Futility of revolution in Nigeria

The late civil rights crusader, Malcolm X once remarked that  Revolution is bloody and hostile and knows no compromise. It overturns and destroys everything that gets in its way . More so the legendary late Chairman Mao of China also observed that  Revolution is not a tea party because it is always watered with the blood of martyrs . In truth, the fear of revolution is the beginning of political wisdom. For some time now,

Nigerians are being treated to daily  lectures from some of the countrys politicians on the likelihood of a violent revolution if nothing is done to arrest the ongoing perceived drift of the nation. Such dire warnings from self styled messiahs are informed by the parlous state of the economy and consequence of inducing a cataclysm, the type that is now engulfing the Arab world. Surprisingly, those at forefront of this lecture circuit are former President, Olusegun Obasanjo and his successor, President Goodluck Jonathan. Before now, other past military dictators had used every opportunity to arouse Nigerians to the fact that the country needed urgent surgery, if it is to survive the perceived terminal illness.

The question is what exactly is rattling the cage and causing great unease among the political elites? Curiously, their worries centre on the monster of unemployment which has become too massive as to threaten the very fabric of the society. According to President Jonathan, the persistent problem of youth unemployment is capable of bringing about a revolution in the next five years if nothing is done about it. Earlier, Obasanjo had hinted darkly of a possible  Arab Spring if the present mass discontent among Nigerians is not urgently addressed. Not to be outdone, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Ahmed Hassan Al-Ghazali, warned his conclave compatriots of a possible mass revolt by northern youths if their increasing hopelessness is left to fester.

Interestingly, one single strand runs through these seemingly pious concerns of the political establishment and the operators, who in spite of their  luck and overwhelming material possessions, still make time to reflect on plight of the oppressed and destitute. But wait a bit, before we set in motion procedures for declaring their sainthood. The pertinent question is who is responsible for the present atrophied state of the nation? Well, the answer is located in the past. For example, former President Obasanjo, inherited a weak economy and i nfrastructure on coming to office in 1999, but for all the eight years in office, he hardly engaged his administration to improving and restructuring the economy to absorb the millions of stranded youths who now have become his utmost subject of concern.

Sadly, the Jonathan administration is treading in the same path of engaging in political homilies rather than coming up with convincing blue print for tackling the economic malaise. By evoking the spectre of a revolution, Jonathan is trying to shield himself from any vicarious liability for what has so far gone wrong with the system. But he must walk a fine line between political rhetoric and economic resolution. For Arewa Consultative Forum, it is worth reminding that in spite of belated cries over massive human and material blight in the north, the members are as much culpable and guilty for past recklessness.

So, all the posturing and postulations are staggeringly bizarre. Most times, Nigerian politicians can be excused for agitating their audiences. And they know the reasons for this. Intriguingly, for all their sanctimonious self interest and contrived sympathy, politicians know that Nigerians are incurably timid and incapable of revolution on any scale. Despite their wretched state and alarming levels of poverty, the people will rather live on their knees than die on their feet. Here is a country where people bore holes in the wall to escape when pushed to it.

A violent revolution is the last thing to take place on these shores, because there is rampant superstition that some mythical mercenaries from Mars will always fight their battles for them. Daily, Nigerians watch in awe, admiration and even trepidation as youths, many of them graduates with advance degrees, storm Tahir Square in Egypt, streets of Tripoli, Sanaa, Tunis and Damascus to battle well armed soldiers and police in disregard to personal safety and demanding for their oppressors and political goons to be brought to justice. Many have paid the supreme price for liberty and freedom and those still standing are never afraid to advance into battle at short notice.

Paradoxically, their Nigerian compatriots are in the habit of whining and bemoaning their fates and seeking solace in prayer houses and other esoteric places for divine guidance. There is reason for the recorded success in the Arab World and woeful failure in Nigeria. For example, Arab youths have their countries and believe in them. Therefore, they are ready to defend and die f or their patrimony. Conversely, Nigerian youths are bereft of such ic ons, so they champion the cause of narrow tribal interests and will rather join ethnic militias where they unleash mayhem on defenceless local peasants.