When a president or a ruler knowingly acts against the constitution that he swore to defend and behold, he invariably burns the flag of the country and ought to be dismissed by law or by popular revolt the next day. The passivity of Nigerians is heavily condemnable. What a country!

It Was Not A Great Year

By Adeola Aderounmu

It’s been a great year is a very selfish 2014 expression made famous by a Facebook app and users. When I think about what Nigerians went through and endured-the spate of bombings, economic hardships and several other ills too numerous to mention-I realized that the slogan A Great Year is egoistic and can be misleading.

My recap of 2014 is here below.

I want to remember 2014 as the year that I put a meaning to the phrase the Nigerian syndrome.

The Nigerian syndrome is the condition in which Nigerians support their rulers and greedy politicians who have contributed tremendously to the demeaning of their living conditions.

It can also be describe as a condition where a crook, a corrupt ruler or a known criminal in government gets massive support from a group of die-hard followers who for personal gains and selfish reasons chose to ignore the negative impacts of the crimes committed.

2014 was the year that l continued to express my dismay at the criminalities displayed daily by government agencies and institutions across Nigeria. There are no consequences and there are no outrages to corruption and crimes even when perpetrated by the current indolent presidency.

Lack of patriotism, lack of dedication, absence of trust and a general bad attitude to work remain systemic in the Nigerian working environments. The one who is not willing to be bad or corrupt has almost no place in several working environments in Nigeria.

In 2014 I wrote about the worrying criminal tendencies of Nigerians in South Africa. It’s very hard to vouch for a Nigerian anywhere especially when they spend money that they cannot account for. In Nigeria it is a cool thing to have such funds. No need to explain your source of wealth to anyone.

In other countries, Nigerians are called criminals when they cannot legitimately account for their expensive lifestyles. In South Africa, the image of Nigeria is dented almost beyond repair. This is hurting to the good people who pursue their businesses and jobs legitimately.

Recently a number of video clips were released by an investigator who succeeded in clamping down Nigerian criminals in South East Asia. Those videos prove beyond doubts that there are Nigerians who are hell bent on destroying the image of Nigeria internationally. The videos provide evidence of Nigerians dealing in hard drugs while pretending to be pastors, tourists or students.

In the piece 50 yards of death I mourned the untimely deaths of 13 people in a boat mishap in Festac Town. It was an avoidable catastrophe. Man-made catastrophes and avoidable deaths are common in Nigeria. For several thousands of Nigerian families whose loved ones departed untimely and unnecessarily it was definitely not a great year. Water transportation across Nigeria needs to be upgraded with safety as the priority.

If you missed Mugabe’s and the Pakistani jokes about Nigeria, then you need to read the article titled The stupid jokes. Mugabe, the life president of Zimbabwe who seemed to have lost his minds took a swipe on Nigeria. Later on he was widely quoted as condemning his own party mixing it up with the opposition. Mugabe also senile-ly claimed that the opposition won the majority votes in the last election.

In 2014 I remembered some aspects of my childhood and all the dreams about professional football. In the heavily criticized The Boys From Festac article, I mentioned a few household names in Nigeria that emanated from Festac stony and sandy football fields and a few names that never went big. I was bombarded by emails and messages afterwards and my plan to write a sequel has not come to pass.

I wrote about a lost paradise for that was what happened to Nigeria. I recalled my mother told many stories of life in pre-and immediate post-independent Nigeria. The journeys by train, the jobs after education, the long walk at night and the peace and serenity that were characteristics of the olden days were never experienced by my jet-age, get rich quick lost generation.

These experiences of how life should mostly be which were taken away before l was born are now what millions of Nigerians have come to participate in in the western world. I will never forget how my mother described the old western Nigerian. Indeed by allowing mad people in power and by allowing evil to rise above good, Nigerians gave away a paradise and killed prematurely an emerging global power and giant.

In the article Terror And A Volatile Mix Of Blind Faiths, I expressed my concern about the way the Jonathan government succeeded in elevating a propagandist form of Christianity by promoting hatred and animosity between Christians and Muslims.

Jonathan’s romance with gangster arm-purchasing pastor Oritsejafor and a painting of the opposition as a jihadist movement were very unfortunate incidences. The APC was forced to produce a pastor as its Vice Presidential flag bearer. Nigerians are pitched against one another in the forthcoming doubtful elections still standing on tribal and religious pedestals.

If Jonathan and Jonathanians have the evidence that Buhari is a jihadist and that he is a co-sponsor of Boko Haram as opposed to what the assassinated General Azizi postulated-that PDP is the backbone of Boko Haram, then what are the barriers or hindrances stopping the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Buhari? What roles do the PDP, the APC and the rotten northern elites have in the emergence and success of Boko Haram? The history books will be loaded when this season of madness is over.

