Provocation. Noun. 1. Action or speech that makes someone angry, especially deliberately.
2. Testing to elicit a particular response or reflex.
When Louis XIV, the “Sun King” of France (1638-1715) pronounced those infamous words, “L’Etat, c’est moi!’ – I am the state! – , little did he realise that he was nailing together the planks which would eventually become the coffin in which monarchical rule would forever be buried. A rabid adherent of the idea that the king had divine rights because God Himself was the origin of his authority, Louis deployed absolute powers in ruling his people. By the time the uprisings leading to the French Revolution got into full swing, the rulers and nobles of France had so provoked the people that the queen then, Marie-Antoinette, is said to have quipped, “Let them eat cake!” when she was informed that the people had no bread to eat. Rulers have a way of pushing their people to limits they themselves might not have intended to attain – and often paying very dearly for it too. The profligate queen who earned herself the nickname “Madame Deficit” due to her extravagant lifestyle which was said to have landed France in a serious financial crisis, finally had her own head chopped off at the guillotine.
One finds it hard to shrug off the feeling that Nigerians are undergoing serious provocation. It’s like we are being deliberately needled, harassed and goaded, just to see how much of it we can take. Those who bear rule over us neither deem us worthy of respect, nor of working to create an environment in which we could live with dignity. This reminds one of former American Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s conclusion at the end of her visit to Nigeria some years ago that the country’s leaders “are able but unwilling” to provide better living conditions for their people. Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin conglomerate had summed up our situation more pointedly: “Nigerian leaders hate their people” – whereupon he packed up his business and left our country.
The current level of provocation needs to be properly recognised and understood. It is targeted at our minds and seeks to distort our perception of truth and to convince us otherwise about the reality we are actually experiencing. We, the common people, know how much we suffer on our terrible roads, having both our time and our lives wasted; however, we are shown pictures of beautiful roads and told to believe that those are the kinds of roads we actually travel upon. Our current reality is that we still do not have the power to work in the daytime and lighten our darkness when night falls; but we are commanded to believe that our lives have already been transformed and that our industries are now up and running. Sure, these services have been promised, but do we not all know that promises roll on extremely slow wheels in our country? The situation right now is becoming frightening for there appears to be some degree of desperation in the ploy to have us believe that the promises have indeed become our reality. And to what end? – Why would we need to change the leaders who have so beautifully transformed our lives?
And yet, history is replete with examples which demonstrate that the kind of “annihilation” of the people which was evident in Louis XIV’s boastful declaration that he alone constituted the state always ended badly. But need we even go as far to seek our examples? Do we not have in our own recent history poignant examples to learn from? It was not that long ago, was it, since one of our military rulers unleashed upon us a whole armoury of tactics aimed at convincing us that his head alone was right for whatever kind of cap the nation wished to fashion…
What further compounds things, most unfortunately, is that people tend to copy their rulers. The current air of impunity which pervades the land must be due, at least partly, to the fact that just about anybody who has even the slightest grain of authority over another makes it a point of duty to provoke and exploit, just like the leaders do. From the NYSC office which demands four thousand Naira from Youth Corps members to check their posting to the employers who refuse to pay their workers’ salaries as due at the end of the month, Nigerians are learning that when you have power you can use it to trample upon others – and not fear any consequence.
The nation needs people of goodwill and integrity to not be silent at a time like this. Indeed, one must acknowledge the contribution of some of our compatriots who continue to raise their voices to condemn injustice and fearlessly let our rulers know when they err. Let such voices multiply. And let the people be resolute in resisting the mesmerisation project which their rulers have apparently embarked upon. We are no fools; we know what our reality is. And when it becomes transformed we will be the first to recognise it. We will guard our minds against all forms of machinations and stand for that which we know to be true. So help us God!
