The soul of Nigeria is undergoing expiation. It is in a state which, in the Catholic doctrine, is referred to as purgatory. Here, the soul of the country is going through some cleansing in the hope that it will, in the end, find a place in the Promised Land. This expectation is in spite of the sinful elements that are in a ding dong battle with the pious ones over the soul of the country.
Nigeria, we can say, attained purgatory through the 2023 general elections. If the history of the country were to be written today, the 2023 polls will occupy a pride of place as an election to end all elections. It was an election in which the forces of good and evil locked horns. Both fought for dominance. Now, we are in a stalemate. The dilemma of the unresolved contradictions is haunting the soul of the country.
As William Blake, the English Romantic poet, would tell us, heaven and hell are intricately intertwined. Good and bad are both valid and must coexist. But what usually matters is which of these forces is dominant. Who or what dominates Nigeria in the years to come following the drag-out fight that the country witnessed over the 2023 elections? This is the struggle that we have taken to purgatory. Will the country persevere in sin or will it submit to purification in order to find accommodation in metaphoric heaven?
We need not remind ourselves that Nigeria has, for decades, been in the throes of a dilemma. Dreams have been dreamt. Ideals have been entertained. We have imagined a wondrous country that will be a paragon in the eyes of the world. But opposite forces have managed to thwart these ideals. For so long, they left the country in a state of flux. Now, the country is in a state of asphyxiation. Who will rescue the embattled soul of Nigeria? The answer lies with the system. It is in the hands of our institutions. That is where we are at moment.
After the hotly fought presidential elections of February 25, 2023, those who want to snuff life out of Nigeria forced their way into power. But they have been ill at ease with the roguery. Whereas the rescuers are working hard to save the soul of the country, they rogue elements are plotting to have their way. In their bid to bend the system to accommodate their machinations, the opposite elements have adopted all manner of subterfuge. They are putting up a bold face even in the face of the outrage that they unleashed on the land. While men and women of goodwill are crying foul, they are carrying on as if nothing is the matter. And where they cannot wish the outrage away, they have resorted to blackmail and intimidation.
The most testy of the struggle for the soul of Nigeria is the legal battle over the 2023 presidential elections. The election was a three-horse race in which one man called Peter Obi stood out. He is the reason we are witnessing an interesting legal battle. He is the heart and soul of the challenge because his presentations to the court were uncommon. He deepened the legal challenge at the presidential election court to the extent that everybody has become interested in what the court will say or do. Before him, presidential election petitions were mere routine. They were done for the sake of it. But Obi appears to have changed all that. He has breathed life into what used to be a mere formality.
Before we got to this stage, the same Peter Obi changed the tone and timbre of presidential campaigns in the country. He stepped in with verve and gusto. His message was uncommon. He forced his main challengers to sit up. He was the reason why the election was hotly contested. All eyes were on him. He tried his hands on an upset. It was imminent. The world watched with baited breath. The country quaked with expectation. Something uncommon was almost about to happen. But the opposite forces dug in. In their desperation, they led the system into ludicrous errors. It is those errors that the Peter Obis of Nigeria have taken to the courts. How they will be resolved matters to Nigeria and Nigerians.
Apparently buffeted on all fronts by the Peter Obi challenge, the opposite forces are threatening fire and brimstone. They are promising Nigeria hell should their devious scheme fail. But Nigeria is not destined for hell. It has left Egypt and is heading, inexorably, to the promised land. That explains its temporary sojourn in purgatory.
So, what do we make of this threat of anarchy? Discerning Nigerians can read between the lines. It is an attempt to blackmail and intimidate the courts of the land. It is a scheme to arm twist them into compromising the laws and their rules for their sake. If the courts do so, evil would have triumphed over good. People of goodwill, wherever they may be, do not wish Nigeria such a devilish romance with hell.
The interesting thing about this threat of chaos is that Nigerians are not bothered about it. Instead, they are having a good laugh. Threats of anarchy only work when the lily-livered are in the saddle. It worked under Goodluck Jonathan as president of Nigeria. A sitting president lent himself and his office to devious manipulation because opposing elements threatened violence. He allowed himself to be rigged out because a certain Buhari had threatened in 2012, while speaking to members of the Congress for Progressive Change in Niger State, that the dog and the baboon will be soaked in blood should the 2015 presidential elections be manipulated against him. Jonathan was not one to manipulate an election. He never did. But he saw blood in Buhari’s eyes. He was sufficiently scared by it. He understood Buhari’s threat to mean that he (Buhari) must be president in 2015 if Nigeria must know peace. A worried Jonathan could not put up with this threat. He caved in. He allowed all manner of electoral brigandage to take place under his watch. Even the chairman of the electoral commission whom he appointed worked openly against him. That was Jonathan. The opposite forces had their way. And when they did, they took Nigeria to the gutters. That is why we are squirming for breath today.
Now, they have come again. Some of those who goaded Buhari on are at it again. Like before, they want to blackmail and intimidate the system. They want to stay put in office even when they are not fit to be there. But this time, only the unwary will be taken in by their antic. Right now, the ultimate battle is being fought in the courts of the land. The soul of the country is in the hands of their Lordships. They have a historical responsibility to save the country from itself. For a country in a state of purgatory, Nigeria can rightly aspire to Eden. The country will get there if the leadership of the judiciary chooses the path of courage and incorruptibility.