That was a show we should all be glad that many missed. Some of the few who saw it – those who can still find a way to power their television sets – may not have thought of its import. Others may just have shaken their heads and hissed in a typical show of peaceful resentment that is uniquely Nigerian.
I speak of the award handed Dr Goodluck Jonathan at the Villa the other day. A seemingly forced smile playing on his lips, his hands stretched out in some slow, reluctant motion to receive a plaque from his loquacious Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the President showed no excitement about the matter at hand. Wasn’t the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) prize worth it?
According to Adesina, the award was for Nigeria’s reduction of hunger under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He told the President: “You’re feeding Nigeria and the international community recognises your efforts and leadership in feeding Nigeria. The FAO of the United Nations (UN) has just given a special recognition to Nigeria for the achievement of reducing the number of people suffering from chronic hunger and for making notable progress in guaranteeing food security for our citizens.”
He went on: “Your Excellency, according to FAO, the number of Nigerians suffering from hunger reduced from 19.31million in 1990 and 1992 to 13.38 in 2010 to 2012.”
Now, shouldn’t such hyperbolic obfuscations have their limits even in a country where deception is a big feature on the menu at every meal? How many homes did FAO officials visit in compiling these amazing figures? Isn’t this a clash of figures and reality? Or mere humbuggery?
But, Adesina wasn’t done. All smiles, he said: “The prevalent of undernourishment in our country declined from 19.3 per cent in 1990/1991 to 8.5 per cent by 2010/2012. This is below the MDG target of 9.7 per cent, which was set for 2015. Therefore, Nigeria has been recognised for achieving the MDG1 for hunger two years ahead of schedule. We are proud of the achievement, Mr President, because of your passion and leadership in pushing for food security in the country.”
Are we talking about Nigerians’culinary propensity in such superlatives? Many are struggling to fill up their stomachs and now the FAO is talking about nourishment. Bread prices have gone up several times. Forget about the superficial cassava loaf road show. Many kids have refused to stop begging for food in the North, with some governments finding excuses for this obscenity in the almajeri system. How many Nigerians eat well, the kind of meals nutritionists call balanced diet? How many eat three times daily? Beans is threatening to quit the menu list in some homes – no thanks to the Boko Haram madness that has sent farmers fleeing their trade in the Northeast.
There is so much hunger – and anger – in the land. Such duplicitous figures, no matter how credible the organisation churning them out, will not help. They will only fuel the resentment that is pervasive in the country where factories are closing down, where many jobs have been lost and electricity to power machines and run basic appliances of comfort is not available, where some states, such as Ekiti and Oyo, have started feeding their indigent citizens.
If the world has chosen to deceive us, must we deceive ourselves? Even our professional sycophants, servile flatterers and palace jesters are yet to see an opportunity in the award. No congratulatory advertorials on national television and in newspapers. No billboards in major cities proclaiming the rare feat. No delegations visiting the Villa. No medals for the phantom farmers who may have made this possible. This must be a rather strange award indeed.
The poor are getting more desperate even as the rich and powerful get more ravenous in their despicable assault on the common till. The pension fraud is as alarming as the brigandage in banking before the reforms. But, does anything still shock Nigerians? What has become of the Maina matter? The Senate issued a warrant for his arrest but the police claimed that they could not find the man who had an army of police guards around him. Many pensioners – part of those whose chronic hunger has been reduced, presumably – are dying of frustration after queuing up endlessly for their due.
A few weeks ago in Port Harcourt, road traffic officials arrested a motorist and insisted on towing his vehicle, his only source of livelihood, to their office where he would pay a fine. The poor motorist begged the officials to spare him. They refused. As they got set to tow the car away, the motorist fell under it and started shouting that he would rather be crushed than see his car towed away. Stalemate. The officials, thankfully, realised that they would not win the battle; they let go. Such is the desperation of many Nigerians, who have lost hope in the system.
I do not have the figures but stories of people committing suicide because they have lost the battle against poverty are common in the newspapers. When hunger lashes the stomach, depression sets in and, if help fails to come, suicide seems an attractive alternative.
The Arab Spring story is still fresh in our memory. Tarek al-Tayeb Mohammed Bouazizi was an unknown Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire when a policewoman seized his wares on December 17, 2010. His self-immolation sparked wide protests that eventually forced then President Zine El Abdine Ben Ali to abdicate his office, which he had held for 23 years. He fled. The protests spread like wild fire in the harmattan, hitting other Arab countries.
I remember Prof Wole Soyinka warning that no matter how much benevolent a dictatorship is, it is no alternative to the people’s right to choose and freedom of expression. The Nobel laureate was delivering the African Development Bank’s Eminent Speaker’s Lecture in Tunis. That was in October 2010. The riots broke out in January 2011. How prescient.
The other day in Lagos, a friend of mine watched as a council official grabbed a motorcyclist and snatched him off his bike. He accused the commercial motorcyclist of plying an unauthorised route. He insisted on taking the okada away, but the motorcyclist was begging frantically for mercy. The mean council official called for reinforcement. Two others stormed the scene. They overpowered the motorcyclist and took away his bike. Frustrated, the poor man sprang up and flung himself on the ground, crying, kicking and screaming. His bike – most likely his only source of income – was gone. Gone for good.
Who would have thought that soccer would ever be a source of acrimony in Brazil? The carnival, the samba and the scantily kitted belles swinging their waists. For ages, soccer created a veneer of Eldorado for Brazilians. Everyday was like Christmas. Now, there is a popular revolt against the god of soccer – to the consternation of the world. Crowds have gathered for about two weeks, railing against the system, their protest sparked by a bus fare hike. Coincidentally, the Confederations Cup – a dress rehearsal for the 2014 World Cup – is on. Now, the people are saying enough of soccer stadia; give us jobs, food and better education.
In Turkey, the government’s seemingly innocuous plan to redesign a park in the beautiful city of Istanbul has caused a nationwide protest. The protesters complained of lack of consultations. The government replied with an iron fist, unleashing the full might of the police on them. Now, the action has engulfed most of the major cities. The government has apologised, but the fire rages on as the protesters demand more freedom of speech, right to assembly and resignation of the Erdogan government.
It is as clear as a sunny day that the park matter was only a springboard to launch a massive attack on a system that many consider not good enough. The anger had been there for long, even in a country where the economy is doing fine. The global economic downturn did not hurt Turkey; trade is growing and the prospects of joining the European Union (EU) looked great – until the protests.
Tunisia, Turkey and Brazil are a few exhibitions of the limits of human patience and ability to endure pains, physical and psychological pains inflicted by the very people who swore to make life easy for the ordinary man by implementing policies that promote justice and better living conditions for all.
The government is overwhelmed by domestic problems –some of them self-inflicted. Boko Haram continues to ravage some parts of the North, despite the state of emergency. Armed robbers and their cousins, the kidnappers, are on the rampage – the ill-equipped and poorly motivated police are fighting with their bare hands even as the Federal Government would brood no idea of a state police – and diseases are killing many who would have survived in better places.
Amid the rot, the government is embroiled in running battles over 2015 . Like a novice, it mixes politics with governance. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is like a demonic mother hen killing its own chicks. Rivers. Adamawa. Sokoto. And others.
Caution. Caution. The amber lights are on. Will the government notice this?
