Are we okay?

Someone once said something like that you cannot keep doing rubbish but keep expecting miracle. The Bible captures that essence in Romans 6:1, KJV. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

Unfortunately, the world over, when we look for models of this evil lifestyle, Nigerians are the archetype. It seems Nigerians have forever preferred to drive against traffic while hoping everyone else understands. There is no aspect of life in Nigeria where you do not find surrealistic mannerisms. Nigerians always act insane, strange, stupid.

Is it the horrendously illiterate way we toy with education? Or the devilishly unhealthy delivery of healthcare? Or, the satanically unpatriotic way we deal with our political and sundry leadership recruitment process and practice? Or the populace’s shameless cowardice to leadership?

In which aspect of the Nigerian life can we be called global exemplars? Is it in how terribly ungrateful we are? Or in our trademark shiftiness that has seen us replace shifting cultivation with shifting loyalty? Or in the very Stone Age way we excellensify nonsense and in the same breath nonsensify excellence?

Which country in this world does not know Nigeria as the global headquarters of anything-goes? Are we, Nigerians, so truth-hating that we want to argue that we are not the most unserious comedians the world over? What is our national strategy? Just where is our country headed?

To be sure, these are no rhetorical posers. So, instead of lazily or jokingly dismissing them as such, these questions should -as intended- force us to think, to unthink, to rethink; to learn, to unlearn, to relearn. Nigeria complete with all of its subnational content is more; can be more. Nigeria is too big, too endowed, too old, too everything to keep crawling.

Nigerians are not okay, the way we are. Nigeria is not okay the way it is. Nigeria is more, Nigerians are more. This year, as the nation turns 66, October 1, even nature knows Nigerians have had enough.

Enough of shooting ourselves in the foot, perpetually. Our president, our governors, our local government chairmen, our lawmakers, our judges et al -going forward- must not only show workings, they must also present periodic verifiable scorecards. Nigerians are tired of being played, of being kicked around like a ball. We are sick and tired of working for politics and politicians rather than the other way round.

Our education system, our health sector, our living standard, our politicking, even our relationship with God are fixable. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria that Nigerians cannot fix. It begins with the first step of our people in government swearing that they have fumbled and misled enough and we the people vowing we have been fooled and foolish enough. Our governmental leaders require some honesty, some patriotism and we the people some courage, some worth.

You cannot say you have built great hospitals plus trained and pay health professionals well but run abroad every time a health challenge like a headache that Nigerians think pedestrian comes upon you. That deceit is not only a disservice to your leadership, it is also an indirect preachment of the lack of confidence to the populace about our healthcare delivery set-up. Ditto, your inglorious bragging rights vis-a-vis education. You claim free education policy, you claim to have built adequate infrastructure, you claim to have well-trained and well-paid teachers but your children and children’s children flaunt about in schools overseas.

This is not to say that only government must bear the brunt of the entire blame for Nigeria in dire straits. No, they only have the lion’s share, not all. We the people have a little for our criminal docility, our outright complicity, our untold timidity. Our country is where it has sunk to, because we have all along been guilty of aiding and abetting lousy leadership.

When we applaud at a time we should boo, when we reelect at a time we should vote out, when we smile and laugh at a time we should frown and condemn, we become accomplices in nation unbuilding. When we vilify those we should venerate and vice versa, we become natural candidates for the black book of life. It is not okay to sow injustice and mediocrity as Nigerians have done for nearly 66 years but fold our arms and expect a harvest of equity and value. With the next general ballot slated for the wee months of next year, Nigerians know what to do to reset Nigeria on the path to recovery and sanity.

Enough of useless politics and even more, enough of useless politicians and enough of useless politicking. All the puerile hide and seek that we watch in the name of preparation for 2027 general elections is not it. With our full chest, Nigerians reject the foolish deceit. Monkey is going to go to the market on the two Saturdays of next January 16 and next February 6 but not return at all or as meat, as bushmeat.

Now is not too late to recalibrate and make amends for the last three years; amends that can be seen and felt and enjoyed by a people who have largely suffered in the midst of plenty. For instance, government at various strata boast that economy is beautiful, why then is our life ugly across board? Is this talk of capital and recurrent figures rocket science? I mean, is the subject matter so technical that even government is confused?

Alas, as alluded to earlier, the Nigerian situation far transcends government. We, the people, are trapped in this net of stupid helplessness. A young lady in Lagos recently went ballistic on X how another (older) lady (who may not even work for government) almost fought her because she was videoing a chaotic and inhuman transportation situation. That is, she was crying to get help for everybody but one of those to benefit turned on her; that she should not call for help!

Pure witchcraft, that. But, that indeed is the Nigerian reality. A governor treats his lieutenants poorly, and an outsider raises alarm. Yet, those to benefit rally in fake, empty loyalty to say that the outsider is weeping louder than the bereaved.

Have you seen or heard anything stranger? Well, only in Nigeria (apologies, big brother Bassey Udo). People are suffering and smiling: they wince in private and grin in public. How more miserable can political lives be!

The thing is: Nigeria is not okay. Nigerians are not okay. Things are not as should be. Fortunately, there is now a window of opportunity for us to right the wrongs and head back to el Dorado.

God bless Nigeria!