Elegy to ‘Old Nigeria’

It is goodbye to an era of half-truths, lies and deceits. It is goodbye to an era of propaganda and unnecessary sympathy. It is goodbye to an era of unrestrained impunity. It is goodbye to an era of recklessness in varying ways. It is goodbye to a nation of unprepared leaders. It is goodbye to a nation where persons hand-picked by self-appointed statesmen and godfathers were foisted on the people. Goodbye to a nation where persons who even without showing interest in serving the people had their ways to power bought by a fusion of greedy men who saw governance as entirely an avenue for advancing parochial interests. Goodbye to a nation where officials swore to assuage selfish considerations instead of put smiles on the faces of the people.

We mourn a nation where mediocrities flourished. We mourn a nation in which the people suffered and still smiled. We mourn a nation in which the people grumbled and kept calm. We mourn a nation where the people were economically constricted, socially constipated and politically muffled. We mourn a nation where political buffoonery became the norm. We mourn a nation where those knowledgeable enough concealed economic facts and let the citizens flounder in pretence.

We despise a period marked by blood and bullets. We mourn the days of bombings, kidnappings and other horrendous acts. We detest a situation in which women and children were forcefully taken, abused, dehumanized and even sold off. We detest days in which men and young boys were induced to fight a cause they abhor. We mourn a period when men and women were slaughtered or amputated or left to writhe in pains.

It is the end of an era where party and selfish considerations were put before national interest. It is the end of an era of political jobbers and merchandisers. We regret an era in which the greatest beneficiaries of the commonwealth were the greedy politicians, economic saboteurs, fraudsters and ‘connected’ businessmen. We ruin the days of gluttonous government contractors who conspired with rapacious officials to fleece our treasury. We detest an era in which kinsmen threatened to unleash terror on the land and nobody or authorized agency cautioned them.

We detest a period where men whose performance fell below expectation were shepherded to the podium and given red carpet treatment by the very people whom they had short-changed and impoverished. We detest days where leaders would not be afraid of ‘persecution’ after leaving office. We regret an era where political parties were conglomerates with the sole aim of trading commonwealth. We regret an era where political parties were assemblages of avaricious men and women interested only in our common patrimony. We regret days where a coterie of malignant conspirators shared our commonwealth. We detest days in which party men were only concerned on how to share oil proceeds to party stalwarts and cronies.

We despise government of ‘delegation by abdication’ – apologies to Jide Oluwajuyitan. We despise days where politicians never showed passion for their job. We despise days in which political officeholders were held ‘captive’ and only made to realize the rather inordinate targets of their captors. We despise days where officials sold their constituencies to their parties; served their masters rather than Nigerians. It is goodbye to the days of vituperations and tantrums. We despise days where officials were illegally given the boot for blowing the whistle and asking for transparency. We despise the days where indicted individuals were offered pardon for selfish gains.

We mourn an era where criticisms were considered alien to governance. We mourn a nation where leaders, instead of stopping party men and their children from sabotaging the nation economically, imposed hardships on the people. We detest days where trillions were paid to ‘ghosts’ in the guise of subsidies. We despise days where leaders classified their party men and their children as untouchables exempted from prosecution. We detest days where contracts were awarded to phony and non-existent companies. We detest a nation where oil caused a distraction. We detest a nation where other areas of opportunities were left unexplored while everybody relied only on oil.

We loathe days where talents were dissipated and dreams damned. We loathe days where empires were desecrated and resources depleted. We loathe days where insanity was celebrated and good judgment ditched. Goodbye to an era of flirtation with absurdity. We loathe days when opportunities were provided only to those who were ‘connected’ to men in power. We loathe days where competence was replaced with ineptitude.

Never again shall we shield the ‘untouchables’. Never again shall we place our parochial interest before national interest. Never again shall we pamper and shield the corrupt, inept cabinet members. Never again shall we ‘protect’ party men who milk us dry while leaving the masses to wallow in penury. Never again shall we make party membership card a requirement for benefitting from our common entitlement. Never again shall we play politics of exclusion.

Goodbye to the old Nigeria where fools and buffoons flourished. Goodbye to the old Nigeria where civil societies sold their consciences to the highest bidders. Goodbye to the old Nigeria where purveyors of cheap gossips insulted our sensibilities. Goodbye to the old Nigeria where majority of the people were caught in conspiracy of silence while our land was decimated. Goodbye to political tomfoolery, economic prodigality, social complicity, civic despondency and primeval cruelty!

Never again shall we pursue ethnic and regional interests. Never again shall we devote half of the nation’s budget to the service of a small minority elected to serve the people. Never again shall we become a laughing stock in the international scene. Never again shall we grant wasteful and unfavourable waivers to importers. Never again shall the people sit and watch in hopelessness. Never again shall the elites of this nation keep mum while the rapacious few keep us in perpetual indigence. So help us God!

Stanley Ibeku

Ibeku is a doctoral candidate at the Africa Regional Centre for Information Science, University of Ibadan.