WHEN WE SPEAK COLLECTIVELY UNAFRAID OF AN “OGA AT THE TOP”
On Monday, April 28th 2014 I posted on my Facebook
timeline (and copied to my Twitter handle) that “something tells me that if
half the number of Nigerians on social media, especially those on Facebook and
Twitter, will sincerely out of patriotism and humanity speak/write for just one
week against some of the ills in Nigeria, some kinda solutions will begin to
manifest. There were a lot of reactions and counter-reactions at that time of
my posting this.
But what prompted me to write this now is because of a recent
encounter I had with one of my “very good” friends “outside of Facebook”. This
“real life” friend of mine is an ardent “hater” of Facebook (but he loves to
hear Facebook gossips with passion). He approached me and said that someone “powerful”
told him that he should advice me to close my Facebook account because I’m
beginning to get (negative) attention of “the ogas at the top”. That I have
become the talk of “town”; that I’m becoming a “social media nuisance”; that
I’m just wasting my time over things I cannot change, things him and I don’t
have solutions to; that I’m blah, blah, blah… on Facebook.
At a point I had to ask him to let me respond to his
assertion, reminding him that I’m on Facebook not because I love being there
but because I have four kids (and counting) and I want a better future for
them. I may be wasting my time on Facebook for now but I believe that my kids and
those of other Nigerian should have a better future; if perchance one or more
of the “ogas at the top” could realize my criticism and sincerely take them in
good faith. Moreover, there are bigger “social media critics” than myself, so I
don’t think the person that asked him to talk to me was really referring to me.
Before I opened my Facebook account in early 2009, I also used
to think that everyone on Facebook kind of has nothing doing and that being on
Facebook is just a TOTAL WASTE of time. Later I realize that my generalization
of everyone on Facebook as a “TIME WASTER” was somehow wrong. Of course just
like in other spheres of life that we have the good; the bad; and the ugly, so
it is on Facebook. I have realized that Facebook can be a virus as well as an
antivirus depending on the user. Through Facebook I have met remarkable friends
who were able to broaden my perspective and views on so many issues in life;
majority of whom are older and more experienced than myself.
I have often taken chances and aired my views on issues
relating to things that are sometimes not related to my field of
specialization. That I know has delighted some of the people that visit and
read my Facebook timeline posts. There were also times when what I posted on my
timeline got me into “trouble”. That is how life is even when one decides not
to be on any of the social media. Getting into “trouble” doesn’t require anyone
to be on a social media.
I often write against some of the ills in our society not
because I love being a critic or that I don’t know the remedies to the ills I
mention. But because it is part of my responsibility as a human being and as
part of the society to care to point out to anyone responsible to correct the
wrongs/ills I have mentioned. I may not have the power to correct these ills
neither could anybody not saddled with the governance of the society. Ours is
to point out where the ills are and it’s up to the leadership in the society to
remedy the ills. We know that there are times when people will point to us our
faults in order for us to correct ourselves. These are people that care about
our progress in life I suppose. They constructively criticize us directly or
indirectly not because they hate us or what we stand for but because they wish
us well. I have always seen the sense in Albert Einstein’s saying that “the world is a dangerous place to live in
not because of those who do evil but because of those that sit back and let it
(the evil) happen”. Also, there is an adage in Hausa that says “gyara kayanka bai zama sauke muraba ba”. When
people in a society decide to keep mute on issues that directly or indirectly
affect them because of the fear of being call names then there’s a problem
somewhere. This is the instance when “silence is no longer golden”.
I have always wondered how some people think that the citizens
of a country can independent of government policies and regulations make
meaningful contributions in the society. Of course the progress of any society
requires the positive input of both the citizens and the government but the
contribution from the government is always more and larger. The citizens will
only end up fooling themselves if they feel they can do it alone without the
government chipping in by way of formulating and regulating policies and programmes.
Nigeria is where it is right now because of either ineptitude
of the government to formulate “citizen-friendly” policies or its inability to
properly regulate policies and programmes or both. The citizens have also
contributed to the decadence of the nation to its present state by either being
a party to the government’s ineptitude and inabilities and/or their silence on
glaring negatives impacting on the country. The citizens have also being
sycophantic and sometimes amnesic on issues that have negative impact on the
country. Tribalism, ethnicity, religious bigotry and what have you have all
being problems of this great nation mainly from the citizens. These have
clouded the thinking capacity of both the government and citizens to see issues
of national interest with the view to correcting the ills in the society.
We cannot develop and progress as a nation as long as we
continue to remain silent on the negative actions of the government (and some
few individual citizens that are outside the government) for fear of being
noticed by “ogas at the top”. A good government is one that listens to its
people so that it can be guided on the steps to take in formulating policies
and programmes that will ultimately bring about development and progress to the
land.
Good people in every generation get hurt whenever they do not
point out and alert the authorities on the ills facing the society. They also
can get hurt when the authorities do not care to listen to them; worst of all
is when the authorities decide to cage them or annihilate them. But a sane
society will always have such people who will continue to speak out for the
benefit of the present generation and that of the future.
A great Nigerian (who still believes in the potentials of
this great nation) once said that “This generation of Nigerians and indeed the
future generations have no other country than Nigeria. We must remain here and
salvage it together.” I now humbly add that not just “remaining” in Nigeria to
salvage it, but we must together also speak against injustice, corruption,
lawlessness and all the other forms of ills in the society. And not just on
social media but wherever we are chanced and opportune to do so, unafraid of
being spotted by any of the “ogas at the top”.