The roles of religious organizations in the demeaning of the quality of Nigerian life are inestimable. They promote false hope as the country runs deeper in trouble waters. The political wills of Nigerians were watered down by reassuring blind faiths. The political and religious rulers are stealing and the citizens are praying. To pray is no harm but to act wisely is more desirable.

In 2014 the exclusive ignorance of Jonathan was elaborated on many fronts. Just like the wicked late Umaru Dikko expected Nigerians to eat from the dustbin to confirm the spread of poverty in the land Mr. Jonathan used the number of Nigerians appearing on Forbes list to indicate that Nigerians are not poverty-ridden.

The WEF conference in Nigeria in the wake of incessant terrorists’ attacks in Northern Nigeria and Abuja was an unwelcome development for many because the security agents are keen on protecting the men in power while the ordinary people are roasted like chickens in regular bombings and suicide attacks. The above were highlighted in one of the several articles l published in 2014.

2014 is not a great year. The politicians are getting away with all their loots and reckless spending. The chief ruler Mr. Jonathan is getting away with several missing funds and most recently with more than 21 billion naira raised on his behalf even against the constitution of the country.

When a president or a ruler knowingly acts against the constitution that he swore to defend and behold, he invariably burns the flag of the country and ought to be dismissed by law or by popular revolt the next day. The passivity of the populace is heavily condemnable. What a country!

In 2014 Nigeria the Federal Ministry of Finance oversaw the emptying of the Nigerian treasury and reserves. The department of Petroleum Resources-NNPC-is managing criminals called oil marketers. They are stealing and looting together in an unending ecstatic orgy of subsidy. This year is not a great year; criminals are getting away as usual and a drug baron just wrote a book of justification.

The latter part of 2014 marked a turn in the expectations of many Nigerian. Even those who funnily supported Jonathan and not the PDP in 2011 are having a rethink. There are 2 main political contenders to the throne of unitary head in Nigeria.

But the issue is beyond that. Irrespective of who wins a presidential election in Nigeria, the position makes a person an automatic dictator. It is a post that makes monsters out of ordinary men and killers out of sheep.

One day it will become popular again in Nigeria that a unitary head is not a recipe for the form of democracy that Nigerians need. It is taking so long to get this message across, but it will come through.

The turn of expectations in 2015 might end up being a false hope. There was hope in 1993: it was quenched by a criminal called Babangida who did the bids of the cabal at the expense of Nigerians.

In 1999, there was hope. It became hopelessness when PDP seized power and continue to reign till date with impunity.  In a country where there are no consequences for criminals in politics, there will be no end to impunity. In the country where the people pray and remain passive, there will be no light in the tunnel. It will be darkness at the end of it.

As a result of over 50 years of injustice some are crying while some are celebrating. Some are working, some are just stealing. Some are hoping and some are carting away the treasuries of the land.

For some, the system is perfect because it satisfies their desires to remain rich like their criminal parents and family members, they’ll give anything to keep the remaining 170m in chains. It is good for some because of the hope of being appointed co-looters.

In 2015 Nigerians can choose to allow these mad scenarios to progress or they can put an outright stop to it. They can create light at the end of a dark tunnel.

To think that this will depend on the winners of the doubtful 2015 general elections is a fairytale taken too far. For in the PDP, we have known criminals and treasury looters.

In the APC the story is similar. The party harbors well known criminals and self-enrichment specialists. I always say Nigerians have to choose between greater and lesser evil and that is an unfortunate dilemma.

I maintain that Nigerians need a political solution. They need a willingness to rid once and for all time all the bad eggs and the undesirable elements in the land. The level of corruption and nepotism in the land is beyond the redemption capabilities of a single political party or one man.

Summarily as it has been for as long as these wasted and lost generations can remember, 2014 will also go down as the year when many things were swept under the carpets. Name any political or economic crime against humanity and you will find it under the rug called Nigeria 2014.

Majority of Nigerians will end 2014 at different churches and mosques. They will be urged at the annual rituals called vigils to let go of the past and face the future. But that is an annual mistake, it is politically wrong.

2014 was not a great year.

A great year might come to Nigeria if all the people come together, close down the country and get rid of all political criminals and their associates once and for all. The sacrifices will be huge and the future will be great for it.

In 2015 Nigerians need to remember the errors of the past so they can have a platform to shape a politically correct present. The plan for the future must be holistic so that the unborn generations can thrive and bless their ancestors.

aderounmu@gmail.com