The Rotten Carcasses; What bothers me about Nigeria

          It is now a ritual for the Nigerian Television Authority to remind us of our identity as a nation. We hear about our greatness as the most populous black nation on the face of the earth, our heroes past and present, our strengths and much more. How I love the praises showered on this country. Beneath this cover of praise lie disgusting maggots feeding on the rotten carcasses of little things, we have neglected. These carcasses pollute our identity and strength making our very home inhabitable; they are but a repercussion of our negligence as a people.  

          Rolling away the stone of greatness, I was greeted by the stench of self-pity which diluted our sense of reasoning long ago. We are the true definition of perfect complainers bent on what is not working and neglecting what really does. We are satisfied when people sympathize with us about the little things we could change but will never bother only to blame the government and witches for the calamity that befall us later. We find fulfillment in announcing our predicament to the world that cares less about what happens to us but is interested in what we have. Hell yes! Our Leaders are corrupt; show me a country whose leaders are not and I will show you a “Holy robber”. Give us self-pity and the office are yours. No wonder only sympathizers win the election.

          Rolling away the stone of rich cultural heritage, I met the carcass of ethnicity gently decaying. Its stench caused lots of ‘relationship cancers’. The first person to have classified Nigeria into three major languages was the originator of all our problems. This created the “IBO (I Before Others) mentality” where one man can heartlessly gather what belongs to the entire nation in his bedroom and still sleep peacefully at night. You don’t need to be qualified to get the job, speak the Oga’s dialect and you are good to go. As long as they speak a different tongue, they are not humans for all we care.

          Oh, the next stone was well decorated with the sign of the Crucifix and a Star. It was pure and divine. That must be religion; no carcass can be found here. When my nose was greeted by the mephitis from the carcass of extremism; I was shocked. I had to protect my nose (convictions). The mere thought of it makes me want to throw up. If development was measured in terms of religiosity, Nigeria should certainly be the world’s largest economy. I bleed in my heart when the faceless beast is out there damaging the reputation we have labored to build for years and all we do is point accusing fingers at each other.  We are nothing but a disgrace to the faith we profess. We sit and listen to sermons only to resume our evil acts later. We hide under the cover of the divine and carry out our evil decision all in the name of working for God.

          Looking further, I could see other stones adorned with much praise that we forget the carcasses beneath. No alien can make us better, no magician can promise us change overnight, it is our sole responsibility. Lift a finger and clear your own mess. You have a bigger role to play compared to the government.  In the words of a radio presenter, I say “My country people, Make we do ourselves by ourself”.

          Think Nigeria first, she is all we’ve got.