By Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu
We have read about leaders who attempted to leave lasting legacies – Adolf Hitler who killed 6 million Jews in a gas chambers; the Great Wall of China which astronauts could see from the space by Qin Shinhuang; the great Pyramid of Giza, a massive structure by King Khufu; Tag Mahal by the Shua of India. Most of these leaders are forgotten but their legacies still speak.
On the other hand, there are ordinary people, citizens and folks who achieve great feats, writing their names on the sands of time. Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, developed a vaccine for rabies. William Wilberforce who ended slavery and Mary Slessor who turned Africans from paganism to the light of life.
In the same vein there are Nigerian men and women doing exploits in the field of academics, engineering, technology and robotics. Most of these Nigerians towering height are witnessed in diaspora because what reigns in the country is fraud, crime, corruption, impersonation, forgeries, extortion, bribery, rituals and sacrifices. And hard-work rarely gets rewarded in Nigeria.
Still on the same matter, the Royal Niger Company was instrumental to the slave trade along the Trans-Atlantic Route. The Great Britain as we know, left an overwhelming legacy in many African countries. The long years of Apartheid in South Africa is credited to the British. The amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorate which arose from the evening discussion of Lord Lugard and wife in 1914 was a decision of Britain.
The various tribesmen who had co-existed before then found themselves being referred to as Niger Area. On that same note, the two major infiltrators in Nigeria are the British and the Fulanis. The British coming from the river Niger perceived the resistance, resilience and independent minded Igbos.
The Fulanis coming from the Sahara Desert, met with the docile, belligerent and gullible Hausas. They wielded the sword, bow and arrows to kowtow the Hausas to submission. They brought Islamic Religion and fought jihads to dominate and exercise authority. Having experimented with the direct, indirect and rule of association in both North and South, the British chose to partner with the Fulanis to foster their interests in Nigeria.
Muhammad Buhari was the immediate past president of Nigeria. While declaring his assets in 2015, he made mention of a mud house, Volkswagen Beetle, Nissan car, 50 cattle etc. He was a man who had been in government payroll after he was weaned. In fact, he was born, lived and died in government.
He left sadistic legacies. The insurgency, banditry and kidnapping in the North rotated round the country during his tenure. The easterners, Igbos, who had enjoyed relative peace since 1970 came under siege with the IPOB and unknown Gun men sending shivers to the survival of an Igbo man. Businesses were destroyed, buses and others means of livelihood were burnt, market women were attacked, police stations burnt, soldiers, policemen and patrol vehicles burnt. That was the legacy of insecurity brought in by a leader.
All the Northern Heads of state in Nigeria equally left remarkable legacies. Archbishop Hassan Kukah had in the past upbraided the Northern politicians and elites, demanding what they have achieved with the proceeds of embezzlement and looting. The history of Nigeria will never be kind to the Northern political leaders in Nigeria. The two infiltrators cannot abandon their prey.
Today in Nigeria there is an outrage because the predators desired a fresh emasculation by introducing an old National Anthem written and composed by two British ladies to be used and sang in the breath and length of the country sixty three years, after Independence and use of a replaced anthem. Of course, dictating the tune for a stooge is not out of place so long as he still desires to remain in power.
The infiltrators cannot rest until Nigeria becomes moribund. Breaking the habit of the infiltrators is not the concern of Political Leaders in Nigeria whose circle control the economy and politics. Democracy in Nigeria is not hollow but a charade. It turns out to what is known and practised as Northern oligarchy in conjunction with hegemony learned and practised with the British.
Do you want to be great or leave a lasting legacy? Change your strategy, company and mould. The mould of the infiltrators is purely earthly, mundane, superficial and sensual. A woodpecker was pecking on a tree that got struck by lightning and split in half. An hour later he brought two of his woodpecker buddies to the tree and said, “Here it is, guys … a specimen of my work.” Few developments during these years of oppression and insensitivity might be credited to the infiltrators yet they have not any positive thoughts towards the citizenry.
Nigerians are the happiest people on Earth not because of the social amenities, infrastructural developments, welfare packages or the health insurance schemes. Naira is the worst performing currency in the world. The poorest people all over the world are in Nigeria. It’s not part of the machinations of the infiltrators. The best things in life are free. The air we breathe is not sold by the cubic foot. The water which flows crystal clear from the mountain stream is free for the taking. Love is free, faith is free, hope is free.
Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu writes from St. Anthony’s Catholic Comprehensive Institute, Agulu, Anambra State.
