By Nze James Chinonyerem.
Nigeria is sadly, a huge open theatre of absurd. We laugh and grin over serious issues. Issues that make nations burn, monarchies collapse, eminent personalities drown in the river of public opporibrium are laughed away just like that in our country. At the best of our actions, we’re treated to outlandish radio and television analysis of what happened and not happened, why it is right or wrong, at the end, we move on. Cry, the beloved country (apologies to Camara Laye). We laugh to cry and cry to laugh. There’s this existential contradictions in our national psychology. We often boast on our way to a fight but suddenly blow out our lack of courage when it is time to fight. Fela, the iconic Prophet saw it and sang it, we have countless reasons not to fight for our rights, our country values. He sang, “we have plenty plenty reasons not to fight/I wan enjoy/I never enjoy/I wan marry/I don marry/papa dey for house/mama no dey…”
This is the kind of absurdist theatre we play through and true. Every serious thing is unserious to us. Often times, we alternate, promoting the unserious over the serious like the arrest of the eleven people in Kano by the Hisban security for eating during fasting period. Our leadership loves playing the Ostrich, criminalizing payments of ransome to free kidnapped relations but granting amnesties to kidnappers who are bandits.
Senator Ningi before his suspension, cuts the picture and profile of a hero. He seemed to act Okonkwo, the hero of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. He dreaded being called a weakling. So, he moved with the pride and arrogance of a strong man, fearless and ready to do battle with anyone just to protect his clan. He spoke boldly and knowledgeably about the 2024 national budget. He said he knew because he saw it. The budget he intoned first in his native Hausa language, was padded. Budget padding is our national ingenuity in language engineering. A euphemism for criminal backyard manipulations of approved budget figures, call it stealing from the blind. Sen Ningi said he was sure of what he was saying. Figures were smuggled into the budget without correspondent projects attached he maintained. This is a kind of free monies for the boys. He stepped up his narratives for maximum effects. Senator Ningi, chairman of Northern Senator’s forum, said he spoke not just for himself but also, for his brother senators from the North. The cookies came crumbling for him too soon. Many of his brother senators shouted “money no loss!” remember the great Fela in his songs.
Like the Jews in the Bible, many of them began to drop their stones. Christ is eternally right. He who is without sin should cast the first stone. “All have sinned, and came short of the glory of God” the Bible says. So, his brother senators went their ways in discordant tones.
Our senators are men in love with paddings. They love constituency projects for their people, so they collect their people’s money with relishes. It doesn’t matter what they do with the monies. The people’s representatives, must have the people’s monies as facts of representations. Poor Ningi, he seemed to have forgotten. Were senators elected to be social activists? Have they not constantly shown they are more business salesmen than statesmen? When it comes to their collective lustful interest, they forget partisan biases. Greed unites them more than anything else. Poor Ningi, he became the fall guy in a falling chamber like Okonkwo his kindred spirit.
The reality came upon him too late. Like Okonkwo in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, he saw his people drifting away without a fight or song of solidarity after he had cut off the head of the District officer’s messenger. He heard their whispers, “Why did he do it?” It dawned on him that he had committed a personal political suicide. He stood alone, bemused looking like a sheep on the sacrificial slab, with a blood thirsty chief priest like Akapbio gazing at him with a sharp knife in his hand. Senator Ningi, the accuser ended up the accused. Pronto, he was suspended for three months for daring to open his mouth where others shut theirs.
Howbeit, Senator Ningi, became the reason and fatal hero of the frenzied festival of revelations of how our “senior” senators and the rank and file gave themselves financial awards at this period of our national outcries of economic strangulation. The stories are coming out and as usual, we are entertained. Expectedly, the stories will end the usual ways. We will soon forget only to be reminded by another story next time.
What a circulatory failure of the people’s trust?
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