April 26: 2011: An Essay from April 2011: Only the Truth Will Set Nigeria Free: Buhari,

Only the Truth Will Set Nigeria Free

Old post from 2011 I realise little if anything has changed.

26-Apr-2011:

Was Buhari responsible for the post-election violence in northern Nigeria?
Or are we once again avoiding the harder task of tracing effect to cause? This essay examines justice, blame, governance, and Nigeria’s deeper moral crisis.

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National Disappointment
I am deeply disappointed by the inability of Nigerians to analyze issues carefully.

How on earth is Buhari responsible or culpable for the violence in “the states where he won,” or anywhere else?

How are we different from the corrupt Nigerian police?
Why do we expect them to be any different from what they are: murderous, libelous, corrupt, inept, daft, incompetent?

And why do we think we deserve a great country?
Or that we can build one, given our mental indolence and our inability to take an effect and diligently trace it to its cause?

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A Race That Brought Hope

I do not know what those who claim to “know” actually know at this time. But when I look at Buhari, I see an innocent man who has run a good race.

A race that brought hope to a great multitude, mostly impoverished Nigerians.

As I wrote a few days earlier, on April 18, riding a train from Paris to Amsterdam:

“The results from several states were a sham, but he (GEJ) would have won willy-nilly.
The opposition election machine was shambolic, to put it charitably.
There are riots in the Muslim north. I hope they fizzle.
For those poor citizens, their despair can only be imagined. May the Lord give them the hope they need to carry on.
For us, the educated elites, let’s face it, that’s what we are, it’s an academic exercise.
For tens of millions, it’s a matter of life and death.
Of waking up hopeful, or waking up to the same old corruption, inefficiency, no electricity, no water, no healthcare, police harassment, no security, no hope.
I pray the PDP extends its umbrella to them. We want a country we can be proud of.”

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A Train Stop in Antwerp

When the train stopped at Antwerp to offload and take passengers, I imagined the horror of racist skinheads rushing in with clubs and attacking “racial undesirables” like yours truly.

I looked at my nine-year-old son and wondered what I would do to protect him.

As we moved through the Dutch countryside, I was filled with shame at our failures as a people.

The Netherlands is a tiny country with little natural advantage except an iron will. A low-lying, waterlogged land prone to flooding.

The Dutch say:

“God created the earth, but we created the Netherlands.”

What can Nigerians say we have created?

Absolutely nothing, if we discount truce-breaking, grand larceny, lies, election rigging, and kidnapping for “recharge cards.”

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Who Are We?

Who are we?
What are we?
Why are we here?
Where are we going?

Nigeria today is the aggregate of who we are.

We must stop deceiving ourselves.

We are the problem.

Our inability to pursue truth in the matter. The “truth” we speak often depends on how much it benefits us.

Our love of injustice, as long as it does not affect us personally.

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Justice Must Be Systemized

When the Boko Haram leader was killed by the police in what can best be described as an extrajudicial execution, how many reacted?

I expressed outrage at the time. I was shouted down.

“He deserved to die,” they said.

Save your breath. I know the typical response:

“How can you compare innocent youth corpers to a terrorist?”

My answer is simple:

Let us systemize our responses to threats against our existence as a civilized society.

That is what good engineers do.

One rule for one offense.
If that fails, escalate lawfully.

In other words: let us practice justice.

Practice makes perfect.

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The Only Question

Is it possible that the violence in the North was spontaneous and not instigated by Buhari?

If it is possible, why are we not addressing its root causes?

Only the truth will set us free.

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The Dutch Example

The Dutch faced the truth of their geography and acted.

Every day they pump water out of their canals and allow fresh water in. That is why the canals do not become stagnant breeding grounds for disease.

Discipline. Systems. Truth.

That may explain why a small country built one of the world’s strongest economies.

Compare that with Nigeria, blessed with vast resources and far greater population.

Only the truth will set us free.

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A Word to Ayo Oritsejafor

Ayo Oritsejafor, incidentally a relative of mine, surely understands the importance of rigorous analysis.

In one week he determined Buhari’s complicity with certainty?

One week?

Mass uprisings are happening globally. People revolt against bad governance and the absence of social and economic justice.

We must not rush to conclusions.

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Conclusion

I strongly condemn the killings of the innocents in the North.

May God bring swift justice to those responsible.
May He have mercy on the victims.
May He grant their families strength to bear their losses without bitterness.

Amen.

Don Kenobi