Let Reason Rule

I just read an article by Chimamanda Adichie; it’s titled “To be Igbo in Nigeria is constantly to be a Suspect”. The article attempts to explain the reaction of Igbo people to Oba Akiolu’s tirade and why we should not wave the anger and the fear it has generated away. I understand what she’s trying to say and I think the bottom line is that we should take discrimination seriously because it affects us all one way or the other.

I have read lots of articles about the fiasco and I have seen that irresponsible comments made by people in authority truly bring out the worst in us. The Oba abused his office by making those comments; people in positions of trust should never use their positions to coerce their followers into a certain course of action. I have read some cringe-worthy articles by both Igbo and Yoruba writers and I have marveled at the level of seething resentment that exists in Nigeria. Worst of all, the politicians have hijacked the discussion and turned it into a ‘vote for me because I love you more’ campaign and to our discredit as a people, this sort of campaign is being taken seriously!

I know about discrimination by reason of being a single woman, living alone, with an unusual name that does not quickly lend itself to tribal affiliations. I have recently felt the weight of discrimination as a house hunter and it’s not just about “Mo o gbe ile mi fun Ibo o” (I won’t let my house to an Ibo person o); it’s also been about ‘We don’t rent to single ladies’ or more delicately “You have to come with your husband to view” and “How do you intend to pay” (as there is no man around). In the course of my search, I have had people ask me questions like “why aren’t you married at your age?” Someone even asked “are you a party girl” (whatever that means). I have had viewing appointments cancelled over the phone because the prospective landlord wants only “Yoruba Muslim” tenants. A prospective landlady asked me thrice in one conversation where my husband is and when he would be joining me and I told her thrice also, in the most even tone I could muster, that I am not married. Most of these encounters were with Yoruba people though the one about marriage and age is a free for all point of discrimination. Does this mean that I see the Yoruba race as my arch enemy? No, my mother is Yoruba for one, but that aside, I know that the fears expressed about me (I believe fear is the root cause of prejudice) are illogical. They are illogical because being Ibo doesn’t automatically translate to being a bad tenant; being a single woman doesn’t mean that I’m financially impotent or a raging ‘party girl’!  Being single or married doesn’t make you a better or worse citizen of Nigeria. I also know that reciprocal prejudice is a vicious cycle. I know that most prejudiced people don’t know any better and are simply products of unsavory experiences and negative socialization.

I also know that some people will always find something to be bigoted about. I recently discovered that being from Delta State and being Ibo are mutually exclusive occurrences  because somebody who considers himself the true judge of ‘Iboness’ says Delta people cannot be Ibo.  So where does it end? It ends with each individual; I have also been guilty of bigoted thinking at different times but this whole ‘Drowning in the Lagoon’ saga has made me think more clearly about the effects of discrimination and I have decided to go with logic instead.

Discrimination of any sort is damaging to people’s psyche because it is simply a form of rejection. It is terrible to be rejected because of circumstances that you cannot change, circumstances of birth and ethnicity, circumstances of marital status, age etc. However, the Oba’s comments will not affect my judgment and I think that if we are to grow as a people, logical thought has to take precedence in our daily affairs. The decision about who to vote for must not be made in a reactionary manner. Vote for whomever will work in your best interests, vote for the candidate you perceive as qualified for the job. Don’t let anyone tell you that you owe it to your ethnic group to vote for a particular candidate. Lagos State is not a group of clans, it is a metropolis. Your vote, today and in the future should be about making our metropolis work, it should be about making it a decent place to work and live in, and not about spite or reciprocal prejudice.

Cynicism is the Coward's Suicide

Cynicism is the bastion of the defeated. It is the breastplate of the conquered. It is the shield of the fearful. It is the bravado of those who feel powerless. Cynicism is the coward’s suicide.

Cynicism is the oppressor’s best friend because s/he already knows you believe the worst of them so why make the effort to change your mind?

The cynic says “what’s the point?” when asked to take positive action. The cynic looks away and pretends s/he isn’t bothered by atrocity after atrocity. The cynic refuses to try again because he’s sure that failure is waiting in the wings. The cynic believes nothing, hopes in nothing and tries desperately to feel nothing.

In this very political season in Nigeria, I’ve come across a great deal of cynicism; I’ve heard people say February 14 2015 will just be another opportunity to rest from the previous week’s toil. I’ve heard people say things like “wetin my vote go do?” I’ve seen people who are resigned to ‘fate’; people who have decided to ‘siddon look’. Please don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a campaign for anybody, this is an appeal to drag people out of the shadows. We have more than ten presidential aspirants though for all intents and purposes, it’s just between 2 people; whatever the case may be, each one of us has an opportunity to influence something momentous by casting a vote.

For those who may not be able to vote because of TVC and PVC issues, I sympathize because I’m affected too but for those who have cards and still live in the locality, there is just no excuse for not voting. I know we have been disappointed over and over by leadership, I know that some of the people we enthusiastically voted into office have become vampires operating in daylight but still…

We may not know it but people power has worked in the past. After the scuttled 1993 elections, people power put an end to Military rule in Nigeria; people power is what has ensured that we are not yet paying N200/litre for petrol because many Government pundits believe we should be paying the same rate as the US. People power has reduced the number of accidental discharges from police guns on our streets and it has made police checkpoints less menacing.

