GHANA'S INVASION OF NIGERIA: The Shame Of Africa's Giant

The recent Ghanaian attack on Nigeria's High Commission in the country is a matter capable of inspiring shock, outrage and unlimited fury. Above all, it is a matter that has put every Nigerian in the shadow of shame due to the disgraceful response of our lifeless president and his walking dead government.

Frankly, it's quite a surprise to see our once great country at such rock bottom level. A giant of the continent whose face is being regularly spit on by much lesser countries like South Africa and Ghana! But the most annoying part is that most of these insults have gone unpunished under this government! In fact, after hundreds of Nigerians had been killed in the so-called rainbow nation, the president of our country shamelessly travelled to South Africa at the summons of the president of that country. In fact, he went there to smile and laugh with the man! As if that was not enough, Ghana has also dedicated herself to harassing and molesting our citizens and their interests in Ghana. In other words, we have become the useless can that everyone kicks about anyhow they like.

But all these are child's play compared to the recent invasion of a building in our High Commission in Ghana's capital. Since the story is still developing, we cannot be very sure about the circumstances surrounding the incident, but the two most shocking parts of the aftermath are the responses of both countries. Ghana has gotten so used to making jest of us and molesting our citizens that their government simply settled for an apology over a presidential phone call! It's like an ant, after injuring the baby of an elephant, decides to lean back in his chair and call the adult elephant to say sorry. Isn't that laughable?

But the most laughable part is the coolness and nonchalance with which our government and president have taken the matter. In fact, our legislature is considering sending a high-powered delegation to Ghana! Disgrace upon insult! The Ghanaian president ought to run down here to tender an official apology in person! We could launch a military invasion on Ghana, you know. But of course, this useless government won't do more than 'condemn' the act and leave it at that. Since other African countries have slapped us and gotten away with it, why won't Ghana feel so unperturbed? Can you blame them for the fact that we have a useless government led by a lifeless president? This is the same Ghana whose citizens we housed and fed when they hit rock bottom just a few decades ago. Suddenly, they have grown so big to be able to knock our head and slap our face without any serious response from us! Haba! The big question, fellow Nigerians, is, who cursed our country??

Coronavirus and Nigeria's Response 2

In the previous installment, I talked about the lack of sensible strategy to provide relief for the Nigerian people in the midst of this economy and life destroying but environment saving virus. So far, we've had very low and slow testing and series of quick and serious lockdowns. The government expects people to get sick and then present themselves to get tested after probably spreading the virus far and wide. But the most annoying part of it all is the lack of financial or other essential support for the people they are ordering to stay at home.
An average Nigerian knows for a fact that his government or governments at every level are nothing other than a group of liars and fraudsters. With the coming of this virus, it is more than apparent the degree of lies and fraud governments at all levels are enacting. They claimed to have given poor Nigerians billions in food and financial assistance, but we are yet to see a single individual acknowledge receipt of such assistance. Even in areas where food is shared by the government, it is usually paltry and unwholesome. Individuals and organizations are doing far better than the Federal Government in assisting the people in this perilous times. State governments that claimed to have done much could very well be spouting false propaganda. In Nigeria, seeing is not believing. You must see, touch, test, and consume before believing.

Most Nigerians are some of the poorest and most hungry people on earth, but the way and manner the President and members of the Federal Task Force do not miss an opportunity to laugh or smile is very much annoying. It is more like a mockery of the hapless situation they and the virus have put innocent Nigerians in. They are not doing enough and they know it, but they don't look worried at all. They seem to be only concerned about themselves. From the beginning, they have held on tightly to their assorted masks without thinking for a moment whether hundreds of millions of other Nigerians have easy access to masks too. 

For the first time, with the death of Abba Kyari and the shameless admission of the SGF, they now recognize the glaring and obvious state of our health system. But what are they doing to fix it? Of course, they intend to rely on domestic private hospitals since they cannot fly abroad again. But what will poor locked down and more-hungry-than-eve­r Nigerians do? How will they survive lockdown after lockdown after lockdown with no support whatsoever from the government? Which kills faster and more certainly: hunger or the virus? Coronavirus is fatal to people with pre-existing conditions and the most common pre-existing condition in Nigeria is poverty/hunger. But the government and its agencies do not care. Instead it's an avenue to launder billions and oppress innocent citizens. So why must we obey the lockdown order? If we are going to die from the virus, why die hungry? Can someone please remind our thieving failure of a government that only living people catch viruses? Nigerians must not only fight hard to survive this ravaging virus, they must also fight harder to survive their more ravaging government.

