A Concerned Nigerian Writes An Open Letter – “Nigeria In The Stinging Cushion”

That very morning when i came outside the house, there was many things that appears unusual, many things i could not count or even mention what exactly it could be. I noticed the film in the sky spreading over the facàde of the earth in pitch gray fabric, causing silhoutte of one object against another. The usual sunlight i had came out that morning to inhale its ever aura flavour, always awakening in me a sense of gratitude to nature’s embodiment conceived a dampened halo exuding a sappening ambience. I was lurked into the abyss of confusion not knowing what to point out from this novelty of climate, of this new attitude of nature. I was more stuck-up when i neither smelt the ixora flowers’ soul caressing perfumes, the hauled down purple pine trees that will incessantly dance along the gentle drum of the wind, as though saluting my presence every infant moment of the day after the long journey i had sojourned into, bunged of mirage in a world of phantasm. Every dawn of the day. Even the wind itself seems to be contaminated with something more powerful, as if pulled by a ghostly being, or got entwined, laced in the fathomless belly of a stale puppet, or perhaps confined in an everlasting universe at war with my world. Though no sun had shone, none could had shone that morning if nature was still on the thrown of presiding over the world, yet all over the snaked dried crackled earth i saw over dried brown rusted leaves, fabrics cracked from their threads, nearly loosely dispatched to particles with the earth. Those were the ever green leaves i envied. Nothing was left for the low-slung fragile wind to blow. I thought to myself “What could have happened, what could be the message of these excruciating signs?”. Humanity has lost the virtues of its existence with nature, with normalcy. In the best regarded form, in a precise sphere. The purpose for the foundation of every established system. Natural or man-made. Corporeal or incorporeal has been egoistically slurred over like mango seed thrown away after its sweet meat had been crunched for satisfaction. and decadeyed not to germinate for hope of rebirth but into dust, not a remnant is left to know of its existence or value by posterity. There was a land called Nigeria without her consent for amalgamation or something for onesness. Consequentially we’ re two legs forcefully tucked into a peer of foot-pad. As we’ve always been. We can’t kill all the British if we want in vengeance of this action of lust or greed for greater development on their land at the detriment of others’ land. In fact, unfortunately, majority of those foreign leaders and soldiers that propped and espounced this ‘whatever befitting to be accord a name identity’ action are no longer sharing the breathe of the natural air, remnants are cold with fabrics of age. So why bother on with the blames, and castigation and battering censure against a ramrod of mirage, against the foreign invaders(British) who are developing at higher pace everyday forgetting they ever sinned. Unparalled, illogical bunch of piled alibis for huge failure on our side. A foundation was laid when the British came into West Africa, first when through their ploy found, amalgamate and conceived us a country called Nigeria. A foundation was symmetrically laid for christianity, for humanity, for civilization and for self government after they’ve ruled and left the premise of Nigeria for good. Before this very novel foreign foundations, there were foundations immemorably that existed in the atmosphere, coaching the air our ancestors had breath on our soil, it had twinged a tissue in our bone marrow, it sparkles off the glitz of our eyes, it thrilled and gouge our sense of being, it encompass every pint of spirit fibre the heart dispels to the soul. That was our own identity. Our culture and Our own Pride. The overseas world came into the black mans’ with their own venerable historical ideologies and patterns of life, immemorably nurtured, some spectacular ones adopted as codicil from other continents including Africa, to include cultures and new vocabularies, refined and exported for others to share and treasure. It protrude a facàde of grace when through their foreign religion of christianity exterminate barbaric custom practices, and degrade the freedom of fetish and witchcraft existence and diabolism. It was a beautiful offshoot when whatever it was they did to abolish the killing of twins, fully spurred by Late Mary Slessor. May her soul rest in perfect peace. Numerous achievements were birth at the intrusion of this foreigners mostly in the aspect of formal Education. All other aspects had existed in antiquity. It has always existed, social norms, cultures, politics and other societal elements. There is something beautiful in all of this which is rooted in our origin, has always existed with us. Why?, all abandoned and buried into extinction. Why the pool of morality and integrity is drained off by the open thigh of lust so insatiable, and crammed with deceit and immorality. Yes!!, undoubtedly, there were several ethics, pattern of behaviours, enlightenment to nature’s mysteries and secrets which helps more in distorting superstitious beliefs and ideologies. The access into invented technological elements is worth envying these erstwhile colonial masters or practically to be called ‘colonies invaders’, it is only a proof they had started far back from somewhere, at a particular time, falling and rising till this junction of the success they’ve emerged into, it only proves this sst of beings were getting stronger, initiative and passion-driven as the minute hand of time make a tick sound through the terrain of all theif phases of life. Despite whatever flaws identified by either themselves or external nations, the secret which always beautifies the echelon of their success and development is the respect and prestige they had held for their identity, integrity and culture, the love and oneness which under the sun and rain, night