiculous condoned, a society where integrity is too inconvenient to matter, where knowledge has taken a back seat among the youth who seek to blow but don’t care to know, where known kleptomaniacs are awarded national honours and celebrated as heroes while those whose cross it is to fight for social justice are mocked and reviled by the very people they fight for.
Examples of successful “Nigerians” abroad abound. Is it Anthony Joshua, the Boxing World Heavyweight champion? How I wish I would not be repeatedly reminded of our loss and Britain’s gain, whenever he’s introduced as the “Nigerian born Brit” or “the Brit of Nigerian descent”. Neither term has ever failed to evoke two diametrically opposing emotions in equal measure in me – one of pride of association and another of national shame. My instant reaction whenever I hear or read that, is, “there goes another one of our own, lost to a saner and better run nation”. Would it not have been so much sweeter to hear him introduced as “The Nigerian Tornado”, “The Nigerian Woze Master” or for those of us old enough to have watched the old Western television series, Bonanza, “The Nigerian Dan Blocker”. Before you ask what the correlation between that television character and a demolition expert in the boxing ring is, I will tell you for free; absolutely nothing. I can’t help it; I just like the name because it sounds tough. Boys will always be boys so please, indulge me a little.
Those of us who at least have a passing interest in sports may also have heard of Giannis Antetokounmpo, popularly known as “The Greek freak”. This tongue-twister of a name is in fact the supposed Greek version of Sina Adetokunbo, the name he was born with. This huge basketball star has been quoted as saying he can’t wait to learn more about his roots in Lagos, Nigeria’s ever bustling commercial capital. To know how successful he is, Giannis was voted the Most Valuable Player in the US basketball ball league in 2019. Quoting an article, I read recently as I sought to know more about this rising phenomenon, it said, “Charles and Veronica Adetokunbo (Giannis’s parents) moved from Lagos to Greece in 1991 in hopes of a better future for themselves and their family after struggling to find employment”. An all too familiar story of Nigerians seeking greener pastures outside these shores.
Everyone wants to live in a society that brings to life their dreams and not one that has suffocated so many. It’s just so sad.
Equally sad it was to learn that Charles Adetokunbo didn’t live long enough to fully witness or enjoy his son’s success. He died in 2017 at the age of just 54. What does however give me great joy though, was to read that Giannis’s parents did all they could to bring him and his siblings up the Nigerian way, by imbibing in them the virtues our culture had always been known for. Speaking to this, Giannis had this to say, “I grew up in a Nigerian home. Obviously, I was born in Greece and went to school in Greece. But at the end of the day when I go home, there is no Greek culture. It’s straight-up Nigerian culture. It’s about discipline, it’s about respecting your elders, having morals.” His parents taught their children the virtues they and many other Nigerians were brought up with. Until recent times, these values which appear to be quickly becoming extinct, were sacrosanct.
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If I’m to start naming all the successful “Nigerians” abroad, we will literally be here all day, but do permit me to name a few in the entertainment industry. We have the likes of Seal, Lemar, Nas and the ageless Sade Adu, all huge global musical icons; Sophie Okonedo, the Oscar nominated British actress for the hard-hitting movie, Hotel Rwanda. Chiwetel Ejiofor, also a British Hollywood star and brother to Zain Asher, the presenter of CNN fame. There are just too many. Don’t get me started with all the world-renowned university Professors and Scientists, many of whom are based in the US. It baffles the mind to know that one nation can boast of so many people topping their trade and yet the nation they essentially hail from, has for all intents and purposes, become a global backwater.
Any leader who genuinely has the interest of his nation at heart would feel utterly ashamed about this. “Itiju” would douse the urge to latch himself unto a “long lost son” he had used his own hands to push away, just because he had now become a star. A feat, I may add, he had no hand whatsoever in bringing about. This is especially so, when his dear country still produces a multitude of such talent, that he has not lifted a finger to develop. But as we Nigerians often say, “shame no dey catch some people”.
The fear of Coronavirus is very quickly becoming the beginning of wisdom around the world, and it knows neither colour nor creed. No doubt, several of our state governments, NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health have done well so far to contain it but I heard something on the radio which I found a little disturbing. I heard that some who fear they may have contracted the virus decided on their own, that it would be better for them to self-isolate than subject themselves to the squalor which they believe the virus containment centre is likely to be.
This fear is symptomatic of the lack of trust Nigerians generally have in any service provided by government. Lack of faith in government hospitals push the sick into the waiting hands of quack doctors. Lack of faith in the police and suspicion of their intent a lot of the time has pushed so many people to take laws into their own hands, which in any book is wrong. Lack of faith that justice will be served is why only 3 percent of instances where police demand bribe of citizens is ever reported. Lack of faith in both the police and the judiciary is why many rape cases never get reported to the authorities. Nigerians don’t even have much faith in the law because they have witnessed time and again that the law only seems to be applied to some people. There’s a certain category which appear to operate by a completely different set of rules. Because of this, Nigerians trust more in their life experiences than in the law itself. If experience tells them they can get away with breaking the law, they will do so without batting an eyelid. Such a shame.
Changing the nation…one child at a time.
