By Richard Odusanya
Living life in our beloved country, Nigeria, is unfortunately becoming harder by the day, no thanks to the prevailing and dire circumstances, which include corruption, profligacy, recklessness and the harsh economic realities. The examples of the recent revelation about Dele Farotimi (DF), Yahaya Bello and Betta Edu are clear evidence that Nigeria has more problems with corruption and abuse of office than we realise and admit. And that ignorance or pretence is even more crippling than the corruption that we all worry about.
Put succinctly, our outer world mirrors our inside world, and we often find the truth too unpleasant to deal with. Suffice it to say that lawlessness and excesses are what make Nigeria poor and intolerable. We cannot eat our cake and have it; as a people, we desire democracy, rule of law, and human rights. What is happening right now is a consequence of our copy-and-paste doctrine! I am not in the least surprised. This would not happen in China, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, etc., because their laws are made in accordance with their doctrines, cultures, and traditions and they have strong institutions that ensure that laws apply to all and sundry irrespective of class or position.
They don’t give a damn about any ‘Western values’ or views. For example, someone like Yahaya Bello would know that he would pay for what he did with his life in China; no debate, and 99% of their people would support it!
The contrasting images couldn’t be more telling. On one hand, Dele Farotimi, a fiery activist and vocal advocate for justice, is seen in handcuffs, a symbol of a system that seeks to punish dissent more swiftly than it addresses corruption. On the other hand, Yahaya Bello, the controversial governor of Kogi State, walks freely, exuding an air of invincibility despite numerous allegations of financial mismanagement and political excesses.
To build a little context, I crave the indulgence of our esteemed readers to reproduce a short post that I did about the man of the moment, ‘DF’: A man with nothing to lose, especially if he ‘has already lost everything’ and is ready to face the consequences of his actions, is the most dangerous to fight. You can see this in Edmond Dantes from “The Count of Monte Cristo.” In my opinion, the man who has nothing to lose is more dangerous, because the man who has everything to lose will not exist. In general, I’d say the man that has nothing to lose has the edge—but it’s all dependent on circumstance and the people themselves.
As for Betta Edu, who was the former minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development ministry (the ministry has since been aptly dubbed ‘Disaster Ministry’ by Nigerians. No thanks to incessant cases of embezzlement that have bedeviled it since it’s creation) until her suspension in January and her official sack recently. Word on the street is that Betta corralled a whopping sum of more than N585m ($640,000; £500,000) of public money meant for the poor into a personal bank account of another government apparatchik.
Back to our society, more of this would happen until we realise that we are not Americans, Europeans, or Asians and start the process of establishing laws that serve us. We must reconsider! As a result, the driving force behind the lawlessness of Nigerians is poverty (for robberies and scams especially) and, in general, the state of the country—the corruption and lack of law and order. The same could happen anywhere (and it does anyway).
My position is very simple: we cannot change Nigeria by adopting western methodologies. The best oncologist is not the best malaria doctor, and neither can the best cancer medicine treat the mildest yellow fever! For the purpose of emphasis, I have studied our people; they have unique characteristics in the majority, and we cannot assume that what people like us debate or write is what would sway them towards change.
Furthermore, the elites’ recklessness is based on their ability to manipulate this massive population that we are not reaching. To get them to act on our side for change, we must develop methods of getting to them, persuading them, and triggering action from them. This would not be an easy task in my opinion.
In conclusion, I’d like to use the golden words of Barack Hussein Obama, an American lawyer and politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Obama once said Africa should strive for strong institutions rather than strong men.
Finally, I wish all Nigerians well; both Dele Farotimi and Aare Afe Babalola deserve our sympathy and victory in justice as we search for a better country and seek to build a golden monument from the ruins of yesteryears and the anguish of today.
BEST WISHES OF THE SEASON TO ALL OUR COMPATRIOTS.
Richard Odusanya
