human-rights
Corruption: Evil Prospers When the Good Remain Silent
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How do you maintain your integrity in what seems to be a system that is corrupt at its core? How do you become an agent of transformation and change in a society where anything seems to go? Is it sufficient that you do not participate in the debasement of values? Or is the solution praying to a deity (read: God) and hoping that he comes down from heaven to change a situation that you are not willing to change yourself?
Clearly if I had the answers to these questions, I would write a book and be on a world tour giving public speeches and making appearances for a cool sum of money. Although if you ask me a lot of self-help authors and the like give common sense advice and get paid for it. Like a certain former US president who came to Nigeria and said the problem of terrorism in Nigeria is tied to education. No shitting me Sherlock! I could give you that pearl of wisdom for free. I’m not hating, I’m just saying. If you know me, do not give me a self-help book as a gift ever in your life. It’s tantamount to dipping a demon in holy water (if you believe that kind of thing exists and the proffered dipping is the solution). That being said, I would probably smile, collect the gift, say thank you and walk. I will like not read the book, I will skim through it if you persist.
When it comes to corruption in Nigeria, I believe we are all aware of what it is and the crippling effect it has had on our society. You would hardly hear a group of Nigerians discussing politics and not mention the issue of corruption. It is in everybody’s top 5 reasons why Nigeria has failed to live up to expectation or depending on who you speak to why Nigeria has failed. Generally our leaders and government institutions get blamed for being bastions of corruption. To quote Monsieur Jesus in Matthew 7:13 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” I know not all Nigerians are corrupt but I believe many of even the honest ones are silent partners in the culture by committing what we would call in catechism, the sin of omission.
There is a prayer said at the beginning of the catholic mass that goes thus (dear God, does the fact I know and remember this and some bible stuff mean I m not all that evil even though I m a born sinner)
“I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and WHAT I HAVE FAILED TO DO; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.”
Notice the highlighted part, it is believed in le doctrine of the Papists that a failure to act in the presence of evil is in itself a sin. Are you beginning to see my point? When it comes to corruption many of the honest and good people in our country turn a blind eye to whatever shady dealings are going on around them, they refuse to outrightly report the wrongdoing. Sometimes it is because even the bosses are corrupt, other times it’s a fear of losing your job in a country that has become a Mecca of unemployment, other times still it is a moral/religious thing where the person is honest to go to heaven and is a practice in self control much in the same way as some people abstain from sex, he/she wants to partake in the looting but he/she has learnt control through religion. In a country, where a governor who loots the treasury but does some work is hailed as being at least cleaner than his counterparts it is little wonder that the man or woman that chooses not to participate in bribe taking, contract inflation and the other potpourri of corrupt practices is sort of a moral hero, an example of people to look up to.
On the other hand, the whistle blower and person who goes against the corruption is often seen as a trouble maker; a person who refuses to eat and wont let others eat (there must be an African proverb that captures this sentiment). In many cases such people do not end up wealthy, they end up chewed up and spit out by a system that seems rigged to punish crusaders against corruption. Their lives are slandered, people will make up rumours about them most likely the corrupt people in the first place. If their honesty elevates them, they might become targets for assassinations and many of the like. It is reasonable to say that the typical reward for standing up to corruption in Nigeria does not encourage people to stand up to corruption so we all sit down and play dumb to what is going on around us or make it known that we don’t participate in such (example – Ah! No involve that madam o, she go spoil our runs. I hear say she be deeper life. Them no dey collect bribe)
It is a trifle sad that I have to act all abstemious, sanctimonious, holier than thou before people can safely assume I will not participate in their feast of corruption. If you are a yuppie person who seems generally fun and street smart chances are people will try to co-opt you into their schemes, it is left for you to say no and ignore the actions or perhaps your job or life might be at stake. No kidding. Stories abound of an employee who refused to engage in the nation’s past time or refused to give kickbacks to the boss and was ignored for promotions, or even set up to be fired or worse still put in a dangerous place where an accident was quickly arranged to silence the person who would not participate.
