THERE are more to Nigeria than the now renowned failure of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. In terms of moving the country many steps backward, so many Nigerians believe that the Buhari government owns the acclaim. So many unjustifiable occurrences have been witnessed in the life of this administration and yet they are being defended. One of the many wonders is how we have grown our subsidy payment to a whopping N4 trillion in about seven years without palpable improvement in the downstream sector of the Nigerian petroleum industry. When questions are asked, the authorities promptly refer us to the falling value of the Naira as if they are not the ones in charge of the economy.
The only thing thriving in Nigeria is payment of subsidy. Our government, even with all its bravado, seems to be throwing all its knowhow into only how to nourish Baby Subsidy and make it virile while all the other children of the Mother Petroleum Industry are left on their own. No care, no guidance, no protection. They are abandoned to their fate in the rough hands of prowling predators in the shrouded industry.
But the Nigeria of the masses is a world away from that of the cold-blooded authorities. My experience has shown that Nigerians are ordinarily a good people. We are hardworking, hospitable, fun-loving, resilient and accommodating. Until bad leadership happened to us, our country was that place you’d want to be in and revel. It didn’t matter what tribe you are or what language you speak. Nigeria was once like watching a football game by the national team.
On Friday, 16 April, 2022 ‘Nigeria of the masses’ happened to me. It was not the first time of such pleasant experiences, but it was one of those occasions when you wished Nigeria was not the helpless game in the bag of the vicious hunters. To those hunters, Nigeria is a kill set for mindless dismembering. Our dear country is more like their prey. To some, Nigeria should rather be better known as conmen’s mark. If Nigeria was not conmen’s ‘mark’ as crooks call their ‘kill’, the masses would have seen and felt the hunters (or brokers or jobbers) abide by certain ethics. The power hunters know no ethical bounds. They lack morality.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife presents their ethical guidelines in what they call “the Four C’s of Hunting”. It is what the hunters are expected to abide by. “A responsible Texas hunter is careful, considerate, capable and courteous”, the body prescribed. “Careful – the hunter’s attitude is committed to the basic rules of safety. Courteous – the hunter’s behavior is polite, helpful and gracious. Considerate – the hunter’s respect for other hunters, landowners, and the non-hunting public. Capable – the hunter’s abilities including marksmanship, outdoor skills, knowledge level and sound judgement.” These are pristine rules made for hunters in dealing with wild animals. What are the rules for Nigerian power hunters, brokers and jobbers in their dealing with the country? Ours are a band of leaders who never reason that “taking a shot at the buck may injure the spike behind.”
The Nigeria of the masses happened when I left home with my son on the day. I was going to work while the holidaying boy went about an errand. With the mobile telephone he had, I monitored his movement and guided him through the assignment. Afterwards, I settled down to work. About an hour later, his mother called me to announce that he was back home. ‘Thanks be to God’ I muttered under my breath and made to end the conversation. But she had not finished. ‘He has lost his phone. He said he just found that the phone wasn’t in his pocket when he arrived at the bus stop,” she announced with a tinge of sadness. “I’m worried because the SIM card contains information about his UTME and other external examinations he had entered for.”
My head was full of thoughts. It was a busy Friday afternoon. “I’ll call you” I said so as to end the conversation and bring myself to think of what to do. There was no such danger as cleaning his bank account of funds therein. But, like my wife feared, what if the phone number is used for some crime? I thought ‘we’d visit the telecom service provider, make a report and do SIM replacement. There would also be the need to swear to an affidavit of a loss of personal property, etc etc.
Then, my wife called again. “Someone called me with Kelechi’s number moments ago. He said his name is Usman. He promised to be available after the day’s Jumat service to hand the phone over to the owner.” I was speechless. “Did he have an accent?” I asked. “I couldn’t place his accent. Run the number through Truecaller and please be careful because I know you will go there. It’s such a cruel world we live in now and bad people and criminals can do anything so you need to be careful and…”
I understood her fear – my safety. “I’ll call the number and see what comes from there. I’ll keep you posted,” I assured her. “Just be careful; it’s a delicate world o,” she repeated.
I called the number and it was a calm, unassuming voice at the other end. I was all out for anything to indicate ‘fraud!’ but I felt none. Rather, this, to me, sounded like a man who has been humbled by the Ramadan fast and who is just willing to be a good Nigerian. I announced the goings-on to the newsroom. Alhaji Saheed Salawu ran the number through the TrueCaller and it was the same Usman Mubarak. Mubarak confirmed that he was back from Jumat and that he was somewhere at Mobil Bus Stop at the Ibadan Ring Road.
After a number of calls back and forth, there he was withthe phone. “Good afternoon. I am Sam Nwaoko. My son…” “Okay. What type of phone is it?” He didn’t want the dogo turenci. I told him and also gave him the trajectory of the pubescent . “Yes”, he said simply. He brought out the phone and handed it to me. I thanked him. The entire transaction didn’t take 10 minutes. No hassles. No airs. No fraud. No mystery. No fear. No suspicion. Just a plain Nigerian out to make a living and live his life.
Usman Mubarak is the Nigerian. Honest, upright, humane. Not the hunters.It was Good Friday.