I once stumbled upon a prank video where a man was walking through a bushy path. Suddenly, some random individuals with threatening looks appeared from nowhere. Reasoning that they could harm him, he hurried his pace. However, a rather tough-looking fellow amongst the men said to him, ‘Stop! You are standing on a landmine.’ Scared to death, the man remained still for about an hour, even after he was told it was just a prank. The man chose to believe the lie for a few minutes more.
This scenario reminds me of the Nigerian political class – a collection of pranksters and their bendable masses. I perceive that even if a hundred citizens were to be murdered in one night in some village somewhere, the political class would tell the citizens, like a gentle old horse, that “killing is a global phenomenon and none should be worried.” A hundred souls gone just like that, and all we hear is talk about 2027. Mortal of endless prank, is that you? The one who made Nigerians stand in awe of your fooling – beautiful Belial. How great is the air that comes from your nostrils? Tell me, what should men praise about you? The air you blow after every bite, or the stockpiles you always feed on?
I have only spent two or three decades here. I have watched you recruit your kind through the weapons of poverty, disunity, greed, and… well, let’s say that you are the one whose every decision is right. Yes, everyone else cannot and should not think at your level. After all, the soaring prices of goods are not peculiar to Nigeria only. Forgive me for sounding rather distorting. Here, we are not wise enough to tell the difference between white and black. Only our leaders possess the wherewithal to tell what is and what is not right. After all, they are the Moses of our time, and we are the complacent followers. They know the way to transformation, change, and renewed hope, and all we must do is sit back and allow them to do their job.
Anyway, what do we know? If they say the GDP is doing fine, then it is doing fine. If they say we’re not hungry, then we’re not. If they say it’s safe to travel, who are we to say otherwise?
– Olayinka Kayode writes from Victoria Island, Lagos.
