The Beastly Virus in The Nigerian Gene
Nigeria, over the years, has been enshrouded in the fleabag of ethnocentrism, chauvinistic sentiments religious bigotry, and immoral jingoism. Whenever and wherever there is a proclamation of the appellation, Nigeria, especially outside the shores of this country, it resounds and reverberates in the pre-conditioned minds of the hearers. If a Nigerian professes proudly and boldly his nationality to non-Nigerians; this pride of one’s nationality elicits severe and stem antagonism. Nigerians have had to suffer stigma and chronic diatribes launched against their personalities because of their nationality.
Such unsympathetic ovation and reception that Nigeria and Nigerians receive everywhere in the world are the end-products of certain inordinate preconceived notions, dogmatic convictions and seared malice shared by not only non-Nigerians but Nigerians alike, against the country. The synonyms ascribed to Nigeria poverty, underdevelopment, diseases, criminality, human rights violation, acrimonious behavioural tendencies, crisis, illiteracy, and above all, corruption are informed by the discriminating beliefs that there are numerous debauched and callous traits in the Nigerian gene. Nigerians are said to have grown deep into the shallowness of egocentrism, covetousness, ravenousness and materialism.
Matter-of-factly, human nature itself has degenerated from being human; abnormality is the altar of dysfunctional normalcy. The world is the actual dystopia. Moralities, mutuality, coalescence, sensitivity, faithfulness, trustworthiness, unison, among other virtues, have been sent to the gallows of impiousness. Man is unnaturally wicked, stubborn, willful, temperamental, parochial, belligerent and corrupt. But, every act of maladroitness has been Nigerialized; there is the Nigerian perspective to every told and untold story of mal-administration, venality, bribery, nepotism, favouritism and the display of extreme baseness that could send the devil himself agape with amazement. Every Nigerian, regardless of their age, background, ethnicity, educational attainments, social status, religious sentiment, etc. is susceptible to corruption. Corruption is the thick solid blood that runs through our green veins; it is at least the only legacy and union that binds us together, our cultural diversity seems to be the sole of our enmity. The Nigerian-factor crops up anytime a holistic approach is needed to solve a lingering problem. We have lost our candour; the penetrability of phoney misdemeanour into the Nigerian flesh represses prudence. Beyond the claim of discrimination, there are sets of out-of-the-world recurrences that are truly Nigerian; there are also pointers which tend to lend credence to the assertion that corruption is Nigerian; that it is a ministry created to accommodate every Nigerian. It has recently become the most popular word, in that it slips out of every lip, and escapes from Political aspirants fictitiously pretend to loathe the word; religious bigots cage it in their saintly cassocks and sleeves; human rights activists strangle the parsimonious lungs of leaders when they (leaders) display a slight hint of corruption; it is the much-talked-about subject, but everyone – fathers, mothers, children, leaders, followers, all sleep and wake on the sofa of corruption. It grows beyond mere political cynicism -the domain of alien falsified revivalism.
Though it has been tagged political virus, it transcends every domain of existence in Nigeria. It seeps through the pores of our seeming religiosity- the beastly pulse in our heartbeat. It is Nigerian to hide under the cloak of religion, cheat others, rape justice, murder innocent people; pretentiously play on the intelligence of others; promise heaven and hell when aspiring political offices but shun the electorate and deny them their rights after being voted into office. It is Nigerian to cheat and evade justice, because, one is affluent and can manipulate the situation to suit one’s egocentric taste; to trample on the rights of fellow others because deceit, foolhardiness and abandonment are sine qua non to domineering murderous politics. It is Nigerian to syphon and loot treasury, or cart away tax-payers money, just to gratify one’s mildewed fantasy. Corruption is human; it is Nigerian, though, not peculiarly, it has become fait accompli in Nigeria – the watchword of political and religious gods. Corruption pushed many to unleash wholesale acts of genocide on others for tribalistic reasons. sentimental skepticism and political chauvinism.
