“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”
– Nelson Mandela
Over and above every act of
irresponsibility to the nation and others in Nigeria, nothing tells of
the extent of the erosion of our values like our collective attitude to
our children. We are a country that has currently lost every capacity
for shock. Nothing shocks Nigerians again, not even the abduction of
over 200 girls from the GovernmentGirls Secondary School in Chibok,
Borno State and the inability to find them after two weeks. It is a sad
commentary that should make us all bow our heads in penitence.
Apparently, we are a country with a dead soul.
Imagine thepathetic drama that greeted
the kidnap of those poor girls who wanted nothing more than a future for
themselves and their generations. We did not even know the number of
the girls that were in the school let alone the ones that were
kidnapped. Not even the principal of the school, Mrs. Asabe Kwambura,
could say with any finality. That to my mind is the levity with which
people take responsibilities in Nigeria.
Continue reading after the cut...
There was so much confusion that one was
even wondering if anyone was kidnapped at all. (A former Minister of
Aviation, Mrs. Kema Chikwe, had even drawn the ire of many for asking
for the photos of the schoolgirls if indeed they were abducted.) First,
we learnt that 200 girls were abducted, then 129, then 16 escaped, then
another 14 returned. So much muddling until the parents association in
the school came out to tell the nation that an estimated 270 people were
kidnapped out which 39 had found some way of escape. That was one week
within which the school, the state government, the military and the
Federal Government were beating around the bush. This Chibok event
showed how much Nigerians have no one to care for them explicating the
popular saying among the citizens that “everyone for themselves God for
us all.” I cannot stop myself from asking why security could be so lax
at this school or any school for that matter. And why even as we speak
no one has owned up to their negligence in this matter.
While the armed forces and the school
bickered over the truth about the number of girls who may have escaped
and those in the custody of their captors, parents resorted to
self-help. Thousands of them went into the Sambisa forest on motor bikes
seeking to rescue their children but how much can these poor, untrained
parents achieve is left to be seen.
But that is not exactly different from
the way we do things in Nigeria. People are left to fend for themselves
in Nigeria. Government cares about no one. You build your own home,
provide your own water, find a way to bring power into your home,
struggle to feed yourself and family, ensure that the road leading to
your home is motorable and at the end of the day die on your own mostly
without being noticed by the state that should ordinarily record your
death.
But then again, it is not just government
that does not care about us. We do not even care about ourselves.
Nigerians have over the years perfected the art of selfishness. What
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya describes as the spirit of “me, I and mine” Most
Nigerians are satisfied with themselves once everything is rosy. They
give no damn what happens to the man next to them. One very simple
example of this is our attitude in traffic. I have noticed that the
average driver on Nigerian roads just wants to get to their destination,
how they get there, they don’t care neither do they consider the need
of another person to arrive at their own destination. So if the first
man cannot have his way in traffic, it gives him great joy to see that
no one else does. He could block traffic and hold everyone to ransom
until some sensible person, or not so sensible person with authority,
usually in uniform, comes around to force us to do what we should have
done from the outset. We are a nation used to living our lives solo. It
is the same reason why people get into positions of authority and steal
the money that belongs to everyone just for the comfort of themselves
and their families. It is the life to which we have all submitted to.
However, we just cannot deal with this
Chibok tragedy in our usual individualistic way. Do we even understand
what the loss of 234 teenage girls, let alone girls who are determined
to get educated, means to the future of this country? Girls who in spite
of every danger and traditional encumbrances are just on the verge of
completing secondary education? Do we understand that these girls are
Nigeria’s version of Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai and that these girls
who already have attained secondary education represent a whole
generation of people who can change this country?
This is why Nigerians from all across the
country must come together to fight for the release of these girls in
every way we can. While I do not expect the security agencies to expose
their plans for the rescue of these girls, I solemnly wish that some
serious intelligence work is going on. I also hope that they are
receiving utmost possible cooperation from and working from local
authorities including the state government and the parents.
Parents from all over Nigeria must come
together to appeal to the abductors of these girls to release them
unconditionally, as this is one of the most heinous infringements anyone
could commit against humanity. But even while military efforts are
going on, we must appeal to the sentiments of these people knowing that
the girls are currently at their mercy.
Above all, we must pray! I know this is
not a popular thing among Nigerians but I see no more time that prayers
can be more effectual than now. No one knows where these girls are, the
conditions under which they are held and the temperament of their
captors. But those who believe in God would agree that God knows. God is
not only able to give divine wisdom to the security forces in the
compulsory task of rescuing these girls, He is able to confuse the
understanding of the people holding them and create opportunities for
the girls to escape.
That aside, it is shocking that the First
Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has not found her voice in all of this.
This is the time for her to rally forces for a multi –dimensional
approach to solving this dilemma. The responsibility of her position is
not just about adorning expensive jewelry and flying all over the world
in presidential jets, it is about standing up for lives of the people of
this country, especially women and children. I am also wondering if
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has a wife. We have not heard a
word from her since this unfortunate incident. I do not even understand
how anyone is able to sleep at this period of great national crisis.
It is a time that we must all do something.
I was told of an 83-year-old woman
somewhere in Lagos State who has embarked on fasting and prayer on
behalf of the kidnapped girls since the news broke. This is the attitude
that we all should adopt without exception. This is what being human is
about.
Government at all levels, parents, the
clergy, the media, indeed everyone must come together to condemn and
fight this abominable crime which is damning not just on Nigeria of
today but the future of the country. We must find the soul of this
country again!
- Niran Adedokun [@niranadedokun]
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