Advent: The Message of John the Baptist

Advent: The Message of John the Baptist

An Ode to Nigeria At 50

Stand up Nigerians and recite your National anthem. Yes, recite your national anthem, and remind yourselves of who you are and what you should be. Come to think of it is there any element of truth in that national anthem or was it a product of forced compromise among the warring tribes of this Nation?

ARISE OH COMPATRIOTS... who is this line referring to? Us? Are we really compatriots or combatants. If we are truly compatriots as the line says then we should arise, arise and face what you have turned this country into, arise and see what a nation that boasted of such hope 50years ago has turned into, arise and receive all the insults that all nations have poured and constantly will keep pouring on you, arise and see the hypocrisy and corruption in your land, arise and come to terms with the reality that the catch phrase- Giant of Africa just resides in words. Arise and lament, weep Nigeria because you are a failure, you have failed all who placed their trust in you, and you never stop failing because that is what you are good at.

NIGERIA'S CALL OBEY... obey? you say obey? obey whom if I may ask? Obey those who have constantly provided us with beautiful theoretical standards and have constantly toyed with our wish to see this Nation attain its peak? Obey those who standards of measurement for this country does not move any further than their bellies. How long will you sit helplessly and obey? How long will you be deceived off what should be rightfully yours by those who claim to have your interest? Indeed, as patriotic citizens that we are we are meant to obey cause the Nigerian cause demands it, but in thus situation, disobedience would be a step in the right direction. For 50years you have constantly beckoned and we have all responded, and you have never stopped disappointing us, you have showed yourself to be more of a tyrant than a Nation.

TO SERVE OUR FATHER LAND... I guess you all know who your father is? But if you don't know who he is, I will be glad to tell you what kind of a father you have. A father who is selfish, greedy, corrupt, unjust, troublesome...the list is endless. For how many more years are we to serve this father of ours who is not in any way appreciative of the varying things that his children have done for him? Look at a father who does not care if the name and life of his children is being dragged to the soil by foreigners, look at a father who does not think about the life of his children who have all died in a quest to see him rise to the heights, look at a father who busies himself with trivialities instead of focusing on issues of worth. What do we owe you papa? do you deserve our respect or our scorn? for how long are we to seek out your attention? What sort of father are you? Questions such as these have made many of your children flee for better pastures elsewhere, and you are not concerned? But how can you be concerned, and the more your lack of concern increases, the more you lose your most beloved children. You end up with only those who would love to see your downfall. Nigeria, when you fail to encourage your children, your children would fail to make you proud. Oh my father, I lack the wherewithal to serve you because you have not been a nice dad. You have been a dad whose pleasure resides in seeing your children fight with each other. You see these things and you have kept quiet, all these speak of your lack of concern. And so how can we serve you? I know how, probably by selling our bodies to foreigners in order to get all that you have refused to give us, probably by indulging in theft, by killing for money, by selling our children as salves. All these papa, we do for you.

WITH LOVE AND STRENGTH AND FAITH... these are all virtues that would be generated by those who have received the love of their father, who have seen the strength and resolve, of their father, in seeing that justice and peace maintained, who have seen the unshakable faith of their father, a faith that can move not mountains but planets. And yet our father possesses in great quantum the opposite. He is the chief custodian of vice, this is because all he has trained to lead us in the way of right have shown us how vice-inclined they are. If our father- Nigeria, ever had love then I tell you, that word, LOVE, does not exist. If he does have strength, why does he show us weakness, for even an ant can be able to defeat him in a game of wrestling. If he did have faith, then, it would not be able to move a grain of sand. How can we generate these virtues that would enable us serve our fatherland well? it is just impossible. But if you speak of serving him in vice, then we can all see the possibility and indeed shout HURRAY!!!

