Ediale Kingsley borrows words from the legendary Fela Kuti and collects excerpts from an interview he conducted with Femi Kuti three days to the last Presidential election to ponder on the Operation Python Dance military exercise in the eastern part of Nigeria.
We follow. Nothing else, do we as a people, do more in this part of the world, than follow.
There are two major sets of people we follow. We follow political and spiritual leaders. For safety, health, living and leadership purpose, we are groomed to follow these two sets of people. Even for breathe, we follow.
But they fail us a great deal and help us in small ways, if at all they decide to do.
Nigeria, like most nations in the World are suffering from a peculiar poverty. The poverty of personnel. We do not have people skilled and selfless enough to lead.
We either get one that isn’t skilled, or one that isn’t selfless. Or we get one that has none of the needed qualities. To use the sentence; we have never been lucky with leadership, may be quite wrong. It’s not luck, it is lack. And I sadly give up on the search.
I took some time to appreciate and review our history. Even though the documents and national musicals serenades us with classy phrases and clauses like; ‘our national heroes’, ‘Fathers of democracy’, ‘heroes past’…etc. Yet the truth that stares at us is a mess.
I discovered, our heroes were thieves. Our political ancestors were rogues. And we are fools. Dumbsters and dullards.
In the name of politics we are raped in aggressive deceit.
I try to be a good patriotic fella but Fela was right these men are beast. When I interviewed Femi Kuti. Three days before the Presidential elections. He spoke to me in parables I ought to decipher with ease. “APC is Malaria, PDP is Typhoid”.
And so I asked ‘Are you not going to vote?’. Femi, first son of the Abami Kuti, said in direct reply — No!
” As a mentor isn’t that a bad answer to your people ? “
He said, “Fela talked, sang but the people still voted Obasanjo”.
Apparently, this is it!
There’s no hope in getting a good leader. But it would be a completely failed situation when the people are also irredeemable.
A philosopher said ” every nation deserves the leader she gets “.
Since the leader is picked amongst the people.
Now…
Something is happening in the East. The question is, what are our leaders doing right about it?
As a people (of the East,) there are two prominent group of persons that should be talking solutions. They ought to be concerned. These prominent people have been made powerful and wealthy by the sweat of the ordinary persons of the land.
I am talking about the Pastors and Rulers (Governors, Traditional leaders etc).
In times like this, I shouldn’t be the one talking. We should be listening to people good at sermonizing. Pastors wise enough to have largest single gatherings in Africa (some in the world) should talk.
Isn’t it funny that while we need a white man to make our Super Eagles successful, we do not require a white man to make our religious conglomerate successful.
Dangote runs his businesses smoothly and successful. Now elect that same individual as a political leader and we may not get that desired commitment.
If you are one of those fools still being used by these political gorillas. Well what can I say, just continue.
Or borrow sense from Fela Kuti’s song:
Mr. Follow Follow…
Make you open eyes…
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