Playing perpetually with fire in Nigeria

The drama between Mr. Dino Melaye and the Nigerian Police was really necessary and what is the effect on us as a people and polity. How about the failed recall process? Why do we take pride in playing with fire?

Let me explain Benue State in this manner, few years ago, I was driving back from Gombe, and on the highway was this public/commercial Opel car carrying five Nigerians. It was on ‘high’ speed, I overtook the car, blocked them in commando style and came down.

I asked the driver, “do you want to kill these passengers, is you speed check not working…?” as I turned to the passengers to scold them for not warning the driver.

Before I could finish, they descended on me, “Oga how e concern you, (what’s your business), get out of our way, bla bla and bla.”

I left them, jumped into my car and drove off, 30 minutes later in front of me was a ghastly motor accident, two dead, others with various degree of injuries.The driver survived, the car, totally damaged. Don’t ask me how I felt, and what I told the survivors.

So what do we tell the scores of orphans that are being created by the senseless killings, in what now can be best described as a killing field? From worshippers to villagers, when government narrative is not armed militia, it is then the boys trained by Ghaddafi, or the most recent; politically motivated killings.

Countless lives lost and no one will ever be held liable; and in the midst of all these there is this carriage by citizenry of nothing is happening when indeed we are playing with fire.

I was at the gas station to buy PMS, and for the umpteenth time, I noticed that only two of the machines were working. The two machines that were working had only two pumps with attendants, instead of four.

• Tackling unemployment in Nigeria

So, do the math if the four machines were working, that would be eight attendants and yet we complain of lack of jobs.

We may blame government for all we can, but really is there an enabling environment for job creation and are we creating jobs at the rate at which we are churning out grads-half baked, unbaked or badly cooked. The statistics for a nation that cares less about figures is frightening a case of playing with fire.

We blame the National Assembly, at the local newspaper shop we argue about who is at fault, the last PDP goons or the current crooks, even as the problems increases.

We are simply blind to the problems under our noses, as we continue to play with fire.

For all the blames we put on government, we are government. The enterprise called Nigeria is our business, not some folks in Abuja or state governors.

We can’t change if we are not the change we want. We can’t complain about government in Abuja when we don’t know who our ward councilor is, when we have never confronted local government leaders.

When governors are alleged to be corrupt, we keep mute because they are our kinsmen, and when they are confirmed looters we say leave them because we are of same faith.

It’s not just leadership problems that worry Nigeria. No, it’s the problem of you, me and us. Until we start to treat Nigeria as our business, and not some prodigal orphan, we may be just going round in circles.

Prince Charles Dickson,

[email protected]