TWISTED

When I say certain things to fellow Nigerians, they sneer and call me holier-than-thou. But these things I say are usually simple things that an average sane normal human being would easily be able to do or relate with. 

The problem with us as a people is that we have found ourselves in a rotten society where it's easier and more commonplace to be wrong than to be right. It's now part of our culture for people to be twisted and think upside down. And it has become so suffocating that an average Nigerian now has a sort of Stockholm Syndrome. Some people do not like to be wrong and twisted, but the society seems to require it of every individual, so people are forced to be that way. When you see a fellow Nigerian, you expect him to also be twisted like you and if he isn't, which is not so common, you tag him a hypocrite or pretender because you now see being wrong and twisted as the status quo - a normal, a necessity. It's in you and you expect it to be in everyone else in Nigeria (even though you know it probably exists nowhere else), just as much as other Nigerians expect to see it in you. Such wrong and twisted characteristics include everything from corruption to dishonesty to substandard products/services. Doing these things make you feel normal and accepted by all, because that's what everyone else is doing, and you're not so wrong.

A family member would always tell me, "you have to do things that will make people 'respect you'". It doesn't matter if it's wrong or right, the most important thing is respect. In my experience, respect in Nigerian terms is hardly ever a good thing. It either means fear or popularity. And being popular in a twisted society can only mean that you're twisted. You earn respect because of how much government money you have stolen, how many women you have played, how much violence you have enacted and how much fear you have inspired. Such people almost always grow up to be leaders in the society at all levels. They become traditional, religious, government, security and political leaders. That's why the country has remained twisted: because the people, society and leadership are all twisted.

Coronavirus And Nigeria's Response

Ever since the coronavirus began its killing spree, there has been a lot of panic among people and various forms of responses from governments around the world. Countries in Africa have not been shy about slamming travel bans on developed countries who have been the most hit by the virus. But Nigeria, in her own special way, always has something funnily different to offer.

Our dear Federal Government, bowing to pressure, started with a very late travel ban on countries with more than 1000 cases of the virus, not effective immediately, but days later. Meanwhile, international airports continued to receive passengers from around the world. The height of recklessness, if you ask me. We've seen that the states, led by Lagos who has the most cases, are putting serious efforts into containing the virus, but our placeholder Federal Government has so far done little or nothing. Even the Senate President recently confirmed that the government was at zero level preparedness, financially and technically. No suitable medical facilities, no concrete plans and with funding being appropriated in lips and tongues.

The other day, I watched on AIT as two confused NCDC help line operators gave two different information when presented with a question of response to a potential case of the virus. That alone is enough to tell you that the Federal Government is by no means taking this virus very seriously. Correct information is not readily available, leaving Nigerians at the mercy of fake news peddlers like that bracket fool the Americans call a president. Instead of simply shutting down the airports, the Federal Government has decided to continue its unnecessary international 'good face', doing a peacock catwalk that nobody's watching, thereby putting the states through a lot of work with contact tracing and testing of arrivals. With a failed healthcare system like ours, such a pandemic is not something we should play ping-pong with. We are mighty lucky that sub-Saharan Africans are not very much affected by the virus, but luck can run out at any time. What would we do then?

While other countries have rolled out stimulus packages to cushion the effect of the virus' impact on citizens and their businesses, Nigeria whose poor citizens and constantly strangled local businesses need such stimulus the most has responded by announcing some half-hearted waivers and 'using shame to style-style' reduce the fuel price by a meager 20naira (US$0.05), even though international oil prices have plummeted. Grand wickedness and outright shameless robbery in all its ugly glory. Even while faced with the threat of a pandemic, the citizens of the failed state called Nigeria have not yet deserved pity from the heartless and lifeless government in Abuja. The question is, what did ordinary Nigerians do to this government apart from making the grave mistake of voting for it? Can't they be forgiven and treated nicely for once??