THE LABOURS OF OUR HEROES PAST... who are our heroes? And you would say- Awolowo, Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, Herbert Macaulay,etc. At the mention of these names, one would think them to be the greatest Nigerians that ever lived, considering what they achieved with respect to Nigeria's independence. To say the truth, they indeed laboured for our independence, but they had very selfish motives. I was reading a book written By Chinua Achebe, and in this book, he outlines the numerous reasons why our heroes are not really heroes. These heroes of ours had only one thing in mind, and that is their development and that of their kinsmen. And that is why Chief Obafemi Awolowo, gave free education to only his tribesmen, that is why he was able to take, Zik's rightfully thumbprinted votes, claiming the absurdity of an Ibo man winning elections in a Yoruba land. That is why Zik sought out refuge in his people and deceived them into removing the then priemer of the eastern region-, who was from the south-south. If these individuals were really who we take them to be, they would not have been so intoxicated by power that they would fail to see that we all share in the Nigerian cause and not in a tribalistic cause. In a way, we can say that they indeed did labour, but it was not for majorly for Nigeria, in fact, Nigeria was the last thing, these heroes of us had in mind. We cannot rule out that fact that that we had very bright shining examples of heroes. If not for their unfortunate over-emphasis on their tribes, our heroes would have been true heroes, who would have set up a great foundation for us to build upon. Taking for granted the British divide and rule policy, our past leaders could have made this nation great, if they were a little more selfless. No they were not, they continued with the divide and rule policy of the colonialists. I am not in any way trying to say that they did not do their best, no.What I am saying is that their best was motivated and directed towards selfish ideals. Each focusing strongly on the ethical divide that separates us in our Nigerianness. We should recall that everything that concern zoning with respect to the spot of the president started in the second republic. At that time, these big names that Nigeria holds so dear were still alive and they even contested in such a malicious beginning. this has had a ripple effect in our days as the North, that has ruled this country for almost 35 years in her 50 years of existence, are still struggling for this post of presidency. They refuse the thought of a christian becoming the number one man in the nation, indeed this has taken a religious dimension. Our leaders past have a hand in all these. Thus I ask how hard did they labour? If the labours of Nelson Mandela, in spite of his numerous human faults, were not selfless, do you think that South Africa would have attained to such heights?
At this point, we should not limit our heroes to those big names we here. indeed Nigerians have had many unsung heroes, heroes who silently gave their lives for the progress of this nation and it is them that we say their labours would not be in vain, even though that is an uphill task.
SHALL NEVER BE IN VAIN... Who are we trying to deceive? If our long forgotten heroes see today's Nigeria, what do they think they would say? All our efforts have been in vain, OK, not all but majority. Look at every sphere of the Nigerian society and judge for yourselves. When Nigerians are not ready to look beyond their selfish interests, how would the efforts of our heroes not be in vain.
TO SERVE WITH HEARTS AND MIND... that is what every Nigerian is called to do, to serve with hearts and mind. Indeed our past leaders have done their best, according to their own measurements and that of their well-wishers, now we are left with the reality of today's Nigeria. What should be our response? Should we keep licking the wounds of the past and blaming past administrations for their corruption? No. We should all realise that like them, our past leaders, the Nigerian situation still behooves on us. We should make well on their failings and further their achievements. Mother Nigeria, has long cried out to her children to heed to her cry of pain. This is the time. Nigeria is 50, so what, we are not too old to begin anew. All that is expected of us, is a change of mind and heart, a change of these elements together with the zeal to serve. We should stand up and correct all the faults of the past, even if it means destroying the foundations of the past and building anew. We should not be scared to act out right, to act out justly, to act in fairness and uprightness. We should put Nigeria before our selves realising that the good or bad of this country is shared by all- saints and sinners, poor and rich, moral and immoral. Do not wait for another person to start what you can start, do not hope that every person would have the kind of zeal you have towards this country. That is why you should begin something good, true, Godly and right. You would always have people with the same hearts and minds accompany you in such quest. Think of the save Nigeria group, it was an individual that started the initiative and this has attracted many like-minded individuals. This country needs our service, because we have no country, no home, and we can lay claim to no land except ours.

