Adeola Aderounmu. 

At some point in the history of great nations, the people made collective decisions/wills to end tyranny, dictatorship or whatever way oppressions can be described. In many instances, the people bade farewell to poverty and diseases using the Never Again syndrome. In 2007 and after the shoddy rituals called elections that were staged managed by some idiots called INEC officials and supervised by a fool called Iwu, Nigerians in my opinion have a very golden opportunity to bid farewell to gangsterism as exemplified since 1960 by the likes of Obasanjo and his cohorts.

What a big chance indeed!It is possible to look at the election of April 14th from different perspectives and it is also possible to give an analysis that would be enough to write a book on Political Science. But summarily, we can raise a few questions or make certain generalizations. Sometimes when an intellectual mind writes on issues relating to Nigeria and you relate that to what obtains in some other countries in Africa and the Western world especially; one begins to wonder if Nigeria has emerged into the 21st century.

What happened in Nigeria on the 14th of April should not be called election. Election means something totally different from what took place that day. On April 14th 2007, some determined Nigerians went to war with a merciless regime headed by Obasanjo. The regime used the instrument of governance to oppress and suppress its own people. It slashed their throat to make sure that their voices were not heard and should never be heard again. The activities of Obasanjo, INEC, its officials with Mr.  Iwu as the leader deserve total condemnation. After May 29, Obasanjo should be put on trial to defend his actions that have led to the untimely death of many Nigerians in the last 8 years of his administration. People have died through pipeline explosions, hunger, assassinations, state induced murder, diseases due to lack of good health and most recently through an arrangements on April 14th to force his will on over 140 million people.  

Those who participated in the regime in the last 8 years should be made to give account of their stewardship in office.In the meantime, the present senate would have to stand up to a national duty. One that will save and preserve our democracy forever. One last action that will bring reason to the fore front of national issues. Let the senate immediately declare void the activity of INEC regarding April 14th. Iwu should be arrested and tried for trying to lead the nation into anarchy. His accomplices should all be fished out and dealt with according to the laws of the land. The judiciary has shown that it has some dignity. They would need the unflinching support of the police to achieve this. It seems like an impossible mission, but this is the best time to make a U-turn for the good of Nigeria.If we fail to use this golden opportunity to achieve greatness for Nigeria, Nigeria will never be great again, at least not in the lifetime of the two outgoing wasted generations.

This is a time to show the world that there are honest people in Nigeria who can conduct free and fair elections.  We can conduct elections in Nigeria without losing a soul, I believe it is possible.

Adeola Aderounmu.

I visited Nigeria after 3 years of absence. My plan was to stay with my Nigerian family and friends for one month or thereabout. Unfortunately, I didn’t stay more than 2 weeks in Lagos Nigeria. I arrived at the near peak of the fuel scarcity on 15th December. It was also during this period that armed robbers went on the rampage. What I’d read online before embarking on this trip didn’t deter me anyway. Nigeria is my country of birth and I’d lived there 29 years before I opted out.

My experiences were not palatable. Once I spent 4 hours on the queue to buy petrol at a gas station. It didn’t help that I woke up at 6am. Many nights, we slept in the dark; power outage was still a regular phenomenon. We couldn’t even use the generator most of the time because there was lack of fuel anyway.The cost of living has risen sharply. Bottled water, cold drinks and other things that help in the heat of the sun are sold expensively. People now pay more for everything including food.  On the contrary, the standard of living has continued on a sharp decline. The roads are dirtier; the walls of houses are unkempt. Play grounds have become breeding grounds for young cultists. A lot of young people now smoke and drink dangerously. I couldn’t believe my eyes with all that I saw. What I saw in festac town was an eyesore of unimaginable magnitude. It depicted the larger society and how hopelessness has crept into the existence of many.People live now like there is no governance in Nigeria. They have gradually lost faith in the system that should protect and care for them.

We must not forget that the present day 419ers in Nigeria have resorted to self help to avoid hunger, poverty and unnecessary hardship. It is not a preferred solution but where are the better options?  No plan to solve the unemployment situation, no social security, no hope in sight and no one expresses care or any feelings to the plight of the less than average Nigerian.Imagine how horrified I became to wake up one morning and learn that perhaps more than 500 people may have died from a pipeline explosion. I was in Lagos at this time and the news actually reached me from my family in Sweden. We had not had electricity to be able to follow the news and the idea of buying newspaper didn’t cross my mind. I was not expecting any disaster! People were scooping petrol illegally, there have been past deadly incidents, they know the risk but they also thought scooping was worth dying for. This is the level that the value of the Nigerian life has depreciated to. Almost meaningless. Else, how can you explain corpses by the road side daily?  

There is a big question on my mind. In Nigeria, who is taking care of what? In less than 2 weeks, I began to wonder if this is the same place that I’d been educated and lived for 29 years until 2002. Of course, life has not been a bed of roses for me. It was very hard to get through school financial wise. It was not easy either getting food on the table. Mine has always been a life of hard struggle but I’d never imagined that it will not get better for us as a country.We thought the military was the problem, but after 8 years of the Obasanjo-Atiku civilian regime, I have come to realize that it is not a question of military or civilian rule in Nigeria. It boils down to attitude. There is both greed and corruption in every aspect of our lives and quite unconventionally, there is absence of common good. Majority suffers in the process. A typical public office holder in Nigeria cares for his own selfish interest first. He or she is foremost interested in acquisition of wealth that will be enough for a life time. Typically, Nigerian politicians and public servants amass wealth for their unborn generation.

We live in a society where we worship money and riches. It doesn’t matter to us how people get rich, just that they are! Over the years, this attitude has begotten crime, murder, pen robbery, physical robbery and the irreparable consequences of the meaning of life under the modern day Nigeria. That the people are generally resilient or tolerant in the face of obvious public office abuse and that no solid voice or voices have form coercion against the juntas that have not diminished in intent and purpose since 1960 calls for a re-evaluation of our common intelligence. 

I left Nigeria on December 29 leaving behind again my beloved country, friends and family. I’d wished that Nigeria provides me with the opportunity to give back into the system fully as I’d dreamt as a child. It was not to be. I lived in fear and darkness for 2 weeks; I became ill drinking some bottled water. I travelled out again because I had a choice. What will be the fate of over 100million people living desperately below the poverty line?

This article has been re-written and updated in the following posts:

1. Christmas in Hell: http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/christmas-in-hell.html

2. Why I prefer a white christmas, http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/adeola-aderounmu/why-i-prefer-a-white-christmas.html

aderounmu@gmail.com