OBIDIENCE IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE — A “Follow who know road” Analogy
Early morning, 8:30 am, Abuja, Nigeria.
*Opens TikTok*
(Scrolling)
Thank God it’s Friday, guys! Party Time! We — Meuveee!”
(Clicks Video)
Vibes and Inshallah
As Nigerians, we have collected way too many l’s (losses) in the past eight years to keep smiling and going about the day like we are not walking on sinking sand. The more I scroll through our internet spaces, the more anxious and furious I become. I see a few young creators campaigning for the oldest layers in the coming election. And there are people like her who go about partying when herders, bandits, kidnappers, and jail-breakers are on the loose.
“So, guys! I’m heading out! I got invited to Mrs Zahra B’s graduation party! One of Aisha Buhari’s daughters’ graduation parties (flips hair). My mom and one of her best friends are close and personal caterers to the Buhari. Hence, the invite. My make-up is on flick! My girls and I are about to pepper them. Aha — see fit! What-waist? Anyway, guys… TTYL. I’ll keep you posted. Muahhh!”
(Hiss)
Oniranu! Radarada!
*Locks phone*
______
There are 4–5 people in the country; the poor, the lower middle class, the upper middle class, and the rich. Then there is the RICH — RICH. And the trajectory of our lives is about to change for the better or worse because our leaders have activated a ticking bomb on us. Yet, leaving us to operate on vibes and inshallah.
“Do you blame her? Her kind can’t relate to the majority of our problems. They’re not experiencing the pressures poor people like us are facing; neither can they understand the current state of affairs,” says Shikawua.
How can’t she/they? We all have the same problems in this country. We might have different experiences, but the core societal matters affect every one of us, one way or the other.’ I respond.
“They — “
‘Ogah, we are all in this mess together,” forget it! I insist. Our corruption, insecurity, nepotism, and nonchalance are at their peak, and we cannot all escape Nigeria! Whether we like it or not, Nigeria can still happen to you, home and abroad.’
“Asin eh, I agree abeg. Nigeria fit stain — stain our white from no angle of the triangle!” Shikawua completes.
‘Tooh! We had better wise up as a country. Seriously, wake up! Or else… we go collect this 2023.’
“Eh! Hope you’ve gotten your PVC?” Shikawua asks
(Hiss)
‘For where?’ I say.
______
I know you’re judging me now. But how many of us have been able to collect our PVCs smoothly since the day of registration? Have you witnessed how long the process is? There are forces against this country's growth, including INEC. As seen in the news and on social media, some of their officials have been working against us! Instead of providing the citizens with swift access to registered cards, they take them and throw some of them down the drain, providing fake voter cards for imposter citizens who aren’t up to age or qualified to vote. We are literal OUR — OWN — ENEMIES.
We live in a digital world where almost everything has been digitalised. We transact and receive payments virtually, courses, text messages, emails, and even vote on reality shows via text messages. Take Big Brother Naija, for example. Yet we can’t figure out how to digitalise our votes and make them count? TRAGIC!
As a 90’s kid, Nigeria wasn’t this bad years back. This took about a decade and a half of incompetence, marginalisation, and unaccountability to destroy. Because we’ve left the political elites appointed to lead us “astray” and to continue to steal, cheat, and tell us white lies and blanket statements that make no sense — these lies have grown bigger and continued to spread like wildfire, spewing blood and discord across states. And as usual, we have found another way around, which now seems like the Nigerian dream — JAPA.
Background Brief
Shikawua (a.k.a. Shark/s) and I have been best friends since primary and secondary school. Unfortunately for us, our parents could not afford to give us privileged lives like those of our cousins living across and beyond the country, or at least not place us at a disadvantage. We are now stuck here, amongst the 20 million youths out of school, with no jobs, funds, and barely any meals to survive the day. We are forced to share the same atmosphere with our agbaya (unwise/big-for-nothing) uncles and aunties campaigning for old BATs. Whose campaign strategies are flimsy illiterate catchphrases and plans to make the Nigerian youth farmers and gun-cockers. But come o, don’t we still need some form of education to farm or learn how to handle firearms? Don’t we need food to sustain and strengthen our minds and bodies? Don’t we need electricity to cater to our goods, businesses, and comfort? My dear, the thing tire me, I swear, but as usual, WE MEUVE!
“No, o! E never tire una o.” Shark’s grandmother interrupts, approaching us from the back of the shop. “You youths have taken your futures for granted, but, to an extent, I do not blame you. Maybe until a revolution occurs and Nigeria crumbles to the ground, you all will decide to sit up and choose better for yourselves.”
‘But ma — ‘
“No — buts Dimeji! You youths are not mobilising yourselves well; instead, you let the rotten, corrupt, and greedy ones amongst you support and amplify the voices of these older men who aren’t fit to rule yet want to gain access to the Federal Power FOR THEMSELVES. And when that happens, LOBATAN! Trust me — we will all feel it. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry shall feel it. They preach change to you, yet stick to the old ways. YET EXPECTING THINGS TO CHANGE? CHANGE HOW? Yet you let them! What do you guys learn from all the western/European movies you watch? True revolution cannot come from folded arms, my dear. Either way, Iwo lomo! I’m old but still living my life the best way I can. I may not be here long enough to see Nigeria grow or crumble. It is up to you guys to take back your country. But note that we will not lose hope if we stay obidient and choose wisely. Remember, obedience is better than sacrifice. She pulls her left ear while staring into our eyes.
