THE BEAUTIFUL ONES

Tyron Lannister in George Martin’s Ice and Fire stated that people often claim to hunger for the truth but seldom like the taste when it served up.

It is enough to take a cursory look at the Nigerian situation and not be befuddled by that cursory look. The problems and limitations of the country are already abundantly clear to the ‘so-called’ unintelligent minds.

The country is being run by machineries that has so far helped her stand, but not to progress. Like a vehicle with bad tires and a terrible engine, a breakdown may not be so far away. Doomsday may be tomorrow.

The beautiful ones are a people of thoughts and conscience, they are their brother’s keeper is a theme that has woven its way into the consciousness of their existence. For them, transparency is not a question of if it is possible, it is a must. The beautiful ones thrive in a country of the noblest integrity, and their existence bothers on contentment.

The constitution of the country, supposedly the supreme law and authority of the land more or less is treated like a terms and conditions column of a website, which no one bothers to read, except when it can’t be avoided.

The rule of law is nothing but a farce in our beloved Nigeria. Most of the pedagogues who teach it neither believe nor practice it, most the students care less about the existence of any. Most of the legislators blatantly flout the rules they made, make an open mockery of the ones that discomfits them and refuse to pass the bills that could curb their excesses. They are most excellent at ever fattening their tummies. Some Judges will suddenly wax philosophical about simple laws written in clear and unambiguous terms to give injustice a voice of reason. Most of the executives cruise on oceans made of the electorates’ blood, in cruise ships devoid of human conscience.

The Educational system is disjointed; it has borrowed a leaf from Thor in Greek mythology. Strike actions are now unofficial holidays in the tertiary institutions, a Christmas of some sort.

Nigeria can claim she practices democracy all she likes, it is difficult to realise if anyone still believes that façade. A friend today 1^st of October 2018 reminisced: “I used to feel proud to be Nigerian, but living in Nigeria, as a Nigerian cured me of all feelings of Nationalism and Patriotism. Many people have a Nation to be proud of, I don’t. Nigeria is 58 today, will Nigeria last another 10-20 years”?

Institutions that should regulate the Country have for long been little more than figureheads when it comes to addressing the most important matters. Ever quick to support and even spearhead International expeditions while the North is on fire.

It appears that Nigeria as we know it may just as well be practising Karl Marx’s concept of Superstructure and Base. The Nigerian Nation is in reality a mere representative of the powerbrokers these days, and appears to be functioning purposefully for the oppression of the lower class and less privileged.

This Truism in Marx’s day is applicable to Nigeria. The base consists of the labourworkers who build the Nation’s GDP. The superstructure comprises those at the helm of powers, the powers that be. They suck the proceeds of labour and refuse to pay the labourers. The labourer gets punished when he errs in the performance of his duties while the bosses are almost unquestionable whenever they owe months of remunerations. They have treasures stored up in foreign accounts and deep freezers, and come back to feed “their people”  “now and then” if not every four years. They live in wanton affluence as if they do their people a most high favour by executing their official duties. Money gotten from Nigerian Politics is like blood money.

Our leaders are ugly.

The constituents of the base are many times more beautiful, but when they eventually fight their way into the superstructure, they would have become ugly. Ugliness is a benchmark to making the superstructure in Nigeria it would seem. The quality of the leaders is embarrassing with the exception of a few.

There’s an apparent disregard for people who put them in power either through speech or in manners. Some are content to paint their people as perpetually hungry, which might in fact be true, but distributing modules of Rice at intervals and hope it alleviates the hunger issue is plain ridiculous.

Nigeria. So much history and very little learnt. It must be noted that history is a wheel, for the very basic nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened in the past and what we are experiencing now will happen again and continue to happen unless something drastic is done.

It is gut wrenching to realise that PVCs are now being collected for the very embarrassing sake of selling votes to the highest donor. We sell our rights, constructive criticisms and opinions for the next four years, live in anger, discontent and hunger for prolonged periods only to restart the cycle of malaise.

We are a people so comfortable with anything. Our adaptation to anything good or bad can be both commendable and appalling at the same time. Nigerians will roast a thief who isn’t armed and will worship him that has refused to build standard hospitals with their sweat money.

The elders are so content to blame the younger generation for in their days there was very little evil, forgetting that either directly or indirectly, the present and future is a result of the past. That’s of course not to exonerate the young’uns of their excesses, the blame can just be so overboard sometimes. Nobody is willing to take responsibility, always so eager to point that accusing finger at anybody and to no one in particular; hence Nigeria’s big problem.

The head even when it is not right wants to keep leading, forgetting that it’s not about the biggest head. It is about the quality and what it can offer the whole body. The one with the biggest head must not always be the head boy.

The beautiful ones are yet to be born, but when will the ugly ones die?