The reason the average Nigerian will tell you straight up that we are not corrupt is that there is a silent majority who sit on the side lines watching the evil being done who would not engage in it themselves. As much as in some relativistic way of thinking, it is admirable that we have a large number of individuals who are honest. I think it is naïve to believe that we will be ever able to minimize corruption in our nation if this silent majority does not turn into a vocal majority challenging the perpetrators of corruption, refusing to let their subordinates engage in bribe taking. Perhaps when this happen, then we can talk about fixing Nigeria.
Readers, So how do you act when faced with corruption? In what ways can we as individuals fight corruption in our nation?
Brainstorming Terrorism in Nigeria: How can we defeat Boko Haram?
In the two years since I started this blog and while living in Nigeria and shuttling in and out of the country occasionally, It would be silly for me to deny that terrorism has become part and parcel of the Nigerian discourse, reality and life. It has changed the way of life of many especially in my beloved arewa (Northern Nigeria). The entire region as defined by the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello that stretches from the middle belt states of Kwara, Niger, Benue up to the tip of Katsina and as far east as Borno and west as Sokoto is under threat. Even the federal capital is not safe it seems from the scourge of these overzealous religious bigots who seek to further entrench anarchy in the Nigerian psyche (Nigeria from as far back as I can remember is a place that typifies the working principle behind chaos theory, seemingly random mathematical systems and models which are unpredictable yet serve a function in nature), promote a climate of fear (title of a series of BBC lectures by Wole Soyinka, I m yet to finish reading) and challenge the fundamental right of every Nigerian to live life, live it freely and without encumbrance. The aim of this group of terrorists and insurgents in its essence is unclear. Their very existence in my opinion is a product of corruption, a seemingly purposeful retrogression of the masses of northern Nigeria and Nigeria as a whole, a vacuum left by a mostly bloodless independence struggle and the failure of the people to organize a popular revolution for positive change in Nigeria after over 50 years of independence. All in all, it is a continuation/culmination of the multifaceted dynamic of religious, ethnic and class struggles often underpinned by the products of colonial intrigue, neo-colonial machinations and imperialistic cravings that define the core of what it means to be Nigerian and by extrapolation African.
This group who whether we like it or not have proven themselves Nigerian perhaps not by ideology but by birth at least and citizenship has undertaken a campaign of destruction and left in its wake the blood and bodies of many Nigerians. Series of bomb blasts, gun fights and gun attacks have occurred time without number and currently it seems that every day there is an attack or an attempted attack by the group, affiliates or nameless assailants who have taken cover under the umbrella of Boko Haram. You see in a nation where security of lives and property was never fully assured, it is sometimes hard to discern the boko haram attacks from assassinations or armed robberies undertaken by gun men who attack markets and cart away money while leaving many dead. So far the scourge of the terrorists has affected the states of Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Pleateau, Kano, Kaduna, Niger and Abuja. It seems the group is in cooperation with other terrorist groups in Africa, AQIM and Al-Shabbab. They share training and funding with the said groups that is in addition to funding they get from other sources.
The question that has been addressed in many a write-up is, what is government doing about it? It is essential to note that the main function of government is to ensure the security of lives and property. All other things are secondary to this primary function. In ancient societies, empires were built by conquest as well as by the consent of smaller towns and principalities that submitted to the higher military power for protection and hence became a protectorate and part of the empire. I am no expert in Weberian concepts of power and the legitimacy of power but I daresay that even today, any government that is unable to protect its own people is by implication illegitimate and does not deserve the backing of the people. Max Weber, of which I speak, once defined the state as an entity which has a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. In our nation, it would seem the use of violence has been deregulated and exposed to the forces of demand of supply at the mercy of him or her who has the capacity to unleash said violence. This makes each and every Nigerian a quasi-state unto themselves complete with their own power company, water supply agency and so on. That being said, it would seem from an outside view that the government is helpless against the group and is engaging them in a structured war when the terrorists are engaging in guerrilla warfare which calls for a very different strategy.