Are we NIGERIANS or TRIBAL-ERIANS

I have this feeling that the country Nigeria, is merely a word that lacks any depth of meaning. I mean we are tribally diversified and yet claim to be one nation, one strong, wealthy nation. Who is kidding who? Last week some group of people came from a parish here in Jos, they were really from St Monica's parish Rantya. They cane to visit us here in the Augustinian Monastery. We went into our rooms, that is the Augustinian students, to dress up in our HABIT, and receive these people who had come to see us. During the reception, we were all asked to introduce ourselves and where we are from. This we did. To the surprise of our visitors, they realized that we are also tribally diversified. Being that the Monastery is situated in Jos, some of our visitors who were indigenes of Jos, spoke out saying: "why is it that there is only one person from Jos?" She was very passionate about this, and so we told her, in truth that the other Jos indigene among us had gone out on a community errand. This calmed her nerves down a bit. But we heard, although this was said in whispers, them saying that the majority is Ibo, from either Anambra or Imo state. We all, including our master, did as of we did not hear this. Now after we had finished hosting them, we now went out for a snapshot. Much to my dislike, some of the women started looking out for those that were from their state. A lady met one of my brothers- Bitrus Galadima and asked him to tell her the part of Kaduna he comes from. She was asking because she also came from Kaduna. One of the Ibo women from Imo state also began scouting for those form her state. I am from Imo state, but I did not like the whole scenario, so I hid myself. The same thing happened when the Christian Women Organisation came visiting us. Due to the fact that all of them were from the North, the mixed better with their brothers who also come form the North. Now I do not blame my brothers for allowing such because if I were in their shoes, I would do the same. You cannot snub an elderly person because you despise the way such persons extols tribal association. In class the other day, our Liturgy lecturer spoke of how annoyingly tribalistic the Ibo lecturers in the institution he passed out from- CIWA (Catholic Institute of West Africa), were. They were so tribalistic that they saw all other tribes as non-existent. Indeed I can not argue with such person because he is very right, but his being right is not holistic enough. This problem that he was able to finger out in CIWA, is what is troubling NIGERIA as a whole. Every tribe fights for the welfare of his tribe and for everyone who belongs to his tribe. How disappointing. I have heard severally that very competent persons were denied job opportunities because they were not from the tribe  or the state in which the institution was located. How can a Nation who claims to be united speak of unity, when there is a clear sign of division. Why do we prefer to sweep things under the carpet instead of bringing out in then open? this problem is gradually increasing and if it is not tackled now, the results would be horrific. I heard a story of a man who went looking for a job. On reaching there, he saw a very long queue. He joined the line. He came to realise that every body that entered came out looking sad. At a point he asked some of the people who had already entered, to explain to him what they were asking inside. Due to their sadness, they did not give him any answer. He eventually entered, as his own turn had come. He came to realise what was making people fail the interview- they were asking about state of origin. When they asked him, he replied immediately, that my state of origin is Nigeria. They asked again, and his answer was the same, they asked the third time, because they did not have that column in this Curriculum Vitae, he still answered NIGERIA, with every strength he muster. He did not get the job, but he was not as sad as the rest because, he was true to a course. And that is before we are even Ibo or Yoruba or Hausa, Tiv, Idoma etc., we are first and foremost NIGERIANS. Why accuse the Europeans of racism, when the worst kind of racism is being practiced here? This is a racism that is done by brothers of the same Nation. This is evil.

