By Denrele Animashaun
“Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘How are you?’ have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don’t want to know about yours.
But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and does fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you.” —Maya Angelou
All is well” is a phrase used to death, even when all is not well. Many believe that the more they say it is, then the fact that it is not well, it will become well. Another well-worn saying is “e go better” or “only God will save Nigeria”.
There is a removal of personal responsibility and ownership and the mass inertia and nothing changes. This is wishful thinking at most and collective helplessness and avoidance in truly dealing with what plagues the Nigerian situation and how best to change the collective mind-set of false expectations.
After almost 56 years, it is time to shift the use of slogans and the psychological crutches of making grand gestures and sound bites of slogans, while the country and its people sleep-walk into another wishful thinking.
Frederick Douglass once said that “I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs” Time for talking and action is what is needed now more than ever.
As an African nation and a populous one as that, it is a shame not to aspire more for its people than the sheer posturing. In the US and other parts of the world, black people are mistreated, killed and incarcerated for the being black. For those that left when Andrew checked out from Nigeria, life did not suddenly become better for them. On the contrary, they soon discovered that the grass was not greener on the other side. What most people did instead was that they were determined to change their situation and make something of their lives and always, wishing to go home.
Life outside Nigeria is not a bed of roses, and if anyone paints that picture, it is unfortunate for those that believe that as gospel. Too many people have lost their lives trying to leave and make something of their lives.
Nigerian leaders have to create opportunities at home; education, employment, training, food, health care, transportation, amenities, tourism and foreign investment incentives. Fifty- six years on, the young people in Nigeria deserve better than live on empty promises and posturing. They are the future generations and Nigeria should be in a better position to do more for its people and its people, should do more for Nigeria.
Chibok Girls
It has been over two years when Chibok intruded into the world’s consciousness as the place where more than 200 young girls were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents.
There was a world -wide outcry and it generated #BringOurGirls. It became a cause celebre and many good and greats lend their voices to raising the profile of the Chibok girls including the late Maya Angelou, respected African-American writer and civil right activist she wrote: “Each one of these girls is our daughter, our sister, our niece, our aunt and our mother. The future of Nigeria and Africa and New York and Europe and the United States etcetera, etcetera, is threatened by the robbing of these young women’s future.
We must have our darlings back so that we can help them to heal from this horror”.
There was the picture of Michelle Obama, holding a placard with the #BringBackOurGirls. And Former UN chief, Kofi Annan, also appealed for action and criticised both the Nigerian government and other African nations for the reluctance to help free the girls.
There was a jubilation and high expectation when one of the school girls, Amina Ali Nkeki, was found by the Nigerian army. She was now a mother and married to a suspected militant, who she confirmed, is the father of her child. This confirms that the girls were married off. For so long, many had dismissed the abduction of the girls as a hoax and that no such abduction happened and so it was not given the priority that it deserved.
That was until local activists were mobilised and the international community took notice. The previous administration’s then-presidential spokesman Doyin Okupe told the BBC, that the country welcomed international support to defeat Boko Haram, but tried and failed to defend its record. “We are even fighting a war that we have to limit and manage collateral damages – but the insurgents do not care,” and that “They can kill soldiers, they can kill villagers, but we cannot do that.
And people must understand that we have to fight this war within the rules of engagement that is accepted internationally”.
So they did very little; the Police placed a reward of $ 7m (£4.6m) and 50m Nigerian naira (£182,000) has been issued for information leading to the location of BH. It led nowhere and the girls did not come home. The girls sighting was through the BH propaganda video. This was only to confirm what many feared that the girls were indeed abducted, and some have since been married off.
They are now using these young girls as bargaining chips in exchange of the captured BH insurgents, that the Nigerian army has successfully reduced their area of settlement and nefarious activities.
This week, PMB has called for the UN to mediate with militant Islamist group Boko Haram to secure the release of schoolgirls it is holding captive that; “Nigeria would welcome intermediaries such as U.N. outfits, to step in”.
In his address at the annual UN General Assembly meeting in New York, he says he was prepared to swap militants who are in custody for the girls. He said that due to the splits within the ranks of Boko Haram, which is affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, has made it difficult to hold talks with them. He said that his “Government had reached out, ready to negotiate, but it became difficult to identify credible leaders. We will welcome intermediaries such as UN outfits, to step in.” This is a welcome change and we hope that this can help bring the girls home to family and their community so that they can begin the long journey to recovery.
As a country, it will take a lot more than international intervention; the BH’s seven-year insurgency has left over 15,000 people dead and displaced more than two million. Millions of Nigerians, they have become refugees in their own country. In these badly managed and underfunded refugee camps, Doctors Without Borders reported that many are dying of hunger and diseases.
There is a serious need to rid the country of these insurgents and help communities resettle and begin to heal and thrive again.
Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, pledged that they would give 99 per cent of their Facebook shares to charitable causes. That is what they are doing; making a difference worldwide and for the future of the next generation. Some may say that they are idealistic, well, what is wrong with that? What is the point of having the money and not putting it to good use?
What is the point of being the richest man in the graveyard? Let’s be honest, $ 3 Billion is a lot of money and it will do a lot of good in the world. They will still have a lot more in their account but I am sure that they have not done making the world a little bit better by giving. This grand gesture is not new. Ted Turner, the CNN founder and Time Warner vice chairman in 1997 pledged to donate $ 1 billion over the next decade to United Nations programs.
Vanguard News
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