Burnout was beginning to set in. This was compounded by existential dynamics which constituted a potent threat to my well-being. The doctor advised a break; and in the light of the foregoing, Toronto turned out to be a destination since some of my primary relatives live there. Since my arrival in this place, I have been busy attending to my health. Things are beginning to look up and therefore; to work I must return. Indeed, Wednesday at noon, Nigerian time, 6 am Canadian time, the editorial board meeting will be taking place. Such indeed are the marvels of the new technology. From anywhere, work can take place. As things go these days, you can leave the office physically; but the office still stays with you. For the traveler, who has been able to manage some physical displacement, as I have done, this is merely an illusion. It is an illusion to the extent that, there is no escape from the subsisting information order. Unlike in the past, when a trip abroad meant an escape from the Nigerian condition or non-condition, this is no longer possible. Right at your fingertips, it is possible to access what goes for news in Nigeria.
You have Business Day and other indices of the competition still staring at you. There is no escape. Meanwhile, the process has been deepened by the fact that with the tinkering of the relevant contraptions, Channels TV and their various cousins can be accessed. Unlike in the past when one had to contend with a news void- this situation no longer holds. Therefore, I have been savouring the news coming out of Nigeria. Perhaps the most important one, as these go, is the running story which revolves around the crashed twenty-one (21) storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi. It is a human tragedy of monstrous proportions. In a way and once again, the underbelly of what passes for the Nigerian state has been shown up.
There was the angle of religiosity in which, a particular pastor was shown up as something of a catalyst for the businessman-developer. Evidently, this is not one of the finest moments of this pastor. But what it does indicate generally is that religion or better still religiosity continues to permeate every aspect of our life. And yet- we are where we are- so to say. There was also the religious angle in which one chap came forward to recount how he was rejected for a job at the construction site on the basis of his religious identity. This was very interesting if only because, I have always thought that in this part of the country especially, Lagos and Ogun States, there has always been a neutral dimension to religion in terms of identity.
Clearly, we are fast losing our innocence in that part of Nigeria. On this note, let me crave the indulgence of the reader to be personal here. In terms of identity, I am a Christian. But I have numerous relatives- cousins and uncles who are of the Muslim faith, and yet we get along very well. Indeed, and at the risk of being more personal, what has largely given rise to the above is that my father, out of all his siblings was the only Christian in the entire lot. And this has not stopped us from being family, for as the saying goes- irrespective of identity issues- family is still family. This looming loss of innocence in Yoruba land is sad. Sadder still is the fact that sometime in the past, in the self-same Lagos, huge strides were made in the area of governance- and at the same time, religion virtually took a backseat.
My reference here is to the era of the Second Republic in Lagos State. At that point in time, both Governor Lateef Jakande and his deputy Rafiu Jafojo were both Moslems and as far as governance performance was concerned, the team ran a superlative race. So superlative that the duo continues to be a benchmark for their various successors. So, save in the minds of the mischievous, religion should have no place in politics; but this is wishful thinking. Such indeed, are the dismal realities in these times that even in the self-same Lagos, there is now a conscious attempt to balance. The era of the Jakande- Jafojo pair appears to be gone forever.
There is also a nuanced dimension to the tragedy of the Gerrard Road incident. Unknown to many of us, there was a journalist, Ladbone of the Guardian, who is a Freudian way, virtually signposted the tragedy. In a recent column, Ladbone focused among other things on the changing landscape of Ikoyi. This was a place, where the colonialists originally lived. They did so, with a lot of respect for space. Typically, a single-storied building was to be seen on expansive grounds, in what could be described as an homage to nature. But not anymore. As observed by Ladbone, high-rises now rule the roost with the attendant damage to nature. Some kind of paradise lost, you would say.
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It is relevant to state here that many young Nigerians are not likely to know that within Ikoyi in those days, there was an Ikoyi Park. Not anymore. What exists now are bricks and mansions occupied by the new elite- and if you like, the new post-colonial masters. And talking of the colonial implicitly dredges up images of politics. Nothing so to say is sacred with us. There were initially torrid attempts to drag in a top government functionary like the Vice President. Matters were not helped by the fact that, initially, a rebuttal came from a group, outside the formal political circle. The rebuttal sought to distance this top functionary from the incident. This was seen by some people as being rather artful. I believe the message was conveyed, such that since that initial reaction, formal policy and legal measures have been taken to distance the Vice President from the incident. Still, on politics, the rage which is reaching a denouncement as this piece is being written is the power struggle or better still, the elections in Anambra State. By now, the winner and the losers have known themselves. In the usual fashion, at least one of the losers has been crying foul. I would not really know the details from this distance, but if I know my people very well, in the context of a counter-factual, if one of the current losers had won; chances are that APGA the current winner may well be singing the same song.
There is also a nuanced dimension to the tragedy of the Gerrard Road incident.
The run-up to the entire episode bordered on the comical-with some real entertainment value. Professor Soludo in one of the televised debates openly challenged the credentials of one of the candidates, that he lacked something as basic as the school certificate. For those who know, this is an old story- which I got acquainted with in my days at the Champion Newspaper. For me, however, the situation speaks to the unique nature of politics in Nigeria and possibly even anywhere in the world. Such is the open-ended nature of the game that, it is an all-comers’ affair.
So open-ended that, a Professor will necessarily have to slug it out with a holder of the school certificate, real or virtual. This is why; the episode must have provided some comic relief for us all. And we need it, if only because of some of the other news coming out of Nigeria. What takes the cake for me however was the realism exhibited by one of the candidates, who, sensing the realistic throes of defeat decided to give his vote to the front-runner? There is even a biblical touch to this. Please remember here the words of the Great Book- the Bible- those who have, will have more given to them. As things stand, one can safely contend that success has outweighed failure. Elections have been held successfully in Anambra, albeit on the platform of heavy security. One can only hope here that in the course of time, this aspect of our elections will recede into antiquity. But if our culture is anything to go by, this may be the beginning of the end. The courts may be the next arena of this electoral contest. And so, welcome to the world of Senior Advocates of Nigeria. Some of them, I am sure, are already salivating.
