Photo credit: PM News
I guess it was Naeto that sang a song that became the poem of the time, titled ‘kini big deal?’, (what’s the result of all the hassles?)
Is it not a song that suits these times? These are times when it has been vividly proved that the average Nigerian will do anything to get money.
We have witnessed brothers kidnapping brothers, husbands killing wives, servants selling masters, etc, all in a bid to get the crispy green dollars.
Yes! Dollars! The dollar is the currency of the underworld! One, due to its convertibility. Two, the naira is heavy, significantly when it is further devalued against the almighty dollar.
If this had been prevalent among society’s flotsam and jetsam, it would have been understandable. It is understandable because it is getting increasingly hard, almost impossible, for the poor man to survive in this country.
However, times show that even those born with the proverbial silver spoon could be lagan and derelict in these seasons. And may I ask what their problems are?
Bread and butter.
Amala and gbegiri.
Tuwo and luru.
Fufu and ogbono.
It is as if we had never had elections in the land. I witnessed the 1979 elections and, of course, the 1993 elections too. I vividly remember that free education was synonymous with Chief Awolowo’s UPN and Alhaji Shagari’s NPN, known for its housing policy.
In every UPN state, schools sprang up in every nook and cranny. Today, the ex-pupils of those schools are successful in their various chosen fields. Jakande estates are everywhere in Lagos.
In 1993, Nigeria found a worthy candidate in MKO Abiola, who was of the SDP. He contested against Bashir Tofa of the SDP. Before he contested for the presidency, Abiola had been a very generous businessman. It was said then that nobody went into Abiola’s house without having their problems solved. He was virtually everywhere. Due to his generosity to sports, he was made the Pillar of Sports in Africa. He donated fantastic sums of money to the universities, both state-owned and privately owned; one can go on and on!
Nigerians felt that if a person could be so generous with his personal money, then he would be a good president. And so, it was. It was not a surprise, therefore, that when unofficial reports started revealing that MKO had won, there was great jubilation in the land. To show traders solidarity with MKO, prices of commodities started falling.
However, MKO was a president that was not to be!
The major parties today are known for childish insults. Is this how to make people reach their El Dorado? Helldorado will await us if we do not get a better deal.
But seriously, when I look at the two topmost candidates, I see the failure of a nation. Failure because I believe we could have done better than this. Indeed, we could have picked much better candidates.
I would have thought it more sensible if we could have had a third ‘serious’ political party.
But, a people will always deserve its ruling class!
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