I must confess that the current administration in Nigeria wowed me with the way the Oriire abductees were rescued or released. Some might be surprised by my conclusion, but given what I’ve observed so far, I believe it’s real. We have a saying that there’s no way a portion of a dog’s thigh would be shared with an Imam. In other words, I wouldn’t want the administration to believe I’m praising them for what I consider to be their very first positive input.
I do realize where those who believe it’s all a hoax are coming from. In a country where you can’t vouch that people in government are truthful, where there’s a huge gap between what people expect from their so-called leaders and what they really deliver, where there is a great deal of malgovernment, broken promises, corruption and a lack of transparency even at the highest echelon of power, I understand the cynicism of those who are yet to be convinced, I mean those who remain doubting Thomases.
I was engaged in a discussion with one of those who had doubts, and I asked him if he was a participant observer in the process. He said no. Like me, he relied on news reports sourced from social media.
But then, two of the teachers were tragically murdered by their abductors. Some of the security operatives even lost their lives. There’s a Yoruba adage that no one takes fainting as a joke, not to talk of real death. Some security operatives also lost their lives.
A media assistant to the president appeared on a TV program saying people earning 60,000 naira in Nigeria are better off than those who have found their way out of the country. I can understand the predicament of the media assistant; he had to justify his pay. Was it not the same week the abductees were released?
Apart from his non-recognition of the dignity of labour of those concerned, it added to the scepticism because it’s a blatant lie.
The government and its apologists can do better.
Meanwhile, the magic used in rescuing/releasing the Oriire abductees should be used to release other victims who are in similar problems. Then we would be able to know this administration has been able to secure the lives of Nigerians from abductors.
Then we will be able to conclude that a good thing has come out of the present administration’s Nazareth!
