Nigeria: A wonderful circus

Mike Ikhariale
| credits: File copy

From all indications, Nigeria as a political entity is in deep trouble. Things that were once thought of as taboos have since become routine occurrences and no evil is too much for our people to contemplate as “survival strategy”. We are everyday confronted with strange events and statements that easily confirm the much-feared reality that the constitutional and political fabrics of the country are incapable of holding the super-structure of the State in stability.

If you think it is only in the arena of public governance that things are going haywire, developments in our places of worship give you greater reason to reassess your overall outlook of the country. The picture that strikes one is that of a society in confusion wherein all imaginable and unimaginable misconduct is happening.

How does one explain the delusional claim by Bishop Ebun Oluwa Ogunele, in the midst of those grim and devastating horrors that the crash of the aircraft conveying the remains of the late former governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu,  that it was “the three days fasting and prayers preceding the burial of the late former governor that “prevented the Agagu’s family from being completely wiped out” in the plane crash? What was he expecting?

If, as he claimed, that he “knew”  that the whole of Agagu’s family was about to perish in that plane crash then he must examine his head very well because there was no way the entire Agagu’s clan would have found space in that small aircraft, a reality that makes it delusional to think about such a possibility. If after “fasting and praying for three days” we still had the crash, he ought to have buried his head in shame but because this is Nigeria where anything goes, he boldly picked the megaphone and gloated about supplications which the Almighty God obviously ignored.

If “men of God” could also join in the charade of mischief and frauds that have taken over the country, where else do we find succour? The only reason why the Ekiti Bishop made that claim was to register himself as a miracle man thereby boosting his spiritual ratings and material inflow like some of his Pentecostal counterparts gluttonously feeding on the people’s misfortunes. There was neither logic nor spirituality in those claims. But make no mistake about it: some gullible people must have swallowed the nonsense wholesale, coming from a “man of God”.

That explains why some religious clerics, sitting in the coolness of their luxurious homes and offices would talk some of their simple-minded flocks into picking bomb vests and AK47s and proceed on one-way suicide missions and they foolishly obey. If heaven is that sweet why didn’t the clerics take the first steps?  Those who prepare suicide bombers for their evil missions know the stupidity of theirs actions but they send others to die evilly.

On the political front we are equally confronted with preposterous situations on a daily basis. Take for example the planned “National Dialogue.” While we were still trying to understand the character and political status of the dialogue the government has decided to administer an abortion poison to pregnancy by saying that the outcome of this “almighty dialogue” will be sent to the National Assembly for approval.

For a long time now, Nigerians have been calling for a platform on which they can come together to discuss the way forward for the federation that does not seem to be functioning properly. In the process of this agitation some have asked for what they call sovereign national conference (SNC) that would assume the full power to chart a new political course for the nation, equipped with a constitution that fully captures the aspirations of the various peoples of the federation.

Honestly, that is the most viable way to proceed but like I have explained on this page in the past, the reality on the ground will not make it possible unless something fundamental occurs to alter the political equation in the country at which point the present iniquitous order would have been replaced by any means possible. But we all know that such is for now a mere theoretical proposition.

By coming out upfront to say that the outcome will end up at the National Assembly where the ruling party is fast losing effective majority, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to foresee and inevitable lock-jam down the road – another colossal waste in the making. One would have thought that having called for such a conference the government would muster the courage and political will to pass the document to the people for their proper endorsement. Do we still need any Bishop to pray for this process not to crash?

Much of last week was devoted to the discussion of what is now popularly known as “Oduagate” named after Ms Stella Odua, the beautiful minister of Aviation under whose watch a former minister in the same ministry reminded us that more than 200 souls have been lost in apparently avoidable crashes but which she dismisses as “acts of God.” The story is that she acquired two armoured BMW luxury cars at a cost that effectively represents the opportunity cost of the lack of facilities and adequate regulations that have contributed to those air crashes. The cost, as floated in the media, is about a quarter of a billion naira, an amount that is calculated, if well spent, could make our airspace a lot safer.

Has anyone ponder over the fact that it was after it was reported that there was a fuel armada at the port that the refinery in Warri was set ablaze? Now those who imported fuel into Nigeria will find profitable market. The connection between the impending fuel glut and the burning of the refinery are too strong to be casual.

Lest I forget, it should be mentioned that the naira has been secretly devalued. Unable to raise money to fund their hedonistic political lifestyle, it is always a very tempting option to embark on such devaluation.

What I find difficult to understand in the whole transaction is why the government takes joy in deceiving the people who are going to bear the brunt of their policies. Haven frittered away our oil wealth; they are now shifting the penalty to those who didn’t participate in the orgy of waste and squander-mania of yore. When you buy armoured BMW at outrageously inflated prices, the devaluation of the national currency is one of the punishments.