ENVIRONMENTAL AKALISM (I)
In spite of my outward show of being a romantic, of believing in ‘happily-ever-after’. In spite of the fact that I tend to view the world through rose colored lenses and stubbornly believe in basic human goodness. In spite of the fact that I am a dreamer and I don’t believe in the word ‘impossible’, I can be a level headed, cold eyed realist … this is the other extreme of my personality which I don’t allow to take total control of me. My bitchy, ‘never-say-die’ side, that side of me which drives me to excel at whatever I lay my hands on, that part of me which can be totally ruthless, callous and calculating.
That part of me that can look at situations dispassionately is what I use to look at my beloved country, Nigeria. I KNOW all the problems we have, I LIVE these problems with every air I draw into my lungs.
I wake up in the middle of the night and the problem hits me as oppressive, relentless heat and mutant mosquitoes. I PAY for the problems when I go shopping, when I pay my over inflated bills, when I try to buy the basic necessities of life. I INHALE the problem when I pass by gigantic heaps of refuse by the roadside. I’m EMBARRASED by the problem when I hear about another “pellow Nigerian” scamming someone from England or America (as if they don’t have enough scammers over there already!).
I get MAD at the problems when I hear or read about another method the Nigerian government has just invented to squander the money which rightfully belongs to the Niger Deltans. I HISS at the problem, when I encounter our men in uniform, who have sworn ‘to serve’ and ‘protect’ collecting 20 naira ‘offerings’ from commercial motorists.
I laugh at the problem when I see the idiocy of the people who have been forced over us by the ‘powers that be’ (e.g. ENVIRONMENTAL AKALISM, read part II and you MIGHT be able to understand what this means, I’m yet to figure it out myself). I WEEP for the problem when I see another mother and child dying due to the failure of the Nigerian government to provide basic amenities and infrastructures for its ‘fiffle’, when I see another demonstration of the “Don’t give a *&^n! Wether y’all live or die! I’m here to chop all the money till I quench!” Attitude of our so-called leaders.
So nobody should talk to me about the PROBLEMS confronting Nigeria. I’ve heard the country being described as ‘dead’, a failed state, moribund, hopeless, helpless, god-forsaken and other epithets and, honestly, I am sick and tired of these descriptions.
I will be the first one to admit that this country is sick and desperately in need of resuscitation, but I don’t want to hear another word about the ills, all I want to talk about now … all I want to DO now is find a way forward.
Since not all of us have dual citizenship or can apply for asylum (under any flimsy pretext), bully, beg, scam, marry or simply buy our way out of this country. Not all of us have the temperament to live as second class citizens or fugitives in somebody else’s country. And even if we’re willing to do any or all of the above, not all of us can get out of this country, I believe the only thing to do is find solutions to the problems besetting this country, after all we’re at rock bottom now and the only way out is UP. I strongly believe the only thing we can do is CHANGE.
I’m not talking about mass rallies, or the ‘miseducation’ of our people, I mean change that happens within individuals, when we change then we can change our environment. At this point in time, we have no other choice but to change
That part of me that can look at situations dispassionately is what I use to look at my beloved country, Nigeria. I KNOW all the problems we have, I LIVE these problems with every air I draw into my lungs.
I wake up in the middle of the night and the problem hits me as oppressive, relentless heat and mutant mosquitoes. I PAY for the problems when I go shopping, when I pay my over inflated bills, when I try to buy the basic necessities of life. I INHALE the problem when I pass by gigantic heaps of refuse by the roadside. I’m EMBARRASED by the problem when I hear about another “pellow Nigerian” scamming someone from England or America (as if they don’t have enough scammers over there already!).
I get MAD at the problems when I hear or read about another method the Nigerian government has just invented to squander the money which rightfully belongs to the Niger Deltans. I HISS at the problem, when I encounter our men in uniform, who have sworn ‘to serve’ and ‘protect’ collecting 20 naira ‘offerings’ from commercial motorists.
I laugh at the problem when I see the idiocy of the people who have been forced over us by the ‘powers that be’ (e.g. ENVIRONMENTAL AKALISM, read part II and you MIGHT be able to understand what this means, I’m yet to figure it out myself). I WEEP for the problem when I see another mother and child dying due to the failure of the Nigerian government to provide basic amenities and infrastructures for its ‘fiffle’, when I see another demonstration of the “Don’t give a *&^n! Wether y’all live or die! I’m here to chop all the money till I quench!” Attitude of our so-called leaders.
So nobody should talk to me about the PROBLEMS confronting Nigeria. I’ve heard the country being described as ‘dead’, a failed state, moribund, hopeless, helpless, god-forsaken and other epithets and, honestly, I am sick and tired of these descriptions.
I will be the first one to admit that this country is sick and desperately in need of resuscitation, but I don’t want to hear another word about the ills, all I want to talk about now … all I want to DO now is find a way forward.
Since not all of us have dual citizenship or can apply for asylum (under any flimsy pretext), bully, beg, scam, marry or simply buy our way out of this country. Not all of us have the temperament to live as second class citizens or fugitives in somebody else’s country. And even if we’re willing to do any or all of the above, not all of us can get out of this country, I believe the only thing to do is find solutions to the problems besetting this country, after all we’re at rock bottom now and the only way out is UP. I strongly believe the only thing we can do is CHANGE.
I’m not talking about mass rallies, or the ‘miseducation’ of our people, I mean change that happens within individuals, when we change then we can change our environment. At this point in time, we have no other choice but to change
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