I read recently in the newspapers that our government is planning to evacuate Nigerians from China as they have allegedly been maltreated by the people of Guangzhou. If I hadn’t expended a lifetime of tears already, weeping for my country, my tears would have flooded my house on that day. Even if the allegations against the Chinese are true, I’m trying hard to understand what these Nigerians will be coming here to do.
Have you created more jobs or an enabling environment for commerce? The last time I checked, Nigeria had the largest number of people in abject poverty and one of the highest numbers of unemployed citizens, anywhere in the world. Corruption has spiralled out of control, our human rights record is poor, purchasing power is abysmally low, electricity supply is embarrassingly insufficient, the education system is in total disarray, with tertiary institutions churning out graduates who can barely spell their own name and a health care system that’s even worse than all of these put together.
For a second, let’s put aside the fact that the Coronavirus pandemic began from China and let’s focus instead on what they did to contain it. This is a country where when push came to shove, multi-storey, fully functional hospitals were erected from scratch to finish, within a space of ten days. I think one was as quick as a week. They possessed the resources, the know-how and the political will to do what needed to be done, when it needed to be done. To the best of my knowledge, China is not a country where the leaders feel the need to bolt out of the country whenever medical attention is required. And here we are threatening fire and brimstone, planning to evacuate our people, who to all intents and purposes, chose to flee their own country when economic hardship and a pervading sense of hopelessness, became too much for them to bear.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not proposing the government abandons its people in their time of need, though it wouldn’t be a first time. No, my objection is the grandstanding by a country which in real terms has repeatedly demonstrated its total disregard for its own people. Foreign governments have been known to show more concern about the safety of Nigerians living in Nigeria than our own governments have. The facts speak for themselves.
When are we going to stop believing this hype of us being the giant of Africa? That horse bolted from the stable a long time ago. What should have been a relative advantage has itself now become more of a burden, as the burgeoning population, coupled with a frighteningly low productivity level and rampant corruption, means we have one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world. What does this mean? Despite our deceptive swagger and tireless “effizy”, the country is poor.
Washington Burnap’s statement, two hundred years ago, that: “The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for” is just as true today as it was back then. Ask the Nigerian youth of today why he’s unhappy and he will tell you. Lack of jobs, even less to give hope and a country that’s becoming increasingly more difficult to love.
The scriptures too buttress this where it says “hope deferred makes the heart sick”. With this firmly in mind, what would be the purpose of bringing our people back here? What does our government have in store for them? I, for one have never totally agreed with our frequently spewed mantra, that where there’s life, there’s hope. It really depends on what you define as life. I’m more inclined to believe that where there’s hope, there’s life. A life devoid of hope, effectively rendering it meaningless, appears to defy its very purpose.
There are many tell-tale signs of an increasingly repressive society. Our Customs boss, Colonel Alli, said some time ago, without any apologies to anyone, that where security issues take the front burner, people should forget about their fundamental human rights and the rule of law. But is it not the law itself, the constitution by which any administration governs, where he derives his powers and authority from? So, if the law doesn’t matter, what gives his actions legitimacy?
Periodically, hordes of young men are rounded up and arrested at nightclubs and our law enforcement agencies hinge the basis of their action, on the fact that these young men are in possession of sophisticated phones! You don’t go after the few that you have actually investigated but just cast your net as wide as possible (as I heard someone put it on radio) and then expect them to start explaining themselves and posting bail, which we all know is free only in theory. What happened to our rights? Young people are accosted, harassed and even arrested by policemen just because they exercise their right to enjoy the perks that come with success and you wonder why our youths are abandoning these shores in droves?
The other day, during this lockdown period, my wife and I needed to stock up on some items so we headed for the supermarket. Approaching one of the police checkpoints on the way, we were asked to wind down the window. Upon enquiry, we informed him that we were off to stock up. The conversation was as polite as any until he asked us if we had a movement letter. A movement letter to go out and buy food and provisions? So, my family should just sit at home and starve? Let’s just say I thank God my wife was there to temper the whole situation. I feel that the more he tried to assert his position, the more it began to sound as ridiculous to him as it did to us, so he eventually waved us on.
Our propensity to oppress our compatriots seems to know no bounds and this goes for both those in some form of authority and even the ordinary man. I often wonder if it’s just a black thing? In my book, you’re better off facing racism at the hands of those who feel you’re coming to their country to take their jobs, than face such oppression and worse at the hands of your own people, because of envy and frustration. In a somewhat macabre way, it’s somewhat easier to understand. After all, it’s their country. Put your own country right and there’ll be fewer reasons for you to subject yourself to such treatment. But as long as you continue to treat your compatriots as people whose life lacks value, you shouldn’t expect foreigners to treat you or your compatriots any differently. No one will value you more than you value yourself or yourselves.
Changing the nation…one mind at a time.
DAPO AKANDE