As to whether these strategies are already on the ground, I do not know. I am no security expert; In fact my only qualification is perhaps an above average IQ and comprehensive watching of shows and movies such as 24 starring the indestructible Jack Bauer, an American anti-terrorism agent of seemingly German heritage going by the last name who destroys terrorists with the efficiency of a German engineered automobile (Evidently, I m a big fan of German engineering go figure). With my meagre credentials in this field, I believe the best was to tackle a guerrilla insurgency is by infiltration, isolation, starvation and ultimately decimation. In the following paragraphs I will explain what I mean by these.
To tackle the insurgency and terrorism it is important that intelligence is given a priority. The government should focus on intelligence gathering, counter intelligence and smart interrogation or assassination of key members. If the security agencies haven’t done this already, I suggest a secret group of well paid undercover operatives be created. I am talking about recruiting intelligent young men and women of the muslim faith who are able to blend into the group, they should be able to speak hausa/kanuri/fulani and be conversant with some Arabic. They should undergo serious training and be willing to disappear from public limelight for a few months. They should be able to cut off contact with friends and family. No one will know where they went and no one will know they are part of the group unlike nowadays where if you go to a neighbourhood people can point out to you who is an SSS officer in the area. These people will case out known hangouts of the group and win their trust. They shall stay with them and report their information directly to the leader of the stealth group. It is their information that will be used to capture key members of the group and also gain information on the source of their funds, weapons and training. Also it is these undercover operatives that will engage in stealth assassination such as poisoning of the leaders or well executed killing. These people shall be given a license to kill. This is not farfetched in a country where killing squads and letter bombs were the tools of oppression of past military juntas.
Apart from undercover operatives, a softening of the posture of the security agencies by better public relations will help them to canvass for information from the people. Anonymous information centres shall be established and rewards shall be given for information that eventually pans out. We shall become a country of snitches to help halt terrorism. In line with gathering information from the public it is important that a huge sensitization programme be undertaken. Also there should be greater vigilance in neighbourhoods, people should return to the days of being their neighbours keeper because it would seem that as we modernize we have slowly become a nation of I pass my neighbour and mind your own business. Suspect activity should be reported. A network of citizen vigilance and intelligence should be created to help halt crime and terrorism.
Another key tactic is to isolate the group. By isolating and starving the group, I am referring to preventing their collaboration with foreign terrorist groups. To isolate the group, the Nigerian immigration will have to actually do their jobs of protecting and patrolling the nation’s border as well as making sure every resident of this country has the right to be here. This prevents the inflow of weapons and foreign personnel for the terrorist group. Also on a financial angle, the flow of money within the country as well as in and out of the country should be seriously monitored. The country should cooperate with foreign nations from which some of these funds come to freeze the accounts as well as get intelligence on the money trail. If the money trail of the terrorist is found and the trail blocked, it will be akin to a financial isolation of the group. Since Nigeria is a federation, perhaps it is time that movement of people from one state of the nation to another be properly monitored and prevent a spread of hostilities.
The concept of dialogue in my opinion is a non issue, it is my opinion these sort of people are very different from the MEND militants. These are people that see their mission as one sanctioned by God, ladies and gentlemen let me put this into perspective they believe that the maker and creator of all things has ordained for them to kill people and believe me many of them are absolutely obstinate in their convictions they won’t be swayed by money and scholarships to study abroad.
My people, what say you, how can we stop boko haram?
Understanding The Nigerian Psyche: Tales of Gra Gra
It has taken me a while to realize this, I m not as shy or withdrawn as I thought I was. It might just be that I am not “Nigerian” enough. I am not loud enough. I am quite patient even when visibly perturbed. I don’t engage those who are serving me in shouting matches designed to ensure I get better service. I do love a good debate but will hardly raise my voice to explain my point. I do not like pushing other people or engaging in a show of stamina to get what I want. In fact, I venture to say I am normal and perhaps a lot of people in my country just exhibit certain over assertiveness that often times borders on the aggressive. Heck, I have watched more than a couple of nollywood movies and seen in real life that some Nigerians are just way too aggressive with the kissing. Have you ever watched a snake swallow a mouse? That’s what it looks like sometimes. Its almost like Jim Iyke wants to swallow Mercy Johnson whole and she keeps battling to prevent herself from being consumed as a main course. What ensues is a mortal kombat of the tongues and lips clashing in a war that would turn even the most warlike people to pacifists. Since I am not a kissing expert, I will rather comment on the hustling spirit that accompanies this exchange of saliva. It is this hustling spirit that sometimes makes the stereotypical Nigerian man or woman the most un-gentle person you might ever come across. This is the nature of the phenomenon we in the fatherland call gra gra.
