The Satanic
Appearance And Nigerian Experience
By
Paul Mamza
mamzapaul@yahoo.com
November 08, 2005
When the idea of Nigeria
was conceived by a sweeping and crushing martyrdom of some brilliantly
coordinated nationalist efforts. The early marshals had at the back of their
minds an overwhelming evidence of a heroic possibility for greatness and
protection of a dignified inheritance. Spirits were high, the clouds were filled
with manifest hopes, opportunities and unified potentials; there was high sense
of belonging and purpose, a nationalist consciousness emerged, sterling
qualities of leadership were extolled -a true nation was born and independence
day was a true opening for better fortunes in future. Then the brutal jolting by
a set of 'revolutionary majors' of January 1966 inadvertently evacuated the
normative order and
underwriting a threatening distortion with the counter-coup of July 1966
offering temporary solutions to anguish and anger of national disagreements.
Since these pop ups, a precise formula for anarchy was capitulated, inducing a
permanent feeling of sheer destabilising tempest along tribal fault-lines.
Military regimes came and went, manipulating the lever of sensitivities along
varying dictatorial grips. Nigeria became holed up in a resonating apotheosis of
some privileged clan with igniting institutionalcollapse and progressive
diminution. The narrative of the nation's ordeal reappeared in bold and harsh
relief in 1999 when an election was held with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a
military general, once Head of State-turned-politician assuming the mantle of
leadership. Drawing sustenance from the bitter national contention and ethnic
animosities, the situation degenerated into a notorious tragic zone.
Democracy and democratic values were systematically taken to the graveyard
amidst begging expectations of
the citizenry.
The nation is roiling in democratic fiasco and political frenzies as eminent of
a conventional authoritarian rule, with the consequence of introducing a brutal
and unjust society subdued physically, mentally, socially, politically and even
psychologically through a conquering mission. The tired but untiring military
despots have staged a new comeback without apologizing for their cruel past
undoing. The new circumstances offered a new dimension into democratic
blitzkrieg of military latent where old war machine used by former enforcers to
discredit the nation is successfully been transplanted in their new postings.
The major culprit has co-opted one of the culprits to secure power under a
politically challenged contentions and a raw deal conscripted to later help
himself back to power with clear tendency of a severe lurking brutalization at
the corner. This, no doubt, is a breath-taking skewed arrangement of refined
violence and ingenuity in the devastation of national institutions aided by the
resilience of the Nigerian populated poor and traditional politicians muscled
out by sheer military might, the coast is set for intended sense of rampage
closely supervised under brigandage of an unparallel demonic torso and
evil-spirited selfishness. The prayerful segmented few have been swallowed in a
mooted paradoxical possibilities tendered by vast ungodly practices being
consciously adopted as a statecraft. Everybody is right, nobody is wrong, yet
there is a big problem not ready to be attended to by a compromised belligerence
of the ruling class and the tolerant molto-imbecilities of its beleaguered
citizenry. Nigeria is the world's sixth largest producer of oil, whose riches is
supplemented by exploits in non-oil sector like Agro-allied, solid minerals,
etc. yet its citizenry are one of the most poverty stricken in the globe. The
educational structures have falling apart into rumbles of epochal dimensions.
Corruption and corrupt tendencies have been perfected into an envious passion.
There is nowhere corrupt officers go without a standing ovation. Killing and
killers have secured an environmentally friendly abode for settlement and
re-settlement.
The citizenry are factionalised in an excruciating torment with clear
frustrations wincing over their faces. It is no more news that people hang
themselves due to joblessness and want. Roads are tearing apart, calling for
attention, hospitals lack drugs, qualified personnel and basic facilities,
electricity is always disappearing, water has become an essential commodity
but nowhere to be found, bombs detonate at the slightest provocations, vandals
have secured new postings in the pipelines and electrical installations,
pensioners are dying every day in form of bloated carcasses, a machine gun has
been converted into a rigging machine during elections, nepotism has taken a
centre stage in national affairs, political opponents are threatened and killed,
yet our leaders say the nation is progressing. To them once their selfish and
mundane purview of power game is protected with all the privileges of looting of
our collective inheritance, it is a good omen.
Agreeable that Africans had bad leaderships but Nigeria's case is the worst. No
nation had demonstrated these guile and sophistication in battering its
citizenry in such a successive order like Nigeria, with each succession manifest
into an
elevated classic-hell. No nation can tolerate this recycling of a spectrum of
unrepentant tormentors in such a guardedly romancing manner to dictate or guide
its course of economic and political transformations.
No nation condones this malignant scavengery of its collective will through
harsh poverty and deprivation brought about by rude assault of reality that
Nigeria is reach in both human and natural resources but made poor through the
bilious confront on the psyche of its hardworking and industrious citizenry. No
serious nation can mistaken irresponsibility of its leadership
to mean responsibility of enforcing democratisation procedures and development
plans of prodigious capacity for sustenance in a country inflict by past
misdeeds. Democracy is too serious a business to be devastated in such a rogued
contraption masked with apocalyptical embitterment of apostolic proportions as
experience during our democratization experiment. There's no way an unremorseful
autocrat can pretend to usher in a spirit of democratic ideals without the
contentious issue of infringements and the emasculation of people's rights and
privileges as being subverted to satisfy his massaging egos. War titans
transmute into political reformists while changing hands during a crossover
event and make
discipline an essential requirement for democratic independence in developed
countries; the reverse is the case in the present experiences in Nigeria where
dictatorship subdued the cherished matter for democratic growth. 'Veterans of
war' became conquerors of people's consciousness and political struggle offering
a military offensive, thereby making the most
vicious marksman the most acceptable amongst the people.
