On Monday, May 13, 2019, this space carried a piece that could well pass for part one of this entry. In that work, this writer, in a desperate attempt to find man’s worst enemy, had searched the lower animaldom, looked among the spirits and combed the other planets. The mental expedition drew blank. Man’s best friend was confirmed to be an animal but his worst enemy was not found among domestic or domesticated, let alone wild, animals; neither among spiritual nor extraterrestrial creatures.
Man’s greatest enemy is man. Man activated a curse on himself, and daily feeds it. The adults and youths engaged in blood money know that animal blood would do the magic but they prefer human blood, human life. Every evil thing man does is targeted at another man: to bring down, to shame, to kill.
When man wars, it is against another, not animal. When man steals, it is from another, not from the spirit. When man destroys, it is another’s belonging, not something owned by a different being on another planet. When man shoots himself in the foot, our earth, life expectancy and our overall wellbeing bear the brunt.
Is man under a curse? Perhaps, but troubling God for help is not the way out, because man’s problem and answer don’t reside with the Creator. God has given man everything he needs to uncurse himself, and thereafter swear never again. Having damaged or cursed man and the earth enough, man can do with less foolishness, less hate and less envy which combine to prolong the stay in this dingy hole.
Man cannot not reassess his ways, immediately. Our internecine inhuman stupidity, greed and hypocrisy are over the bar. The perennial senseless political, religious, race, economic or hate cold war has never taken man anywhere; and it shan’t ever. Stop the killing, the stealing, the deceit.
Are ethnic wars not total nonsense? You gain territories, but are those not mere pyrrhic gains considering the wanton destruction of lives, animals and wealth? Economically, socially, politically, academically, professionally, religiously and name it, man sadistically makes life so hard for others, but to what end? When government turns a blind eye, which is an enemy strategy, and in the process allows a laissez faire, simple things become complex.
Such basic things as food, shelter and clothing expose man as both a criminal and an enemy. Failure by the authorities to ensure price and quality control has offered free reign to anything-goes, deficit, homelessness, hunger and avoidable deaths. Shylock landlords and dealers have a field day, charging what they like. There can be no truer truth: man’s worst enemy is man.
Unfortunately, Nigeria is the perfect case study as Nigerians are now the worst enemy of Nigeria and Nigerians. Nigerians kill Nigeria and Nigerians daily, with abandon. One gets the sense that just as human beings can only find their best friend from the land of lower animals, Nigerians have to run from Nigeria all the way to Cameroon or Niger or Germany or Russia or China to find what look like succour and protection. Animals run home to seek love, man runs outside for it.
Furthermore, man cannot wait to hang another out to dry. Better to seek help from animals than from man. At the slightest provocation, man gloats publicly that another once came cap in hand. Man is an animalistic enemy.
Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, Singer Eedris Abdulkareem and everyone, ever called out in retaliatory humiliation, only serve to remind us that man is not a friend. When you cross the line, man becomes a deadly, selfish, mindless enemy -crushing your life, your name, your ego, your position, your everything. Nine over ten, man is man’s enemy. When the chips are down, man is not man’s friend.
Most government offices, corridors of power, private firms, streets, markets, and wherever you find man, are peopled in the main by the enemy. All they give you are their trademark curses and hate. Life is not difficult because nature or the spirits make it so. Man is suffering because man wants man to suffer.
Just last week, somewhere in the deep south, a young Nigerian -Miss Iniubong Umoren- posted on social media that she needed a job. No animal called her. No spirit too. One human being, out of many who called, invited her and at the point of writing this, there are unconfirmed reports the potential employer killed and buried the intending employee in a shallow grave.
What enemy can be worse than a supposed helper who not only dangles help like a bait but also goes on to kill the help seeker? No animal does that. No spirit too. The only being that has that capacity is human and it is a shame he deploys it just for the ephemeral purposes of conquest, victory and self-aggrandisement.
Alas, thankfully, man doesn’t hold all the aces coupled with the fact that man is a tenant on earth. Man came with nothing and shall leave with the same. So, it is hypersilly to want to be the only cock because -I mean- who would you crow to? Man must rewire his mindset and style to reset for better results.
Man must today re-lay the foundation of the entire setup since what we have been building on is the wrongest or faultiest of them all; hence the perennial frustration. Man must live peaceably with all men, all women, all children. Man shall record better results faster when man ceases being man’s worstie and becomes man’s bestie. With deadly danger strutting all over the place looking for whom to devour, a word should now be enough even for the fool.
God bless Nigeria!
Did INEC announce 2023 too early?
I know the tradition is for the electoral umpire to publicly declare date for next general ballot, early enough. However, seeing how our political players take excessive advantage of everything, I think Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and his team should recalibrate. Waiting until a year to is the opportune time to announce this date.
In a country where politics is everything, too much time is spent on it and very little on meaningful engagement. For instance, it is yet two years since those elected in the last cycle of elections took office. Meaning, our people have yet enjoyed the harvest of what they planted in 2019, politically speaking.
Suddenly, because politicians allow no dull moments to advance their own interest, they have misconstrued the announcement by Independent National Electoral Commission as approval to begin electioneering in earnest. To be sure, we all know that’s not the intention of the commission, but do politicians care? In future, announcing the next date should be left until late.
That will help the electorate who themselves are helpless, gullible and have vehemently refused to learn from experience. I’m shocked that after the lessons evinced by 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019, the masses could still be carried away by latter-day political philanthropists and populists who are clearly only interested in the next polls, rather than a better society. INEC, please, intervene!