Obviously though, embattling crime and decorating the criminals; organizing elaborate thanksgiving service for a foremost prisoner; setting the perpetrators of evil free (while they are convicted outside the country) and nailing the poor; intentionally over-dragging judicial processes; enforcing anti-people policies on the populace and refusal to rescind such, etc. Propounders of elusive schemes which they themselves brazenly flout in broad daylight, yielding nothing but absurd proselytism; followers who rain coals of fire on theft leaders but at the hidden corners of theft privacy perpetrate mischievous acts. To us, valour is valour; an act of bravery. It does not matter whether such act of bravery is exercised for a right cause or the wrong side. We exhibit social vices and moral dissipations and watch helplessly, our less-dramatic journey into sudden death. The Nigerian character has been plunged into the phenomenon -corruption. It has turned many to crusaders and gospellers in words only. People in diaspora have had to experience humiliation (of all sorts) at foreign embassies, airports, or social gatherings, at the realization that they have affiliation with Nigeria. It is a trans-generational heirloom; the legacy that the older generation hands over-enthusiastically to their descendants; the mantle that the younger generation receives and accepts hilariously. Corruption is injected into our veins genetically to the extent that any drug pusher, smuggler, money launderer, armed robber, forger, criminal, rapist, terrorist or scammer caught will be believed to be a Nigerian, without any form of doubt.
Every sector of the economy has been besmirched by this virus. The petroleum industry was discovered to have been infested and was determined to be cleaned, but because it is not about the sector; it is the leaders – the people themselves who have been tinged and stung by this killer-disease. It is not about the system but the people in charge of the system are the criminals. They are the ravening wolves swallowing the liver of the country with theft ferocious canines; they are the rabid dogs barking at indicted persons but, dive at the slight sight of monetary bones nourished by juicy bone-marrows.
Democratic fairness has been marred by autocratic Accident, someone said is part of our existence in Nigeria; the Nigerian thinking is that justice is an act of paying one’s way out of unfavourable circumstances. It is Nigerian to think that we cannot live free of violence or make ends meet without hurting anyone; that it is utopian to try to tolerate others. What many want to concede is that no one can rule without tampering with people’s money or belongings. Few clenched their fists on the benefits of others and smile to the bank, oblivious of the fact that they are bending the wheels of the society. Just one person stole billions of naira reserved for dying pensioners who have sewed their fatherland for years; sad to think that such criminal got away with pipes in his mouth blaring songs of victory. Still, convicted criminals are pardoned and amnesty could be in the pipeline for bloody terrorists, murderers, bombers and merciless cut-throats.
Moreover, we citizens as part of our sworn hypocrisy, have laid accusations at the doorsteps of our leaders, yet, indisputably, nobody is exonerated. Though, our leaders (across levels) are corrupt deceivers, liars, traitors, misappropriators, embezzlers, extortionists, etc. Leaders, we have forgotten are not saints, gods or angels; they exist and appear from almost the same rung of the society where we all belong to. We are all leaders in our various capacities at home, in the family, clubs, associations, organizations, schools, anywhere. We are within the grip of the Nigerian nature.
The virus has ridden Nigerian youths of their pride and virtues. Many claim that the government or the leaders infected them. Albeit this is a faus pax; it sinks deep farther into their bladders. The Nigerian factor is always part of our lives; seems to be our very raison de’tre. What our leaders do up there is what we crave; willing to hold on tight to insensibilities; wallow and derive joy in the sadness of others. Masters in sex games; warriors in the bloody fields of terrorism; instrumental orchestral of tuneless violence; carriers of the vilest disease; Caesars of conceded conquests; machetes in the hands of political defamers; clergies in caloric political defamers; clergies in caloric cathedrals; metaphors of criminal donors in the blood bank of forsaken wizardry; strong-headed extremists. Yet, the image-carriers of the Nigerian sullenness and hackers of moral haven – we are the dupers. We have achieved enviable recognition, being the most corrupt country in the world. Ironically, we are also the most religious nation – religious but ungodly, a composite of oppositeness! This is not driven towards racial prejudice but a factual avowal. The Nigerianness in us is a shared model of disparity and insincerity, insanity, and malignancy. Even fetuses in the womb are not exculpated in as much as they are Nigerians.
It is time we halted our dangerous journey into moral demise; it is time we stopped our dismay acts; the time to wait, look back and search where we err is now; we must wash our moral garment that we have long abandoned. We must now wake from our loose death. No crusade is greater than this – gospel against corruption and the campaign for the rejuvenation of the Nigerian image. Not punctured by mere wordy interludes. It must start from our respective homes. Nigeria must regain its lost honour, respect and regard. Nigeria is not an abode of corruption. Let us wash the Nigerian genre of all impurities. Do you share the writer’s sentiment that corruption exists in the Nigerian gene?
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