“I’m going to see Di Okafor. You know him, nau?“
Shikawua nods vivaciously, smiling ear to ear.
“Go well, ma!” We chorus.
“AH — AHN! Even older people find love, yet I cannot get one — just one! “He throws his fingers in the air.
‘Ogah! Egi ego? (Do you have money?). Don’t go and find work; you’re here looking for a woman.’ I respond.
_____
Mama Gige’s life is a real-life example of follow — who — know — road. She is a retired teacher and health worker forced into marrying a man based on an ethnic and religious bias at a very young age. She managed her marriage with Sharks’ grandfather diligently, endured his shortcomings, and bore four children with him till she gathered the courage to leave him. It was a struggle at the beginning. Leaving a toxic relationship is never easy, but eventually, Mama Gige chose to be brave, and with the help of her friends and close family, she left.
Even after she has left, he still finds a way to try to come back. I guess old habits die — really — slowly. Sharks always said: “If my grandmother ended up with some other man, a good man, a better man than my granddad, she would have been a highly influential person in the community.” His grandma had the guts, the wit, and the intellectual capacity to lead, but she got subdued by a man who saw nothing but a baby maker and a regular bedmate. And all he did was take away from her, weathering away her time and essence, never replenishing her.
The same applies to Nigeria, our country. We keep handing her to terrible, incompetent men and women who only know how to take and not replenish. It’s been 62 years of bad marriages. What a life!
The current state of affairs:
“The collapse in oil prices coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to plunge the Nigerian economy into a severe economic recession, the worst since the 1980s.” — World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU)
The fate of over 200 million Nigerian lives will change in about four months, depending on the person we appoint to lead — fix — and — reform what is left of this unfortunate coercion of states.
Most of the time, I think Mama Gige is right. But you see, our people suffer from chronic amnesia, delusion, myopia, and inattentiveness. Maybe it is all because we didn’t fight bloodily for our independence from the British Colony. Maybe it is because it was handed to us and rebranded as Neocolonialism.
My people, it is time we began taking our lives back and accumulating “wins,” like the giants we are. We cannot run because our steps make noise and echo. Giants cannot hide because our uniqueness, strengthened in adversity, will always show. But most of all, Nigeria will still happen to you wherever you are or go until we fix it.
It makes me wonder why? Why do we, as a nation, not love ourselves enough to do better for each other? There should not be a bloody war before we come to our senses and get our acts intact by choosing the right president in February 2023. Our lives, future, and past problems depend on the outcome of this coming election. We are on the brink of collapse. And this is an aggressive reminder.
Nigeria’s socio-political and economic crisis in a nutshell:
Economical Overview
-Currency Depreciation
-Trade restrictions
-High Inflation
-Human Capital Deficiency
-Decline in Education
-Unemployment
-Poor infrastructure and public amenities
Socio-political Overview
-Social Marginalisation
-Insecurities
-Corruption
-Poverty
-Socio-Cultural Decay
How many more rude awakenings do we need to happen before we wake up from slumber?
Shark taps my shoulder.
“Dimeji? You go chop? “He asks.
‘Eh, you can remain small for me.’
“Small like? No o! It is either now or never.”
‘Eh, oyah now, I am coming.’
Ten minutes passed…
One of our regular customers, Blackie-J, comes to buy his usual stuff, provisions, and health supplies. As always, we exchange pleasantries, Blackie-J is a good-looking, intelligent young man who also got the short end of the stick. Blackie-J was brainy! When he was in secondary school, he used to come to the top of his class with little study effort. But look at where he is now. Due to unemployment, sapa (no money), and nepotism, he cannot find a decent job to help boost his talents and take him to greater heights. But guess what? He has found a self-sufficient career in gigolo-ing, or whatever they call younger men who plow and preserve the company of older, rich, I dare say, women who desire him. A situation a lot of Nigerian youths can relate to nowadays.
If we were wise and cared for our futures instead of just hoping, we would love ourselves more by being more intentional about our votes.
We can only get better by voting for the right candidate who cares for the people and our future as a collective.
Leaders who do not hoard palliatives but rather they provide, distribute, and cater to the basic amenities of Nigerians as promised to us by mandate.
Think of the number of youths out of school, going into fraud, cyber-crimes, and other illegalities, to get by. While the political elite post pictures of their children abroad graduating with honours.
They sit back and play with all our public funds, using them to cater to their selfish needs and desires while they deprive us of a decent life in OUR — OWN — COUNTRY.
For the change we seek, we need to tell ourselves the truth and not mess up this election. I feel like this is our last chance to turn things around because if we do not follow — who — know — road, things will fall apart.