Way back at my Primary School days, our Arabic teacher gave a graphic picture
and fullest exploits of the Satan. According to him, Satan is the most vilified
figure and undisputable standard-bearer of miserable outing of perfidies and
anguish with resounding certification of such thwarting plagues from religious
values but whenever it's exuberant tempting glitters, a throwing reception meets
its embroidered appearance. To illustrate his point, Malam Yakubu - the teacher
-
said the Satan is the Master of Ceremony where maladroit music and dances are
displayed, when illicit conducts of abyss are guaranteeing. He is the head of a
man-slaughter houses of horrible spectacles distinguished for sinful luxuries
and demonic elixir and the leader of the fortress of evil machinations, yet
whenever the Satan flashes on the cusp of this
combative authority, the crowd is a mammoth one and the ovation subliminally
thunderous. The Satan - the Master of all evils - hold sway his captives and
hostages with napping grip towards a control from other side of world with the
ultimate aim of attracting large followership through blissful equivoque,
sometimes competing with God - the Most Highest!. In all these, the Satan has
his 'disciples' as the executioners, foot soldiers and forbearers with a
conquering mission. Societies that are Satanic are socially distressed, morally
diminutive with leprous economic base and political inclinations. For that
long, since these revealing days I have watched a Satanic manifestations in the
nation's dispensing affairs. The exhausted prostrate confirmed its truly
terrifying picture and the avenging, blood thirsty and suffocating hear-hug
reinforcing its whimsically crumbling shrine, giving it a potent mix of hidden
strength and sonorous transcend of pinning abode.
The narrative of Nigerian experience is profoundly destabilizing evidence
against great involvement and famous exploits of the nation's potentials. An
excruciating torment mounted by the leadership's disloyalty to the cause of
progress, unity and
prosperity and supported by the citizenship's national betrayals, desertion and
moral shackles. Virtually, everybody is implicated; only few Nigerians are not
as guilty as charged. The nation had consistently maintain a lead amongst the
league of the most corrupt nations, its citizens are among the poorest in the
world and its leaders are standard bearers in the
empire of deepening economic miseries, yet the citizens still maintain a feel -
good factor at the depraved situation offered and encouraging even the
antiquated most corrupt to summon a courage to make a stage-back and the
embarrassing conquerors bristle at the notion of past indictment and attitude of
remorseful reforms by enforcing a superior power of
perpetuation and ceaseless self-justification. There is no inveigling in these
contrasts except that mnemonic evidences are thrown away in the winds and
desultory details butchered into dustbin of historical aqualung instilling fresh
efforts to fraudulent rationalizations.
The few that are re-inventive were snubbed and dispatched as popularly
pernicious. Drum bands hail the victors of malevolent acts and despise the
victims of trampling officialdom. Many prayer centers were constructed but
surrounded by more crime centers. Despite being labeled as unsafe, poverty -
stricken of epochal dimensions and the most discredited by the International
communities, it is claimed Nigerians enjoy all the negative life style accorded
to them thereby returned as the most happiest people in the world. The spirit of
brotherhood, which the originators advocated were extinguished, and people see
themselves as nationals cajoled into a forceful marriage of nation building due
to the irresponsibility of its leadership. The livings openly abuse the dead
and disown whatever relationship, favour or personal help tendered by a
terminally expired leader so that new turn of events will be rewarding. As other
nations march in the direction of heroic exploits, Nigeria is yet to find a
basis for the existence of its corporateness. When aspiring nations invest and
offer great contributions into scientific and technological sector through sound
and qualitative education, Nigeria regard education as
an antidote to nation's democratic ideal whose capacity for mob rule is second
to none in the world.
For behind every power in Nigeria today, is a chaperon of cultists, treasury -
looters and sycophants with the power behind the throne showing sticking
capitulation. When democracies contend that transparency is their watchword, the
nation's
democracy has formalized corruption at a level of State - craft as its
catchword.
A corruption - compliant nation like Nigeria with a long time history of the
political tragedy of human enslavement and tragic reputation for chaos of ethos
must be psychologically subdued and physically over-powered by Satanic
influences. Influences that is anti - thetical to our religious beliefs and
against an awakening spirit of national survival in an increasingly challenging
world order.
With its glaring vast human and natural resources at the disposal of the
nation's vaults and titillating a liberalist tendency towards an unswerving
qualitative leadership model through genuine value - worships and fear of God -
the Alpha and the Omega - the nation may crawl out of the current cage of
massive unleashing of havoc and mayhem on the country by self - appeasing
emperors. To contemplate otherwise is to remain perpetually under Satanic
domains where there is motion without movement, when it is a crime to render
selfless service to humanity and glorifying those who indulge into a slave -
holding hostage. If not for the earlier foundations and sacrifices offered by
the nation's founding fathers that were God-fearing the possibility of the
Nigerian nation would have since met its waterloo. No fragile political base or
social
fault-lines can withstand this systematic brutalization of a society with such
formidable assurances. The obvious imperfections coupled with obtuse
rationalization of interventionary measures are not the stuff for weak national
architecture. But definitely the nation's elastic limits of tolerance and
compelling distraught had assumed a tragic zone.
- Mamza writes from Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria.
