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Self-liberation is critical to both personal and national development, writes MONDAY PHILIPS EKPE
Most commentaries on the country’s 66 years of political emancipation from her erstwhile British imperial lords so far have been lamentable in tone and diction.
Quite understandably. Expressions of various shades depict Nigeria as an organism that has refused or failed to respond positively to all the developmental stimuli at its disposal and has, therefore, remained stunted for decades. Other viewpoints centre around the need to be more patient with her as the hurdles which exist now are a necessary part of nation-building. United States of America is frequently used to illustrate the tough road to enduring greatness. The US is what it has become after two and half centuries!
Meaning that those who are always eager to send our nation to the guillotine should kindly do a rethink. To be fair, citizens who have increasingly grown sceptical and cynical about Nigeria and whatever is left of her prospects are not necessarily less patriotic than those determined to forge on with their faith in a bright future. No matter how far apart the two sides may have gone, they must come to terms with what the true catalyst for transformation is. The change agent resides in the soul, in the very chamber that hosts mindsets, attitudes and will. These are attributes of bona fide human beings, not items to be bestowed by politicians.
Nigerians are known for enduring and surviving hard conditions, situations that would push citizens of other countries to the streets in wild protests against their own governments. It isn’t clear whether that’s a virtue or vice. But should sitting still and complaining in the face of deprivation and mediocre living be regarded as merits? If indeed the Nigerian masses don’t seem to be able to rise to the occasion as obtainable elsewhere, it would be unfair to simply dismiss them as cowards. Call it whatever it is. Even resilience has its own limits and many Nigerians have since arrived there. Elasticity doesn’t suggest any capacity for endless stretching. Snapping always occurs when the breaking point is reached. The frustrations with the Nigerian system, the recklessness and self-centredness of the political elite and an overriding premonition that things may just not get better in our own lifetime appear to have conspired to force many people onto the paths of helplessness and hopelessness.
No one gets to those edges in one day. It happens gradually. Slowly but certainly, people have watched the nation’s indices of individual and corporate wellbeing deteriorate. Take the marking of our Independence Day itself, for instance. My early life reminiscences still have robust images of October First. March pasts involving the armed forces, police, paramilitary services, educational institutions, boys’ scouts, girls’ guides, boys’ and girls’ brigades and others did not only add colour to the day’s grandeur. They were all unanimous in celebrating the strides and dignity of a country attempting to shed her dependent past and take on a more progressive and free status. No state or local government capital then was excluded from those glorious shows.
The ceremonies these days, where and when they’re staged, have lost their bite substantially. The slide began when governments started announcing sober anniversaries for reasons ranging from dwindling fortunes to insecurity. But even if the Independence Day celebration or lack of it needn’t elicit any elevated discourse, its symbolism shouldn’t be ignored either. Here’s why. Freedom indicates an earlier existence of bondage. Bound by the shackles of colonialism, the lands so conquered sought to liberate themselves. In our own case, the skin colour of the colonists didn’t help matters. We thought that wresting power from them and domiciling same amongst us would guarantee our happiness and prosperity.
Even if 66 years aren’t enough to justify any negative stance on Nigeria’s chances of entering the comity of successful countries, it’s apparent that having whites rule us wasn’t our only headache. Since October 1, 1960, several aspects of our national life have been experiencing a downward movement. Yes, varying degrees of successes have been recorded on the way. Consensus exists, however, that the country hasn’t yet achieved a reasonable level of the utilisation of its potentialities. Finger-pointing in this regard moves disproportionately towards the ruling class. Not without justifications, though. The truism that everything rises and falls with leadership subsists here too.
But stopping the argument there misses the point altogether. Our leaders are neither from Mars nor Guinea Bissau, the country whose national football team, The Dromedaries, currently ranked 132 by FIFA, humiliated the Super Eagles of Nigeria (26th in FIFA ranking) by 3-0 some days ago. They originate from our midst. So, when political office holders misbehave, as they often do, and the rest of us sit still like frozen quantities, we all – preys and predators alike – become victims of different kinds. One set is denied the basic necessities of existence. And the other is diminished in ways that aren’t captured in dollars and naira but lethal nonetheless. It’s time to interrogate the essence of our personal liberty, for, no true progress can occur outside its awareness and utility.
Some thinkers here on the transformative energies of independence. Franklin D Roosevelt: “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” Nigerians can relate with this, having endured tyrannies of diverse colours and shameful poverty profiles.
Stephen Covey: “Every human has four endowments – self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.” The rich endowment of Nigerian citizens isn’t in doubt locally and globally. Marshalling this towards attaining more noble heights remains challenging, however.
Maya Angelou: “Independence is a heady draught, and if you drink it in your youth, it can have the same effect on the brain as young wine does. It does not matter that its taste is not always appealing. It is addictive and with each drink you want more.” Surely, freeing our own minds, like good wine, tastes wow! But many Nigerian youths especially are currently addicted to slavish substances, sadly.
Virginia Woolf: “The man who is aware of himself is henceforward independent; and he is never bored, and life is only too short, and he is steeped through and through with a profound yet temperate happiness.” The surest route to fulfilment is a freed mind. It’s indispensable to real growth. But most Nigerians may have been too overwhelmed with visceral, mundane wants to bother about lofty goals. This unravelling tragedy must be halted.
Ekpe, PhD, is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board
_X: @monday_ekpe2_
