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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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I once witnessed a discussion between two important personalities which drew my attention to one of the possible root-causes of our problems in this country. I was not eavesdropping, but I could not contribute to the conversation because it was somewhat beyond me. The two parties involved are exactly the type of persons who feature on the National Honours list. They have everything in the Nigerian sense: name, status, wealth, the right connections, and attitude. They represent the face of Nigeria.
We had met by chance at a public function, and you know what happens at such functions while you wait for the organizers to get their acts together: you invariably end up engaging in small talk with whoever is available to prevent you from getting too angry with yourself for forgetting that you should also have observed "African Time" like the organizers and other guests who would arrive two hours after the scheduled beginning of the programme. The man arrived first. He and I began a reasonable conversation about the state of the nation. He was quite a gentleman, too modest for his status and accomplishments, and quite willing to listen to the other party. Everything went smoothly between us until the pint-sized Madam arrived.
She was obviously one of these high-class women, who do not believe very much in the existence of the masses. She barely noticed my existence. As soon as she slumped into a seat, she engaged the big man in a hearty, confessional conversation about her personal affairs. In less than twenty minutes, I already knew more than enough about her life and times. There are so many people like that in this society. They can't spend ten minutes with you without imposing the latest developments in their lives on you, and as they prattle on, they insist that you listen. I didn't think the woman was talking to me, but there I was, listening in spite of myself to her oral and instant autobiography. But the part that intrigued me was when she turned to the big man and said:
"The temperature today is 30 degrees"
I thought she was talking about the weather in Lagos. I was mistaken. The woman was talking about England.
"I don't know what is happening these days, the weather just goes up and down"
"In fact, when I was in London two weeks ago, it was the same thing we talked about all the time", the man responded.
The man and the woman moved from the weather to other issues about life in England. They exchanged notes about their children and dogs who all live in England. They talked about the taxes they have to pay on their houses in England, and in between all this, there was some gossip about mutual friends and other families. I merely watched them and listened. As they spoke about England, you could see in their countenance that it was home they were talking about. I didn't think I was listening to two Nigerians but Her Majesty's subjects. The woman was particularly passionate about England.
She had something to say about the latest prices in the London stock market, and a bit about Tony Blair and his wife. I had no doubts in my mind that for the two persons sitting beside me, Nigeria is nothing but a transit camp. They make their money in Nigeria because this is still the easiest place in the world to make money, but they are British citizens at heart. All that is dear to them is in Britain. They have no emotional attachment to Nigeria, and hence, they don't care about paying taxes to the Nigerian government, and they really don't want to know whether Nigeria is stable or not. As long as Britain is stable and secure, all is well in their lives. I was probably thinking aloud because the woman eventually made the point more precisely.
"You know, your friend (that is her husband) and I, we don't keep anything valuable here. These people (she means Nigerians), you don't ever know what they would do. We have visas in our passports ready all the time. If there is ever any trouble, all we have to do is find our way to the airport, and in a matter of hours we are in London".
"Same here", the man said. "Especially with these elections (that is the 2003 elections), nobody knows what will happen. Once they start their trouble, I have told my wife, we will have no option but to relocate to London until things stabilise. The children are in England anyway".
"My first daughter is now taking charge of things. But the staff can always carry on if there is any crisis. I am not going to stay in this country if things suddenly go wrong. I won't take that risk."
"It is not worth it"
"Oh, not at all, my dear"
I could only listen. And I thought if the monied class in Nigeria is so lacking in commitment and patriotism, then there is no future for this country. The two persons I have been writing about are not the-money-miss-road types, but solid figures with old and clean money. The only problem is that they are not Nigerians. They have also not brought up their children as Nigerians. Nigeria to them is merely a shop, an outlet where money can be made, a name can be built, and advantages of eminence can be enjoyed. I was raising moral questions but I could not blame the duo. If I were in their shoes, would I risk everything in the name of patriotism in a country where nobody knows tomorrow, and the population of evil-doers is on the rise? Would I not prefer good old England, where although the weather pattern may be changing, life itself is still predictable, and human beings are valued? Is it not always true that the first law of existence is self-preservation?
