HOPELESS OF THE HOPELESS HOPE
(Iwarefa) Ayoola Akinkunmi Olamide
More than five decades have passed, if I never made a mistake. Exactly five, since we became independent, but our government is still sick. Our leaders are sick. Our country is sick. Everyone is sick. The government and the governed. Both young and the old. The poor and the rich. The poor are sick, hence they become poorer. The rich are sick hence they become richer. As a result, the rulership and the followerships are blaming one another.
But, the sickness of our leaders is the most pathetic because they have added madness to their own sickness. So, they also blame one another. President Goodluck Jonathan is blaming Abubakar Atiku, a Political prostitute. National Assembly is faulting the Presidency. Ex- Governor Ladoja is blaming Prodigal Alao Akala. Action Congress says People Democratic Party lacks focus. Civilians criticize military and vice-versa.
Yet, amidst this madness and sickness, our leaders have also been playing game. In that game, we are the balls. And the rule of the game favours he who can crunch us, the balls harder. One leader comes and crunches us, the balls harder than the others. One leader comes and crunches us. The other comes and crunches harder. That is for us but the common men, our problems are enormous. Poverty, Oppression, Suppression, Distress, Injustice, Penury, Joblessness. Nothing has changed for us. Rather the gravity of our sufferings increases enormously every hour of the day. We have been complaining but our leaders have been crunching us. The more we groan under the heavy boots of our leaders, the harder they crunch us. The more we shed tears, the more joyous our leaders become. Our leaders have been laughing while we are crying. They have been sharing various allowances and loans. David Mark has been presiding over packages for looters. They called it “National cake” even though; their great-grand fathers did not contribute neither “flour” nor “icing sugar” when the cakes were to be baked. Common men have stopped to dream dreams. Their futures are hopeless. Their eye balls are gradually retracting into their sockets. Hope has also eluded their mind. To them salvation has become a wishful thinking and a morbid illusion. They now believe that to think or muse over it is to image Ken Saro Wiwa to rise from death tomorrow. They have therefore concurred that their hope for salvation is as hopeless as the hope for their hopeless hope.
However, they have discovered with gratifying applause that they have won in one area. They have shown their leaders that they can only crunch them but their fate, they can not determine for them. Therefore, what their leaders can not accomplish for them. They have done for themselves – the common men in Nigeria
Questions, comments or substantiated information of relevance to this write-up are welcome.
(Iwarefa)Ayoola Akinkunmi Olamide writes from G.R.A. Gombe.