Gra gra is the assertion of one’s right or wrong as the case may be for the sake of self-gratification. Gra gra is an aggressive pursuit of one’s goal without thought or consideration for order, etiquette, a higher law or even God. Gra gra is a culture and way of life in itself. It is the harbinger of chaos. Chaos in motion being a phrase that best describes Nigeria. Gra gra is the impatience to wait for your turn, it is the glorification of wanting everything here and now and never later. It is akin to a glorification of premature ejaculation, that instant derivation of pleasure at the detriment of your partner’s sexual fulfillment (word to wise, Viagra or burantashi might be your friend). Not that I would know about such things, I am but a young man.
Gra gra is something I grew up seeing. I remember when I was a kid and people would queue for anything be it fuel, to deposit or withdraw money from a bank, to wait to see the doctor or even to use the toilet, it was inevitable that as the crowd grew and the people in line grew impatient there was surely to be pushing and everyone will rush in front of the line, each person trying to assert physical dominance over the next person in order to ensure that they got what they came looking for first. Ever heard of the phrase “a camel passing through the eye of a needle”? That is the scene that ensues when gra gra is in full effect. I could only imagine how each person felt with their bodies pressed against the next person and the heat of the sun upon them. I wondered if they got some sort of thrill from the surely stale smell that would attack their nostrils from the contingent of this very august crowd who refused to make use of deodorant or the much maligned and mocked binta sudan, traditional perfume of the hausa-fulani sect. I wondered if the mingling of sweat was an altogether worthy sacrifice at the altar of self-fulfillment. Surely the hustle and bustle of merging with a crowd and pushing and pulling your way to the front of the melee must be some kind of bonding experience and ritual rite of passage to be counted worthy of being called a Nigerian.
How is the situation today? In many ways, Nigeria has improved. People are more predisposed to follow queues patiently and those who skip the queue are loudly and quickly reprimanded by the people in the queue. Gone are the days when the hubris filled and confident masters of the domain called the big men and women of our dear nation would see a queue and walk to the front of it, get attended to while the poor wretches in line could only murmur disapproval. I guess those are the perks of democracy. This is not to say that the wealthy and seemingly connected folk do not still get preference in the country when it comes to services. That spirit of looking at the person you are serving as opposed to doing your job impartially as a provider of services is still very alive. Wear an agbada and go to a bank on one day and on the next day wear your most scruffy clothes and notice the difference in the service you receive. Try the same thing at a restaurant or any service related place in Nigeria, I bet you service delivery would be night and day.
Anyways, the gra gra in our society although largely evolved has retained the essence of its core tenet. Selfishness. People might not gather in crowds for the most part to vie for services and hence push and pull at each other to get the service they want first, although this might still happen. You might see this in a bus stop where the crowd waiting for the bus is large and perhaps it just started raining or the particular bus comes infrequently and hence in typical lagosian fashion a cluster fuck of competing bodies trying to enter the bus so they are not left behind. In the ensuing confusion of course some wallets are lost and some people are pickpocketed. The new gra gra or not so new gra gra is evident everywhere.
