From Children of Anger to Children of Action – By Efe Wanogho
There is anger in the land. That much, should be trite knowledge to any observant mind to the goings on, in Nigeria. It is this bottled-up and long-suppressed anger, arising from decades of misrule by the nation’s political leadership, now being freely ventilated no longer solely in homes, beer-parlours, offices, and that newspaper stand by the street corner, with its daily assemblage of members of the “Free Readers association of Nigeria”, the unofficial unregistered umbrellabody of Nigerians who can hardly afford copies of the daily news, inprint; but increasingly in social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and innumerable blogs on the internet; that prompted David Mark, Senate President of Nigeria, to seek to gag the free usage of social media by Nigerians. This same anger is responsible for Reuben Abati’s description of the citizens of his country as “children of anger”, for no other fathomable reason, than for expressing discontent with his boss, in no uncertain terms.
Who wouldn’t be angry when you have a country where corruption is gospel? Who wouldn’t be angry when a certain Anthony Anenih who should be cooling his heels in one of Nigeria’s maximum prisons for his questionable, and I dare say, sleazy handling of the nation’s resources in the course of his time as Federal Minister of Works, is, appointed to head the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA? You think the anger expressed by the children of anger in the buildup to, and immediately following the shameless and baseless hike in the price of petrol by the Government, on January 1, 2012, was not justified? What do you then make of the recent appropriation of over 160billion Naira for a supposed subsidy payment to marketers of petroleum products only a few weeks to the end of the year, and yet, fuel is hardly available, and when it is, you can rarely get it at the so-called subsidized pump price of 97 Naira?
I recall a few years ago, at an informal gathering with some Nigerians, when I called for a revolution to reverse the pernicious slide down the abyss of underdevelopment in which our leaders were leading us; and the wise counsel by a man, whose face, I can hardly remember. He said, among others, that until the collective consciousness of Nigerians is sufficiently raised to a level where sleaze is roundly condemned, and leaders are collectively held to account, any attempt at a revolution, would have dire consequences. Over time, I have come to wholly appreciate the depth and relevance of this statement. One interpretation of the admonition by the sage is that, only enough anger from the mass of Nigerians can turn things around. Thus, when I contemplated creating a Facebook group that would contribute to catalyzing change, I was inspired to create the group, “Evolution of the Nigerian Revolution”; with the belief that a revolution of some kind is a basic requirement for societies such as ours, and that we must consciously evolve that revolution.
It has been said severally, that when in a dark room devoid of any light whatsoever; it makes more sense to light a candle, rather than curse the darkness. Cursing the darkness indefinitely, would not brighten the room; only a provision of light, through its varied forms, can achieve illumination. I wholly subscribe to the foregoing line of thought. That is not to say, however, that anger, or the cursing-of-the-darkness, if you like, does not serve its purpose. In fact, to my mind, anger is a necessary precondition for enduring change to be berthed. For, when one is fired up by purposeful, focused, and guided anger; the catalyzing agent for transformation becomes manifest. So, the anger of the children of anger can rightly be justified. The issue, then, is not whether we should be angry, but rather, whether we should be angry for the mere sake of it; or whether our anger should be that indispensable catalyst that would bring about an end to the arrogance of the impunity perpetrated by the mediocres and criminals in government. Herein, lays the crux of the matter.
As the year winds to an inglorious end, as it pertains to the fortunes of Nigeria, the entirety of the dispersed children of anger in the homeland, and in the Diaspora, would have to eliminate the gap between a justified anger and the reclaiming of the country from the pretenders in Aso Rock and in the various government houses across the nation. The purpose of our anger is to see a better society. Being angry at the state of affairs cannot be a lifestyle. One cannot be content at being labeled a perpetual critic. We must not be like that student who never graduates from the university, citing the reason as his being the embodiment of the struggle – you would wonder who he was struggling with. Granted, that we are angry. But what purpose does the anger serve, if it does not lead us to taking steps to undoing the very reasons for the anger? Mohandas Gandhi said, “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history”.
Nothing says we must remain perpetually in cyberspace, restricting our actions to a few articles, in some blog; some posts on facebook, some tweets on twitter, or that occasional protest march on the streets. We must identify that critical mass that we are all a negligible part of, and then proceed to strengthen it. It is meaningless to be seen as a paragon of activism and a social media guru or an overlord (or is it Voltron they christen them these days?); when your new found elite status does not translate to reducing impunity in the land. Let’s face it, individually, we can achieve nothing; but if we align and pool resources, who can put a lid on the extent of our possible achievements?
