Opinions

CABAL! JONATHAN!SUBSIDY! CORRUPTION!

That’s all I couldhear from the lips of the men arguing on the Television about the ongoingstruggles of the country. I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t take hearingabout the setbacks of Nigerians because it causes me so much pain andheartbreak that I can’t do anything to reduce the grief of my people and mostof all, because the answer to our troubles are easy if only we could all belittle less selfish.

People are on thestreets protesting about the reduction of the fuel price; Lives have been lost,the entire country has been shut down and the Federal Government doesn’t seemto be interested in listening to the cries of the suffering people. Like theirhearts are cold and made of stone.

‘Where isJonathan?  Can’t he see his peopledamaged? The same people who gave him a chance to rule this great country. Whatis doing?”

I couldn’t changethe channel because my father was watching it. His eyes and facial expressionsfilled with signs of full concentration. MTV Base would be a perfect escape from all this unnecessary emotional drama.I can’t stand this helplessness.  I gotup from the sofa where I was seated and began to pack up the dishes from thedinner table. Cleaning and some good music should be able to get my mind awayfrom this country’s strife. I had to hurry out of the living room as tears werebeginning to well up in my eyes. I quickly grabbed the dishes, walked into the kitchen,placed them on the counter and fell to my knees. I prayed. I prayed because itwas the only thing I knew I could do; because this is my home and if it goesablaze where else do we have to run to? Home, they say is where the heart is. My heart, which is myfamily, is here so this is my home thus I prayed to God to save and help us.

I got up and wentstraight to do the dishes before my dad comes in and begins to nag me. As Iwashed the dishes, thoughts about our country began to run through my mind.

Everyone isshouting CABAL! CORRUPTION! They were saying that Jonathan didn’t want toimprison those responsible for eating our money, our so-called LEADERS, eventhough he knew them. They are using our money to build houses in differentparts of the country, to send their children out to the best schools abroad, toeat the best foods available when most Nigerians are homeless, jobless andstruggle for their daily bread, sometimes to no success. Our country is beingblown up and the President is taking out the fuel subsidy, making life moredifficult for the average Nigerian. We have no light, some places don’t even haveclean water; Our roads? That’s another story. Schools are on strike, Teachersare not getting paid. Infrastructures of some schools are decrepit, Nolaboratory for science students, Hostels are filled to the brim that some haveno place for accommodation. Rent on houses is increasing. Our Healthsector?  Please, Can we all sit down andsip on a glass of gin during which a few doctors narrate to us how lives arelost daily because of lack of proper facilities; How the mortality rate isrising high in the Country? Babies die before they even see the light of dayand sometimes, the mothers as well because of the doctor do not have theresources that could have prevented this from happening?

The security of the country is… Wait! We havenone. If the Police Headquarters could be blown up by a group of illiterates thenwhat do we have a Police Force for? Our jails are congested with people awaitingtrial for things they are guilty of and some not guilty at all.

I sighed andrinsed off the last dirty dish.

“He who wears the shoes knows where it hurts”

We have all heardthat saying before, Haven’t we? Until we are in the situation of another, wewould never understand or feel what they feel, or see sense in the reason why they act the way they do.

Everyone has theirown opinion on how to solve the problem of our Nation. The problem is simple,Corruption. The solution is simple, Arrest the perpetrators.  EASY AS A, B, C but because the President isalso benefiting from the money they launder, he wouldn’t do that. So wecontinue to rot in our misery.

But is corruptionreally that easy for us to get rid of?

 Yes? No?

I am not writingfor you to analyze or comment on my style of writing, neither am I writing tostart a fight or to take sides. All I want is for you to read and take a momentto think.  Just think, constructively,about what is really going on.

How do you fightsomething that has gone so deep?  How canone man clean up the corruption of over 170million people?

The problems wehave in our country today, whose fault is it? Bros J? The Boko Haram Fan club?Aren’t they humans like all of us? It’s us. Not aliens from another planet thathave made it impossible to tackle because we don’t have the technology that canmelt their brains. No. It’s us. Anyways, all that alien stuff happens only inAmerica. And U.K.

We only tend tosee corruption when a government official squanders N200 million on someirrelevant nonsense that we forget that there is corruption even in N20 or N50.There is corruption when you lie to someone for your own selfish gain; there iscorruption when you cheat in an exam hall; there is corruption when you are atrader and you cheat your customer because you want more money; there is corruptionwhen you beat up someone and throw them in jail because you are in a positionof power and they did something you don’t fancy, or you just don’t like him. Itis present when you are a lecturer and you choose to fail a student just becausehe is with a girl you want or he just doesn’t appeal to you.

Corruption existswhen you steal another’s property or partner; it is when you waste when thereis a needy person right next to you; it is when you maltreat your housemaidforgetting that they are children of another, pouring hot oil on them orpulling a friend, family, student or an employee or job seeker down because they arebetter than you and you don’t want them to succeed. It is in Jungle Justice.

We don’t see anyregard for human life these days. We treat it like it is a piece of paper youcan tear. The B.H. Fan club and the rest of the humans that are blowing upparts of the country have been bribed and brainwashed one way or the other totake the life of others. A few days ago, It was said that some people werecaught trying to blow up a church and they were Christians who had been paidsome millions to do so. And yet, they come out to shout and say our leaders arecorrupt. 

If Jonathandecides to start jailing the guilty parties, how do you think it would turnout?

Here’s what Ithought out:

They capture a fewof them; they go on trial and are found guilty. Jail time. With the money theyhave made from illegal business, they bribe their way through the system and weare back to square one.

When the otherssee that their safety is being threatened, what do they do? Eliminate thewahala. Kpai! Bros J is gone.

Some are sayingkill all of them in Aso Rock. Ok. Where do you want to start from? Their net isso deep that even if they are killed there is definitely someone to takeover.Where would you stop killing at? How do you know which of them is actuallyinnocent so you can begin a fresh start with them? How do you think Mob bossesstill control their gangs even while they are in jail? Even we that are screaming,‘Kill them all’ ‘Kill Jonathan’, if the amount of money they waste is flung atus, wouldn't you welcome it with open arms?

If we killJonathan or he resigns, who are we going to put up there? Good men like who…?

If we finally finda good man to lead us, are you willing to support him? Cleaning up a mess such ascorruption would get a lot of its beneficiaries very angry. Are we going toleave him to battle it alone when that time comes? If he imposes rules on usthat would makes things seem harsh immediately but in the long run would saveour country, are we willing to listen to him patiently, trust in him or her andgo along with it? Are we willing to put aside our anger and selfish desires andwork together for the benefit of our Nation?

There’s no way tostop corruption if the human soul is so weak and there is nobody amongst usthat is willing to stand up strong, gidigba for what is right. So strongthat even if you are promised half of the country, you would turn it downbecause you want the lesser people to be happy. To achieve this goal takes muchmore than word of the mouth but also a powerful conscience.

Think about it.

Charity, they saybegins at home, so does anti-corruption.

I turned out thelights in the kitchen, closed the door and went to watch MTV Base with mybrothers. Dad had gone to bed. J