It is evident in the loud and verbose churches that litter our nation where it seems it is a competition for who shouts and sings the loudest, who prays the longest and who dances the most vigorously for God’s attention. In essence, na by gra gra dem dey try go heaven o. Yes I know the kingdom of God suffers violent and the violent taketh it by force and that David danced like a madman (picture a gospel Terry G, “can someone knack Akpako for Jesus, will you ginjah your swagga for the lord?”) which pleased God. Gra gra is evident in our education system, people rushing their children through school wanting them to finish primary and secondary education as soon as possible to cushion the wait for university admission, NYSC and eventually the wait for employment. Of course they want their kids to finish university at 18 if possible so that by 22 they can be employed. Gra gra is evident in the corridors of power and the political scene. It seems every administration comes into office with one goal and one goal only to “eat” as much as possible, to steal as much funds from the public as possible to gain enough wealth to buy the obscenely priced houses of Abuja, London, Dubai etc. Gra gra is that urge for a region such as my very own Arewa to say it is ‘our’ turn to rule not because the leaders of Arewa have any grand plan for Nigeria just so they can chop more money. Gra gra is evident in the populace too. We are all trying to succeed as quickly as possible; we have thrown values to the wayside. Many people don’t care who they cheat, steal from or kill to get to the top. We have a group of youths who are scrambling on the ladder of success who are admiring the master thieves of Nigeria’s destiny and waiting for their turn to get there and chop as well. It’s like we are a whole nation rushing on our way to perdition.
Although I have alluded to being the gentle type who is not a fan of gra gra, I am a product of my environment. I might not push with people to get on a bus because of my nature but best believe that I have as much of a hustling nature as every Nigerian out there. We can’t help it, many of us grew up in country where being patient and waiting for the system to do its job meant that you were liable to die a young and quite bitter man or woman. We grew up in a country where the education was not so great so we had extra lessons after school to augment our learning. We had poor health facilities so every parent became an amateur pharmacist. We grew up where salaries were not decent enough to ensure a good standard of living and one could not look forward to their pension so had to save for grey years. Many of our parents as well as some of us are engaging in 2 or 3 businesses in addition to the day jobs to put decent food on the table. Gra gra might not be a great thing but in the grand scheme of the world, it has made Nigerian people one of the most entrepreneurial, we are everywhere in the world doing one business or the other. It has made us able to adapt to any environment, if visa dey to Antarctica, my brothers will be there selling heat to the penguins if it made business sense. In some ways I wish gra gra was not necessary but in a country like ours he who does not hustle for his own success is praying for his failure.
What do you think is the underlying cause of gra gra in our nation? How can this nature be used for good? What are are your thoughts on the phenomenon of gra gra and how do you see it evolving?
State of the Nigerian Nation: On Terrorism and Corruption
My Fellow Nigerians,
It would seem we are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, stuck between a rock and a hard place. These days it is hard to remain positive about my beloved country Nigeria. It seems as though the country is beset on all sides by astronomical problems that would seem Herculean for any man born of a woman to solve. I pay a lot of attention to news of what is going on in my country and day after day, I see more bad news. Terrorism has sadly become part of the Nigerian discourse and the Nigerian condition. Cases of corruption in high places keep coming to light that make you wonder if the perpetrators of these acts have any shred of human decency, I daresay humanity in them. Terrorism and Corruption are similar in the damage they do to our people and society, one kills immediately while the other kills by perpetuating poverty and committing ethical genocide for generations to come.
Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad better known as Boko Haram struck at the media by attacking two newspaper locations for one of Nigeria’s most widely read papers, Thisday. Both were suicide bombs, one was in Abuja the capital and the other was in Kaduna. This comes a week after the US embassy issued a warning to its citizens about an impending attack in Abuja. The government and intelligence spokespersons came out and claimed that the report was false and citizens have nothing to be afraid of. I am sure they now have both feet in their mouths after the tragedy of these suicide bombs. Several people lost their lives and of course our president comes out and gives a replicated speech expressing what by now seems like feigned outrage. It has become a pattern. Bomb goes of, people are in pain and angry at how helpless the country seems against these terrorists and our knight in shining kpangolo, President Goodluck Ebele Azikwe (how dare he use that name) Jonathan comes out and gives us one of his copy and paste speeches and feigns an outrage that would win a razzie for worst acting performance.
