Some stories are not ours to tell. Tagging them fiction doesn’t change a thing. But this story, it is mine and I have the right to share it without minding…
Historically, no nation has ever glued together after a second civil war. No nation has ever defied this age long narrative.
There is a thin line between peace and chaos. Peace is built over time. That is why every one who seeks for a livable environment will do all it takes to keep building peace. On the flip side, very minimal effort is required to birth chaos. Nigeria is said to be plural, a home to a peaceful and chaotic living all wrapped in one. Perhaps, the best way to define Nigeria is to call it a peaceful and chaotic location or a place where people smile and suffer.
A nation contains smaller unit known as families. Evidently, an aggregate of healthy families in all spheres will breed a healthy nation. On the other hand, one does not need a rocket science explanation to know that defective families will raise up a defective nation. Unfortunately, Nigeria is made up of both healthy and defective families. Hence, the reason for our continuous underdevelopment.
Late Lucky Dube in one of his songs talked about that ‘one stupid fool’. While every one builds, he waits to destroy it. At the tail end of the song, the singer recommended that we teach our children right. But in our country, it is complex. Some of the corrupt fellows would milk the Nigerians of it wealth and then send their kids overseas. They hope that those kid will live in a healthy environment and turn out good. They only robbed Peter to pay Paul. Paul later finds out and in turn, he seeks revenge. Let look at it from this angle, the masses are Peter and kleptomaniac leaders plus their family members are the Paul.
Paul takes it all. Peter seeks revenge. Now you know why there are agitations upon agitations? why the protest you ask? it is quite simple. A defective egg spoils the omelet. Imagine a cup filled with dirty water, if you decide to pour clean water into it, the dirty water will eventually give way for the clean water to stay.
This goes vice versa. It isn’t enough to call Nigeria a good nation and a great people. Deliberate and persistent action does it. However, if we refuse to be deliberate, we may be dealing with more than one stupid fool just like the Afghanistan.
– Olayinka Kayode Kingsley
olayinkakayodekingsley@gmail.com