It was clear to me that the problem I was trying to define is not restricted to the upper classes. We have a country that nobody wants to identify with. Nigerians overburden every embassy in Lagos with visa applications. Each time either the American or British embassy announces new measures to make visa applications easier, Nigerians jubilate. But they are soon disappointed anyway. For the average Nigerian, any other country in the world is better than Nigeria. The first time I saw a queue of Nigerians in front of the Japanese embassy, I was alarmed. What could they be seeking in Japan?
When I returned from the United States in 1997, the major question I was asked was: "why did you come back?" I was being asked why I chose to return to my own country! There are Nigerians in virtually every corner of the world seeking milk and honey. America and England used to be the countries of choice but now Nigerians are everywhere including Togo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. I once met a Nigerian who said he was a medical doctor in Vietnam; he is married to a Vietnamese woman and he had been in that country for over 20 years. I asked him if he would return to Nigeria some day with his wife and children. "What would I be coming back to do?, he retorted. "Anywhere else is better than Nigeria", he said. "There are hospitals in Nigeria, where you can work", I taunted him. "I don't think so" was his simple response.
In 1999, many Nigerians abroad especially professionals who had gone in search of greener pastures or who had to escape from the Abacha regime returned to the land of their birth with great expectations. They were convinced that democratic rule would bring fresh and better opportunities. Five years later, many of these professionals have had to pack their things and return to whence they came. Under Abacha, they ran away because the government was cruel, today, many of our compatriots are heading for the airports, because five years of democratic rule have brought neither fresh opportunities nor enduring hope. Nigeria has thus become the provider of talents for other nations. There are many Nigerians who are doing well as they say in different fields of endeavour in other countries. They are not prepared to return home. They no longer consider Nigeria home. The concept of home has changed in a world where the scope for labour mobility continues to expand in an age of globalisation.
But the big problem is the absence of citizens in the country called Nigeria. Nations are kept going by the feeling and notion of citizenship: the reality that there are persons who are willing to live and die by the nation, make their own contributions to its growth and development and swear by it if need be. Nigeria, I am afraid, does not have such persons. The idea of citizenship is dead in this environment. This is the tragedy of Nigerian life. Of what use is a country with a large population, but without citizens?
Even the Nigerians who choose to remain at home are just as alienated as the ones who have their hearts and treasures in other lands. They have no feelings for the country. They do not care. Public officials are only interested in using their positions to amass wealth. The rule is: steal as much as possible, but make sure you do not get caught. Those who work in the private sector are not better. It is a miracle how anybody manages to set up a business in this country and break even. Employees are ordinarily thieves. If they have access to company funds or resources, their primary ambition is to enrich themselves. Messengers want to build mansions; office assistants want to ride Lexus, secretaries are also on the look-out for loopholes that they can exploit. The same disloyal employees will complain later about poor pay, and the cruelty of management.
In many cases, employees follow the example of their employers. They are the ones who help the proprietor of the business to evade tax, doctor the books and declare false profits. Everyone is busy looking for a way to cheat the system. When government builds a road and furnishes it with street lights and railings, Nigerians would destroy the railings and street lights. They remove metal bars of pedestrian bridges and use them for their own private purposes. Virtually every Nigerian is involved in one act of violation or the other. It is difficult to enforce the law because there is a grand conspiracy of citizens against the state. It is a long time since I heard anyone defending Nigeria.
These are signs of that which we have lost in this country. It wasn't always like this. There used to be a group of citizens called Nigerians who were genuinely proud of their nation, identity and heritage. These days, you have to search for them and I dare say in vain. The rediscovery of a sense of citizenship is central to the rediscovery of Nigeria itself.
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