The bomb that went off in Abuja was driven into the premises with a jeep, which of course meant less scrutiny by the security, why? Because in Nigeria, we do not want to offend the big man driving a jeep by asking too many questions and guess what, the terrorists know this as well. Hence they are not showing up driving an outdated car that will be subject to much scrutiny because they know that the appearance of being rich is akin to being a god in Nigeria. Also get this; after bomb went off, standers by went to loot the offices that were just bombed. Are you kidding me? When I read the story, I had to shake my head at how the situation highlighted two of the biggest problems we are currently facing as a nation today, terrorism obviously and poverty.
Another dimension to the attack on the Newspaper is the fact that they attacked a newspaper. This adds to the institutions they have targeted so far. They have attacked schools, markets, government offices, security and armed forces, churches, mosques and prisons all of which are in the northern portion of the country. They justified the attack on the newspaper by saying that they decided to attack the newspaper for misrepresentation. Since when has bombing a place served as a rejoinder to an article about you? Obviously this is not only an attack on the media but an attack on free speech as a whole. They have decided to threaten the media and blackmail them into cowering and refusing to publish the truth about the group. By doing this they have sent a shiver down the spine of many an editor or reporter in the country. I sincerely hope the media refuses to back down and takes up the challenge to continue to do their job. The media and newspapers especially are one of the last bastions of freedom in our country. Kill the media and you kill hope for the common man, you kill their voice.
Speaking of the common man, another tragedy that has befallen our great nation (yes I will forever call Nigeria great) is the issue of scam. No I am not talking about the advanced fee fraud (419) we are or were notorious for as a nation. I am talking about things such as the Pension scam where civil servants colluded to rob the pension scheme of billions of naira. I am talking of the fuel subsidy scam where the NNPC, fuel marketers and importers colluded to defraud the country of money that if the reports are to be believed reaching into the trillions of naira and by translation billions of dollars. It is my hope that the judiciary does its job and prosecutes these people and gets to the bottom of the situation. The uncovering of these two scams make me wonder about what else is hidden that has not been uncovered. How else is the Nigerian populace being defrauded today? It is a sad story because if one is to look around at things that are not working well, you don’t have to be a genius to guess that there are yet many skeletons that are yet to be uncovered. I sincerely wonder from where the common man will get help from when he is beset on all sides by so many problems. He cannot move around freely in his own country for fear of crime, accidents, terrorism and of course the dreaded hydra of corruption has connived it seems with these evil forces to rob him of his wealth and dignity.
I believe when a person steals public funds he is not just stealing from the government, he is stealing from each and every Nigerian. Every naira stolen can go a long way to righting the many wrongs in this country, it is the money stolen that can help provide jobs, help send children to school, build roads, better equip our hospitals, and reduce poverty to its knees. It is really shame that when I was a kid and someone stole millions you would be amazed and dumbfounded. Nowadays it takes stealing billions of naira of public funds to even warrant any outrage or attention from Nigerians. It is reaching a point where we have been desensitized to reading about people embezzling billions that if care is not taken trillions will become the norm in the near future. One of the more frustrating things is that the system seems to be self-perpetuating. The system of corruption seems so endemic that a solution seems light years away. I think we as a people need to stop celebrating people that we know are living beyond their means. When a person comes to give testimony about how they bought a 100 million naira house and they earn a little less than 80 thousand naira a month and have 4 kids, it is our responsibility to question the source of these people’s wealth. We should stop glorifying the pursuit of awoof money (post for another day) and start asking questions, publicly!
On terrorism and corruption, what I can say in summary is that we should all be watchful. It is our country, it is our homeland we have the right to be here. No group of people is greater than the rest of us. We are Nigerian and we are a proud and strong people. Anyone who connives to kill and steal is no friend of ours, he/she is an enemy of progress and must be made to pay.
The video below is purely tongue in cheek, my actual thoughts on Goodluck right now is, shirmen shugaban kasa, dan iska kawai (translation, not a big fan of our dear president)
Musings of a Crazy Nigerian 