and day, from immemorable beginning had spawned, hoist the fortification of their present sumptuous existence. They had encountered came intrusion, denunciation by neighbouring nations, catastrophe, in time forcefully merged with other foreigners by power-throng land invaders, yet they held in esteemed measure their identity through furnace and fiery darts, in oppression and hopelessness, eventually morphing them into a powerful civilized and developed nation unveiled into the 21st century world. Africa Where is your identity?, Nigerians define yours. In the early hour of Independence, the colour of black continents strived and was able to rub shoulder with the extrinsic colour of the foreign thrusted manipulative perception of civility: the idea of the police and all security forces placed in favour of the political officials and wealthy in the society, the excessive unnecessary entourage made to ooze all over political leaders, the public leaders siphoning treasuries of the newly independent nation overseas for selfish sake at the detriment of the whole country’s population and welfarism, the tricks of deception, propaganda and game of death in politics. Segregation and tribalism revealing its cloak, but had never stand fully to threaten a set-back to the new-born state. To a point these aforementioned sequences became our crisis, a stigma left behind whether of deliberate act or an unconscious deed by the European nations. The scar had been made and its indelible to retrieve ourselves. But at the early stage of our independence, not now, there was the other side of the coin, even while this side of the tunnel was too dim for a shadow to survive, an illumination shone on the other edge, to some point erasing the thought of a silhoutted tunnel. At least the education arena was girdled with virtues, our currency had value to stand any other currencies. Some sifted unbarbaric cultures were still surviving and cliched to the heart, atleast morality and integrity had a say, truth and honesty had a dwelling in majority of Nigerians conscience because somewhere a patch of morality embedded in our tradition still had a definition on us. The benefits sold to us in exchange of our natural resources, freedom and stripped identity was Education and a religion, serving as the source of illumination to enlightenment of logical and rational knowledge and civilized courtesy, the hinge to have a say in a new world birth by technological and scientific advancement. Yet, how far have we recruit these few benefit to our own gain. Has something spectacular squirt up promising to our posterities just as every bit of our natural and human resources the foreign countries had access to utilized to mount up their present level of development. When will we get it right with all we have. When will we be proud of the confinement that mark out our identity. Corruption, injustice, favouritism or whatever befitting name worth entrusting in unrighteous game of power dispensation, this is pervasively everywhere in the world, stinking out of every hitherto existing organisations, framed cautiously or unconsciously. But It is hazardous when no bottom, no conscience, no satiation, no reciprocative defintion resides in the soul of many people in sensitive and significant nooks and crannies, in place of maneuvring the reel of human welfarism and justice in a country called Nigeria. The complicating issue is, with the comparism of our 21st century youths who are yet to witness what is life in the perspective of family shouldering, to mounting the horse back and move the enormous cart of a country possessing numerous diverse and complex families and organisations. Our 21st century youth opened to the technological realm of orders, laptops, phones and other well technological advanced gadgets capable of unveiling the secret to the foundation of East and the end thereof of the West. Youths privilege to access segments of Educational structure. All this never existed in the old days when the men now in the department power dispensation; politically, economically and socially were but youths. Height of discipline, commitments, trustworthiness, reliance, morality, courage and honour for the traditions and customs that define their identity then cannot be said to have advance or on same scale with today’s youths’ situation, rather in the slimmest form struggles not to be made extinct by sugar coated immoralities and too eccentric fashion of life to the nature of our root, our identity. We have the audacity, youth in particular to question the present political leaders and public and civil officials of their corrupt and kleptomaniac utility of power. Men and women who had had ardent well framed, well raised from the harshes of cultural integrity, discipline and stern trial into accessing Academic qualification. What then would posterity say about the 21st youths whose mindset has already been diversified to see bribery and sacrifice of their body for the females especially to wound way into accomplishment in the higher institution or any organised institution, but to arrive at an aim in life. Youths majorly in the affair of scam, robbery, over-sentimental, over-emotional to their opposite sex, youths deriving fun in baking up abusive and distorting statements on the social media to castigate and degrade others joy, to arouse comic mood. Youths spending more times in flaunting themselves in exotic scandalous apparels. Youths lusting incessantly to opposite sex. Youths seeing no value in Education because of the nation’s incapacitation to provide sufficient and efficient employment security, easy access to malpractice of examination, parents lukewarm nature to direct and discipline them. Youths despising the custom and tradition source of their identity, not even the foreign slogan ‘no pain, no gain’ not their initiative and risk taking way of life have they garnered the audaciousness to proceed after. And the question is what is the hope for our posterity, the unborn generations who will choiceless become an inhabitant of this land. Who