There is only one way to explain this, we have to go back to where and how it all started. Africans are majorly more tribal than national. The idea of Nationhood is foreign to the African and was indeed brought by those white men that colonized us. Now Africans are of the belief that truly they can live as a nation. We have heard times and times again of tribal conflicts not only in Nigeria but in other places in Africa, like the tribal conflict in Kenya, between the Kikuyus and the Luos. The conflict between the kikuyus and the luos has a historical root, this is what I mean: The British had spent decades trying to keep the Luo and Kikuyu divided, quite rightly fearing that if the two groups ever united, their combined power could bring down the colonial order. Indeed, a short-lived Luo-Kikuyu alliance in the late 1950s hastened Britain's retreat from Kenya and forced the release of Jomo Kenyatta, the nation's first president, from a colonial detention camp. But before their departure, the British schooled the future Kenyans on the lessons of a very British model of democratic elections. Britain was determined to protect its economic and geopolitical interests during the decolonization process, and it did most everything short of stuffing ballot boxes to do so. That set dangerous precedents. Among other maneuvers, the British drew electoral boundaries to cut the representation of groups they thought might cause trouble and empowered the provincial administration to manipulate supposedly democratic outcomes. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010404300.html) This tribal conflict that runs deep in Africa, has to a very large extent been caused by the imperialists. Even in Nigeria, they used their "divide and rule" policy, choosing amongst the varying tribes, a favourite. And instilling in such tribe the desire to tow their way. They realised that unity would do them more harm than good and as such, since they were siphoning the material goods of their colonies for their development, they ensured that they stayed long, regardless of what might happen in future to the country. I am talking about tracing the history of this evil, and I can firmly trace it to the imperialists. Today in Nigeria, the North- the Hausas are of the belief that they were born to rule, it is because they were highly favoured by the colonialists. Now other tribes have arisen to contest such thought, it is open war. They would rather hold this country to ransom than see anyother tribe rule. Their policy is what led to the tribal conflict between the kikuyus and the luos.
There is also the conflict between the hutu and the tutsis, but whilst they spoke the same language, what happened you may ask? My earlier argument is the langauge has done more harm than good to human relations. While it is noted that language is neutral with respect to evil or good, we should realise that in most things that pertains to neutrality, man and all his inclinations towards evil, make it evil. The Hutu and the tutsi conflict brings out the fact that even in areas, where people who speak the same language but do not belong to the same tribe, such sectional affection and tribal likes can still arise. Language functions under the agent of tribe. In fact, there cannot be a tribe without a language and viceversa. This brings me back to my area of discourse, the African world is determined by tribal influence and not so much by nationhood. I laugh when I hear people speak of One Africa. My laughing is not because I am pessimistic, it is because the facts and history speak more for themselves.  In the tribal war that concerned the hutu and the tutsis, there was news of such genocide in the church. Priests, religious and seminarians were ready to betray the brotherhood/sisterhood which unites them divinely in Christ for tribal considerations.
We are of the belief that the blood of tribe is thicker than that of any so-called nation. The issue to be considered here is the Nigerian situation, I know, but this problem is wider and broader than the Nigerian situation. So Nigerians should not feel that guilty. In fact it is a world problem, it is a problem of man. Ask yourself this, who would you appreciate more, the man who speaks your tongue or the man who does not speak your tongue? Even our colonialist, France to be precise, engaged in a programme that saw the people to whom they were colonizing, get drafted in the French system. They wanted to "frenchlize" them. They were not going to accept the fact that they were French and the people they were colonizing were not. The truth about it all is that man is security conscious not only for himself but also for his loved ones. He would go the extreme to protect and defend one of his own, but would not even bulge for one he does not know. And that is why we have the works of mercy which comes in handy when dealing with such selfish tendencies in man. As I write this, I know that I am not free from this and indeed no one is free from this. But when we see it as a virtue instead of a vice, then that is where our destruction sets in. it has been said on timeless occasions that the church is an avenue for practicing politics and to this thought I concur most definitely. I have experienced situations of tribal considerations in what pertains to vocation and in Christianity.
I am not very old and indeed, I am still a youth, but I strongly believe that Africa before the dawn of these foreigners, did not have tribal conflicts at a high scale. Yes, there was always territorial disputes and the likes, but such conflicts as we have it today was not existent. But for how long are we to keep blaming the colonialists? They have long since left us, but we are still under their influence. Is it that we like a mind of our own? Indeed they, the colonialists, worked and raised up a feeling that was lying dormant in every African tribe. But are we not reasonable beings, can we not carve out a niche for ourselves? Can we not set a trail for others to follow? Why are we still in bondage, even in freedom? Can we not live up to our name as Nigerians, as a nation? What is the problem?
The problem is this drive to succeed and this selfish pull that desires that all good things that life can afford one, come to us alone. Blame it all on man, he is totally selfish, and this has arisen from concupiscence, which is the residual element of original sin. The remedy to this resides only in the grace of God. Let us be truthful to ourselves, man bereft of the grace of God is like man without breath, we cannot do without this grace (let us leave this discussion for another time).
The one sure way to get rid of this tribal evil that is tearing us apart is to drop our extreme tribal attachments, remembering that we are first of all Nigerians before we are either Ibo or Yoruba or Itsekiri etc. The great divide that rules our lives, the division along tribal lines should not be seen in the light as one of primal importance, although it is important. We should realise that God made us into a nation for a purpose, forgetting the fact that we might have come together due to the wrong intention of the colonialists, let us work with that passage of scripture that says all things work for good to those that believe. The new trend in this tribal conflict is the religious conflict faced particularly in Northern Nigeria. Looking deep into it, one would notice a political undertone, all boils down to the wrong notion held by the North, the Hausas, that they were born to rule. We cannot keep depending on tribe for all things, there are things that other tribes can give us that our tribes cannot afford, that is the beauty of variety. Let us make ample use of it, because we have not started using it. Let us consider our neighbour and his/her human feelings regardless of the tribe, when dealing with such people. We are all God's children, let us love in the way we should love- AS GOD'S CHILDREN. There is need for us to rise above this religious or tribal divide that is ruling us from within. Nigerians, focus on what is important, and that is Nigeria. I am not trying to give a solution that would not include me. Every one should realise that we have a part to play as Nigerians to Nigeria. We should forget the hate and malice of the past, we should forget the hurt we have caused each other in the past, and focus on the future that is bright. A compromise should be reached, because not every hurt can be pacified, we are all human beings, but we still have that capacity to love like God's children. Are we really Nigerians or Tribal-erians, you decide.