Speculate, make naive insinuations, talk about
conspiracies and counter conspiracies, talk about holes in the government,
treason and stories of unparalleled patriotism.
These are the attributes of the common man when
he is faced with the machinery of power which constantly remains out of his
modest reach. This is a factor of life that rarely changes. The little man
afraid of change desires to swim in his little pool of mediocrity and royalty
also afraid of change do all they can to make sure the little man remains little.
At some point, we must ask ourselves who are the
powers that are? What gears are in motion? Who is the faceless kingmaker? In a
country like Nigeria the term complexity cannot be overstated. The makeup of
the country itself is as complex as anything could be.
Somehow though, a status quo is maintained. Her
gears grind on albeit to certain ruin. I always wonder though. Who are the
forces we feel but never truly see? With this question in mind I set out to
profile and try to understand these forces.
First name that comes to mind strangely enough is
Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi who listed the Seven Deadline sins as;
Wealth without works
Pleasure without conscience
Science without humanity
Knowledge without character
Politics without principle
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice
How true his words are in present day Nigeria.
All these factors present can only give rise to a nation whose citizens
become numb to anything unbecoming. Atrocities are met with bland looks and indifference.
Present day Nigeria would regard the massacre of
a hundred of its citizens with barely half an hour of news being aired. The
country seems to be in some sort of convulsed spasm or death throw.
A change in the status quo cannot come any sooner.
