Calm down? For how long?

 

The need to calm down has been impressed upon Nigerians following the viral video of the smart infant negotiating his way out of a parental spanking. Our leaders have seized the opportunity to echo the need to calm down to all and sundry. I think it is good to heed their advice. Unlike that smart kid, the negotiating power of Nigerians has been taken away and they have been reduced to a state of helplessness not knowing what would come next at any point in time. Nigerians are manipulated, oppressed, abused, misused, and impoverished.

Stay calm (PowerLines Blog 2020)

Tertiary education is in a mess and university academics keep fighting instead of teaching and researching. Primary and secondary education are not faring better. The state health system is nothing to write home about. There is no power to power homes much less of institutions and industries. There is no security of lives and property and security agencies have become experts at giving sweet talks after disasters. Politics has become a joke and a charade. Citizens of the nation are scattered everywhere in the whole world seeking to escape the burning furnace at home. Many of them face worse indignities outside there with no government to adequately defend them. Nigerians are saddled with repressive tax regimes. They have to pay more every time for poor services and inefficiency of government despite the pittance they take home every month. And the rulers do not want criticism, therefore, they hem them in on all sides with laws, threats, undue monitoring, censures, etc. Law enforcement agents regularly fight law-abiding citizens instead of confronting bandits.

There is the talk of one Nigeria but there are multiple fractures and gaping cracks everywhere. And the rulers would not face reality because of selfish and sectional interests.

Amidst the seeming hopelessness steering us in the face, amidst the contradictions, corruptions, and incompetence in governance which is visible to all but which the rulers deny, Nigerians need to calm down.

We need to stay calm because of our mental health. The case of this country called Nigeria can torment the mind and distort brain functions. To maintain our sanity, we need to calm down.

Nigeria is a type of country where it appears the led have no voice of any kind. The rulers force every kind of thing down their throats. Nigeria is a type of country where the rulers only demand and take away from the led and give nothing of worth in return. The led are afraid to talk because they have been gagged by sinister laws and would be hounded by compromised institutions.

What should we do? What can we do? Many things could be done. One of them is:

“I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause”.

We need to seek God more than ever before. Let us talk to God before talking to people. Deep inside me, I know things will not continue like this forever. But when the desired change in this nation will come is what I do not know. So keep hope alive, calm down, and stay calm.