IGWENYERE
CHRISTIAN OBIOMA.
A native of Ogberuru, Orlu writes in from
Washington, USA
Few years ago, a frog
taught me something I would not forget in a hurry. I was on one of the busiest
streets in downtown Athens to visit a friend. As I walked on the street, my
eyes caught sight of two Albanian boys ( ages 3-4 years, the biggest foreign
population in Greece is Albanian) who were playing with a frog. They allowed
the frog to run, and they pursued it - a calmed hide and seek game.
After a while, they
caught the frog, put it inside an opened heating pot on a cooking gas. I was
wondering what they were trying to do with the frog, I refused to go nowhere.
With a cute sense, I learned from their pranks.
If you have studied
biology very well, you would comprehend that of all amphibians, it is only a
frog that has the ability to respond to divergent and scary hot temperatures.
Well, the boys put the
frog on a cooking pot devoid of water, and as the fire increased the
temperature of the pot, the frog continued to acclimatize with the rising
temperature. I kept my admiration. The frog would sometimes, jump and settle
back inside the pot. The more the jamboree continued, the more the boys
laughed, laughed and laughed. Honestly, I did not understand why the boys chose
such a game as the only way to enjoy the day. I was worried, the pot was very
small. It had no height. At a time, I realized that the boys were only playing
with the frog as a pet, they never had any other intention beyond that.
However, though the frog jumped up and down, also enjoying the fun; but at a
time, the heat became so precarious. To their utmost surprise, the boys noticed
that the frog jumped frantically, stretched and became motionless. The two boys
looked sternly on themselves, one reached out to the pot, grabbed the
motionless frog; it was only then that they realized that I stood by the corner
and observed every bit of their fun. Quietly, I told them that the frog was
dead and it was needless enjoying their game. They should dispose off the body.
The boys never understood my explanation. But the reality was that, the frog
was dead. Game over!
Well, that frog
possessed every eternal feature to absorb the heat from the pot. It also had
every chance to jump out of the cooking pot and ran away.
The death of the frog
and the countenance on the boys` faces justified my earlier thought that the
boys had no intention to kill their pet. They only wanted to play with it. So
the inability of the frog to jump out of the cooking pot went on to tell the
boys that it was comfortable with temperature of the pot and fire when it was
alive. I saw the comfort, struggle and resilience, then the confusion and the
inability of the frog to make up its mind and jump out the cooking pot as the
reasons why it died. I saw the boys enjoyed their game until they found out
that it had gone beyond a jamboree immediately the frog; stretched and died.
Then they cried and probably spent that night agonized.
There is always a time
to end an affair that leads to a dead end. Human beings have the capacity to
decide on yes or no on issues that of major concern to them. There are also
risks involved in these choices. There is a time to take decision. There is a
time to say 'this is not working, I am not conducive with this environment any
longer.'
The problem with Nigeria
is a political factor. Every regime that had served Nigeria from independence
had the potentials to provide the people with certain convictions about Nigeria
as their only choice.
The transition to
peaceful choice of governance, had received several encouragements and
motivations from both within and international community, yet, Nigeria has not
produced a government which could bring all the together.
Those who are holding on
to the unity of the country, what really have been their points?
Before now, some
concerned individuals had called for national conference to discuss and solve
the problems in Nigeria. Each time, the delegates were expected to provide
answers to questions relating to the structure of Nigerian government, separate
the lines from presidential and parliamentary systems, resolve fiscal
federalism, devolution of power, resource control, derivation and revenue
sharing formula, citizenship right, security of lives and property, state/local
government creation. Each time, the political class had knowingly and
willingly, thwarted the efforts of those national conferences. Nigeria still
has not identified properly with its federating units. As I write, I do not
know which works in the country- is it two or three tiers government? If I may
ask, of what importance are the states, geo-political zones, regional autonomy,
immunity for elected officials, state and regional police to the choice of
governance in the country? Those were the issues that were discussed in the
national conferences conducted in the past. Rather than implement reports, the
government sent them to the trash bin.
The political class is
making a mockery of sensitive issues relating to national cohesion. Each
National Conference held in the past whose report was not implemented, was a
waste of money, energy, time and also a big setback to national progress. In
2005, the Olusegun Obasanjo`s government voted about 932 million Naira for
delegates to the National Political Reform Conference.
Between 17th March to
August 14th 2014, former president Goodluck Jonathan`s government spent about 7
billion Naira on a group of delegates who gathered in Abuja to look for ways to
improve national cohesion. Again, the reports of that national political
conference have not been adopted. That alone made the gathering, a total
failure, a waste of money, time, energy and a total deception. It`s just a
mess.
I suggested a referendum
for the people in Nigeria because, every regime has being a replicate of the
other. One of the healing processes that would have touched the people after
the civil war was the Oputa Panel which was formerly inaugurated on the 14th
day of June 1999 to establish the causes, nature and extent of human rights
violations between January 15th 1966 and May 15th 1999.
The commission received
over 10,000 petitions and heard about 340 cases. It also concluded its reports
after thorough investigations of those indicted. It got a nation-wide
television coverage. It was adequately funded and received international
attentions. Yet, Oputa Panel was a toothless bulldog, the government abandoned
the reports. Imagine that!!
The political context is
the major reason why Nigeria needs a referendum to allow the people decide on
what they want. The extent of social justice shrinks day after day in the
country. I was wondering the legacy our government leaves for the black Africa
with the way citizens are treated. It is only in Nigeria that a seating court
will rule that a defendant be freed, yet, the government would keep them in
custody, only to re-arraign them before the same court. This is a disaster.
People are struggling
with the structure of one Nigeria. The political class knows this, the whole
world knows this. The political class has the capacity to solve Nigeria`s
problem by redefining the status of this `One Nigeria'. It is needless to stay
comfortable in this cooking pot. The heat is on, the more we adjust, the more
pretentious we become. There is no national cohesion in Nigeria. The time to
end this constant rancor is now. That frog had every opportunity to jump out of
that cooking pot, rather than do that, it chose to adjust and pretend to be
comfortable, until it stretched its last and died. Its fate is not my wish for
Nigeria. I suggested referendum, I am still holding on to it because of its
benefits to warring people in Nigeria. It is the best choice out of many
options available for Nigeria at the moment. Do not misconceive me, understand
the lines here, and give your voice; it is pertinent.