There’s something different about these elections; the two major parties have never had to campaign like this. They know that there’s something at stake; they know that we count. They’ve heard the anger, they’ve seen the countless tweets and posts. They know. There’s a lot happening on social media but I fear that most of us just think it’s a lot of hot air that will soon blow over.

Cynicism doesn’t change any situation, it just perpetuates the undesirable. Cynicism is like the silencer on a pistol, it mutes the noise of the shot but doesn’t minimize the damage. We need to be heard on February 14; we need to show Nigeria some love by voting.

To my Christian brethren who say things like “let God’s will be done” I’d like to let you know that God executes His will through people. God’s will is not isolated from His people’s actions. It is God’s will for me to be in good health but it is my responsibility to make healthy choices. It is God’s will for me to prosper materially but it is my responsibility to go out and work and give value to get value. It is God’s will for Nigeria to have good leadership, it is up to us to choose those leaders. Inaction isn’t faith, it is spiritual laziness.

Let those of us who have the statutory requirements make it a date with the ballot box. Let’s show Nigeria some love on Valentine’s Day.

“No democracy that stands in enviable heights ever rose on the back of acquiescing, lethargic and kowtowing citizens. Every voice counts…”Oby Ezekwesili

The Choice

At the height of the Ebola crisis in Nigeria, there were some macabre quips about choosing a disease. The joke goes thus: a certain person went to run some tests at the hospital and he comes out rejoicing about the disease he tested positive for, people around are baffled that he’s rejoicing over being HIV positive and he says “at least, it’s not Ebola!”

Choice isn't always grand, sometimes the options before us are so bad that we’d rather avoid making a choice. But every responsible person must make a choice at some point, the alternative is a lifetime of victimhood.  This brings me to the choice before us on February 14^th and I'm not talking cakes or flowers.

Everywhere I turn I hear arguments for or against the two main presidential candidates. I often find some of these arguments quite disturbing because they tell me that we are no longer interested in good governance. I recently heard someone say that the president should be allowed to ‘complete’ his second term as if it were a God given right for every president to have two terms in office. This is similar to saying that a student shouldn't be given a fail grade just because s/he showed up at the exam hall! This argument usually emanates from people who happen to be from Nigeria’s ‘down under’.

In response to the president’s ultra-soft stance on corruption, the argument is that corruption is systemic in Nigeria and there’s little or nothing that can be done about it. I believe that no matter how gargantuan a problem is, it can be solved when there’s a will. If a leader’s body language says ‘I don’t give a damn’ about stealing then where is the will for the followers to take a stance against it? One of the most glaring instances of this is the case of a minister who presided over a 2.5 trillion naira scam not too long ago, this same minister has been recommended for a prominent international position. I cannot catalogue every instance of this administration’s romance with graft but I know that it is pretty obvious that we are currently in the most enabling dispensation for graft, theft, embezzlement, misappropriation (I don't want to use that nebulous word ‘corruption’ lest some people get into a hysteria of hair splitting semantics)

The latest argument for the incumbent’s reelection was put forward by someone whom I feel should know better. The PDP’s gubernatorial aspirant for Lagos state argues that GEJ should be reelected to prevent South-South militants from blowing up our oil wells thereby destroying what’s left of our battered economy. This thinking is shocking first because it suggests that Nigerians are under siege and must obtain their freedom by voting against their will. It’s also shocking for a less obvious reason – this argument tells me that even Mr. Agbaje knows within himself that there’s no plausible reason to elect his party’s presidential candidate, so he resorts to the vote for my president or the bogeyman will get you argument!

Another tenuous defense of this administration is the fact that the man at the helm has good intentions but very bad advisers. Well, leadership is about influence not just political office, if all the people who surround a leader are bad and incompetent then there is a need for the leader to undergo a thorough self-examination. A long time ago, I read the autobiography of Lana Turner, a Hollywood star of the 40’s and 50’s. She had married and divorced 7 different men but she somehow managed to pin the blame for the failure of the marriages on the men and I just wondered about the odds of such a saintly woman attracting 7 horrible men in one lifetime. At best, the failed marriages say something about her judgment.

The APC candidate is by no means an ideal candidate. He’s an ex-military head of state who’s known to have violated many human rights and he’s also made some very provocative statements. The fact of our very limited choices for leadership is a symptom of the state of the nation.  It tells the tale of a country that is still hamstrung by primordial affiliations to tribe and religion; it tells of a people who have become so cynical that the very notion of good leadership has become unthinkable.

Be that as it may, we cannot fold our arms and sit on the fence and expect things to ‘work out’ by some stroke of luck. We must work with what we have until we get something better; we as a people, have to make a choice no matter how unpleasant. Inaction is often acquiescence to the status quo. The choice for me isn't so much about the candidate, the choice is about my hope for change though some may argue vehemently that the opposition won’t change anything, well we will have a chance to find out if that’s true or false in the next 4 years (if they win).

The president has had 6 years to convince us that he can do the job and to some people he has proved himself but to others, he has failed. The imminent election is a chance for those who believe he has failed to choose someone else in the hope that that person will do a better job. That’s democracy.