can bell the cat and bell it right. Excuses are thrown in the air day by day why we’re yet to make it to the land of El dorado. There’s no ploy to spear out critiques on youths, but to awaken our consciousness, attempt to take off a film on our device of enlightment to reality, to know where we are, and the path it possibly would lead us to. We have so blindly run off, or hope not, haul down our roots birth in our customs and tradition which held morality, courage and hardwork in esteem,  lamly and indolently gripped at the rib edge of another’s tree rooted entirely in another immemorial antique that is presently a cause of the strength to approach and maintain the echelon of their present achievement. Eventually, we, tossed to and fro, too flimsy, light, malleable and confused like a lost sheep with no shepherd to find where we were, who now we are and where we would eventually be to hinge on with pride and integrity. We have generally and popularly used the term ‘before a baby can walk, he must crawl, fall to sit, crawl,fall to sit. strive to stand, fall to sit, strive to stand, fall to sit. Eventually walk and become independable of making more progress in motion. But when a child still crawls and fall to sit continually, and no progress to walk, even though wobbling when his mate has start to walk, then there is a problem somewhere, a problem bearing the name hinge disability, and only a miracle, or rigorous process can take effect to incur remedy.   Another pervasively made up excuse is ‘we are not ripe for independence. An assumption, permit, the propounder of that statement has no logical perception of situation in mind before spilling it out to other’s cognisance. Not matured for independence, in a break down to glean out flexible understanding is ‘Like a child, whatever the age might be who knows his left and right, because he could’nt progress into another stage of human process, disabled. go back to suck his mother’s breast, perhaps to gain more divine milk or whatever unique potency of the milk in the breast to the child. Mindlessly propping up such excuse is a treason on a country’s integrity, the little integrity we hardly allow to exist. If that should be the solution for a cure to this stinging maladies, the foreign breast milk will be a virus that will eat deep into us like an insatiable vermin, more than they’ve already contaminated us in the past, still eating us to bone marrow.   The fact is we are unnecessarily proud, we have the egoistic spirit to wear a beautiful garment but with hurting spikes within, stinging, depriving us our welfarism and comfort. We want to help other countries already in better shapes than ours, all for the sake of gaining recognition. What a Prestige of fallacy!!. The crawling child attempting to help the walking one run in return of verbal praise, not, never bored down, never genuine from the heart. Ghana, a country that once depended on this country, now independent in many aspects even with little she has had, has compared to quarter of what fragment of this country possess. Piteously we depend on them for good quality social lifestyle and education.   We recruited thousands of soldiers to war against the insurgency of South Africa and restored peace and harmony to their country with nothing of exchange. Thousands of soldiers were sent back to our country. all dead. What an indeed centre-piece of Africa, yet in reciprocative gestures, many Nigerians who habit on the soil of South Africa for one reason or the other, mostly for education purpose, are scandalously infringed and assaulted with genocidal affliction by these people. Cameroun, became independent of us, after we had gained ours from the British, cameroun with very little in all ramification compared to what comprise up Nigeria. Has ha standard long unquenched power supply and social services to humanity, and several other socio-political elements in a qualitative order, worthy to be proud of, reliable and sufficient. We’re still crawling. Suffering and smiling. Theorising soothing and exquisite foreign vocabularies like an incantation that will just make things happen. Gallant and educative political leaders spouting and gushing in many sectors of the country with very short hand to stir the reel of ‘Ideal politics’. Big brains, little, dead heart. Leaders whose eyes had been veiled up with kleptomaniac girdle that they can’t see the pothole of karma and vanity.   Fact is, it’s not about the beautiful ocean that could over-spill its boundary and desert its erstwhile admirers off its surroundings. Limit to its beauty and admiration. but the invisible wind that continually cause mankind to pour out blessings from their heart through their mouth and nostrils at it. Reciprocation for breath of survival. It’s not the visible script called currency, or the syndication of cement and sand morphed into mansion that’s the best to be proud of achieving. It’s the invisible script written in people’s heart about the course of one’s existence. A script which can’t be torn or distort. Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King are forever lurked in this script of humanity. To be celebrated in eternity. Already sculptured in the heart of thousand unborn generations. Our issue continually would be pride, empty pride. An average youth wanting to be recruited into the Army or security force, majorly is to arouse fear and respect for himself from civilians, to quickly be in control of power. To derive pleasure in other’s homage. Christianity is the religion long fused into Nigeria, adopted, wound into us as an identity, but never practiced of the doctrines embedded and outlined in its written great book and sermonized to be followed to be qualified a genuine christian. Yet we wants the best of those few who did followed its stipulated principles. We just want it quick, everything fitting into desirable places and phases with not a strain on muscle tissues, with no sweat, no trials. Certificates of meritorious, infallible success. If we’re not rooted in christ the foundation of...See More