A nation so assaulted!

There are times when one is at a loss regarding which of the current “burning issues” in the land to focus attention upon. From the unfolding revelations relating to the alleged padding of the national budget by some officials of our House of Representatives to the governors’ proposed visit to Germany; from the top officers of the Nigerian Senate standing trial in court for alleged crimes to one of the two major parties fielding candidates with alleged criminal activity as chairmen; from the biting economic realities assailing Nigerians to the decay in our educational institutions, and the unprecedented recall by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) of the admission lists already sent to the universities; from the continuing concerns over the nation’s security, engaging our armed forces in fights against Boko Haram, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other militants operating elsewhere in the country, to increasing incidents of apparently fortuitous violence like rape, murder, kidnapping and abduction among the general populace – one wonders, which of them requires the most urgent attention?
For some reason, given all these mind-boggling occurrences in the nation at this time, it was a line from Robert Browning’s poem, ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’, which came to my mind, I guess in an unconscious attempt to capture in a phrase the very sad lot that has befallen us as a people. The line reads: “To see the townsfolk suffer so from vermin was a pity.” It seems to me that the actual, physical infestation of the town of Hamelin with the vermin of rats might not have been much more unbearable than the assault unleashed on the Nigerian society in recent times through an unrelenting host of figurative vermin and pests.
The levels of corruption and outright disregard for anything smacking of decorum and propriety being displayed by those in positions of authority in the land, especially in our eigth National Assembly (NASS), have reached terribly worrisome proportions. How can both the Senate President and his deputy be standing trial for crime and still retain their positions in that supposedly hallowed chamber? They move from the dock to their seats in the Senate without any sense of shame or accountability to the people. Or how could it be that between the passage of the nation’s budget on the floor of the House and its delivery to the President’s office, the document would have undergone a process of “padding” to the tune of over N400 billion?
One can understand the frustration felt by Professor Wole Soyinka who was reported as telling Nigerians not to keep expecting that just a handful of hard-headed individuals like him would continue to risk their lives fighting to save the rest of us. That is so true; the situation now demands that every single citizen must rise and stand against this spreading vermin that is fast infesting the entire land. Nigerians should deserve far better than what we have presently. There are good people in this land who are capable of leading us and improving our quality of life. It is time for them to come out boldly; and it is time for the rest of the people to fully support such individuals.
The prevailing mood in the country now – that is, among those who are living in the real Nigeria, not the ones jetting around the world and attending parties where they are served champagne that costs almost N1 million per bottle – is one of being assaulted and totally overwhelmed by what appears to be an avalanche of misfortunes. Just over a year ago, with the advent of a new administration, Nigerians had dared to hope for a better future: the provision of jobs for the teeming young population; a gradual improvement in the provision of services and infrastructure, like electricity, water and roads; generally, a more positive outlook going forward. Unfortunately, the hopes appear dashed. Instead, what we have are tales of woe: most state governments owe between six and 12 months of arrears in salaries and pensions; citizens are beginning to die of starvation; and corruption, which the present administration is supposed to be fighting, seems to be eating even more deeply into the nation’s fabric – even food meant for the internally-displaced persons (IDPs) is reportedly being diverted! What shall we do?
It is time for the generality of Nigerians to arise and adopt a “do-or-die” stance in relation to the happenings in the country. Obviously, our leaders are not normally well disposed towards listening to the people; that has largely been our experience. We complain, we write and publish critical articles in newspapers; we tweet and post messages on various social media platforms; yet our leaders turn a deaf ear to our cry, continuing in their unjust ways with impunity. Indeed, they even seek to deny us that right to evaluate them and demand any form of accountability – they seek and insist on enjoying immunity from prosecution. And they claim that this is to enable them serve us better!
The times we are living in demand creativity and a paradigm change. It is time to seek and introduce innovative ways to curb our leaders’ excesses and ensure better governance for ourselves. If the leaders will not live by commonsense rules of decorum and propriety, then the citizens must be able to force them to do so. How about introducing an electronic referendum system? We must work to see the end of corrupt leadership, of political parasites, of vermin.