What does it take, for instance, to form a political party; or identify an already existing one, move in en masse, and use it as a platform to get out the corrupt, criminally complicit, and the mediocres, from office; while identifying and positioning veritable replacements for them? Something of this sort must be done if we must be taken seriously. It is clear, from the uninspiring body language of this government, that, criticize all you will, they don’t give a damn; apologies to the patriarch of institutionalized clueslessness, Goodluck Jonathan. A government that hires persons with such debilitating baggage as Anthony Anenih, Doyin Okupe, Labaran Maku (the Minister of Information who ignorantly credited his principal for bringing Facebook to Nigerians), and whose leader refers to a certified ex-convict as his benefactor; has spoken in no uncertain terms, that it is immune to criticism.
Consequent upon the foregoing, every Nigerian who wants a better deal from those who wield the reins of political power must awaken from that fratricidal siddon-look stance that has characterized the citizenry over time. This is not a time for indifference, as you are either for change, or you are against change. There are no middle grounds. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it”.
If you have followed the actions and inactions of the successive governments that have been foisted on us, arguably with our tacit and unquestioning compliance, since 1999; there would hardly be anything on the face of the earth that would astound you. Insecurity is rife. Worshippers were killed in the Christmas service of 2011. Worshippers were again, killed in the Christmas service of 2012. Terrorist attacks have come to stay. The life of the Nigerian resident in the Northern fringes of the country is practically worthless to the government. In the South, kidnappers have a free reign. The government evokes a feeling of helplessness, as it continues to assure Nigerians that the security agencies are on top of the situation. The decay of public infrastructure is unparalleled in the nation’s history. Public water supply is nonexistent in most parts. The roads are impassable. Power is still epileptic in most parts. People become moneybags simply by being in government, without any verifiable legal source of income, and it obviously makes no difference to the government. Our educational institutions have been reduced to mere degree-awarding institutions. The Federal Executive Council awards all manner of contracts without seeing to the judicious use of the allocated funds. They form all manner of committees to look into recommendations of previous committees, and on and on it goes.
We can decide to continue to sit on the fence; demonize those who, at least, have managed to summon the courage to criticize, and thereby construe ourselves as unwitting Jonathanians; join the increasing army of the critics; or we can take it a notch higher and a step further by taking well thought out actions at putting a definite cessation to the mindless rape of our collective heritage. The choice, as always, is ours. Change beckons.
On The Sidelines:
I pay tribute to the following Nigerians who, in 2012, joined in kicking against mediocrity and corruption, to varying degrees. This list is by no means, exhaustive, and it is in no particular order.
Dino Melaye, for daring to put himself at risk in holding the feet of the government to the fire to expose financial irregularities; Okey Ndibe and Pius Adesanmi, for dishing out incisive pieces of articles that fires the quest for change in the land; Nasir El Rufai, for being a bone in the throat of this administration in articulating pieces that can hardly be faulted (except for the goof of attributing Boko Haram to poverty), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, for daring to draw attention to the humongous resources consumed by a bloated and excessively large government (I had issues with his attempt to justify Boko Haram on the basis of financial inequality of the regions and for his failed attempt to phase out lower naira notes and introduce the needless 5000 Naira note, that was clearly at variance with his cashless agenda); Chinedu Ekeke and Japhet Omojuwa, for using the instrumentality of www.ekekeee.com and www.omojuwa.com, respectively, to further the gospel of change; Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, for being a staunch advocate for change. Others include, Kayode Ogundamisi, John Miles Wanogho, Tolu Ogunlesi, Agba Jalingo, Jaye Gaskiya, Adebayo Ajagunna, and a lot more people.
I duff my hat for those mentioned, and a lot more who are working for change, as unattractive as it has become. We must keep in mind the words of Theodore Roosevelt to the effect that patriotism is loyalty to country, and not loyalty to the President. If the persons who should lead the transformation process in the country, become the very ones whose actions imperil the fortunes of the people; it becomes not only expedient, but also, mandatory, that they be regarded as the enemies of the people.
I am @efewanogho on twitter.
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