I have been away from this page for a little over a month. First I took a short vacation to the big apple to fulfill part of my parental obligations to my daughters, and when I returned I relocated temporarily to Ondo State in my determination to become reintegrated with my people. I am desirous of becoming one of the catalysts of change in this nation, using the humble beginning of my home state as a springboard. Though it is still early in the day, the story of this adventure will form the basis of an article in the coming weeks. We can no longer afford to be on the sidelines.

Ondo state is one of the poorest States in Nigeria, yet it is one of the oil producing States. It is a State blessed with human and natural resources, yet it has one of the lowest per capita income in Nigeria. On paper, Ondo is one of the most educated in Nigeria, yet its educational institutions churn out on a yearly basis graduates with non-functional education. The State has the lowest number of small and medium enterprises in the South West Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria, no functional industry and agriculture is practiced at the subsistence level. Ondo State is a typical example of the failure of leadership across the length and breath of Nigeria. It is a sad testimony of opportunities wasted and paradise lost.

One would assume that the deprived citizens of a supposedly educated State with supposedly ‘enlightened people’ would realize that salvation lies in the devotion of resources and energy to productive activities and selection of vibrant leaders. Alas! Most of the political followership in the Sunshine State are so beaten by the rainfall of deprivation that they make choices based on the urge to satisfy immediate needs for survival. It is the same sad tale prevalent all over Nigeria… The quest for instant benefits has blinded our people so much that they no longer feel any pain when they are being raped.  The poor people in the villages have become like pawns in the chessboard of the political game. A bag of rice here, a bag of fertilizer there or a token gift of Five Hundred Naira during electioneering campaign are all it take for the masses to be sucked into the void within the wheels of fortune controlled by political masters. Unfortunately as more people are sucked into the poverty class of 2016, an end to this political game does not appear to be near. ‘As you make your bed so you lie on it’ is an old adage. Ondo people will have an opportunity to make a set of choices in November 2016, the outcome of which would impact their well being for the next four years. I pray that they are able to see through the deception of the rice and fertilizer merchants as they make their choices.

I returned to Lagos a few days ago. The journey that should ordinarily take about five hours took ten and a half hours because of the poor state of the roads. The roads to the rocky terrains of Akoko land in the Northern part of Ondo State lie in ruin, a testimony to years of neglect by successive Governments of the State and the nation. A journey through Akoko, an area previously acclaimed for its beautiful mountains and rich Cocoa and Kolanut plantations can be likened to a journey into DO Fagunwa’s ‘Forest of a Thousand Demons’. If one manages to escape the demonic roads through Akoko towns and villages, one is welcomed by red carpets of failed portions of the Owo/Akure, Ilesa/Ibadan or the Ore/Shagamu roads. Road travel in Nigeria is not for the faint hearted.  Living in Nigeria of 2016 is actually not for the faint hearted! Failed roads, falling value of the national currency, high inflation, high interest rates, increasing unemployment, and an economy in recession. It is indeed raining on our parade!

Amidst all the gloom, the citizens are not even free to enjoy one of the few things that have not been affected by the rate of the dollar…The right to freedom of speech. One cannot genuinely say anything in this country now without being pilloried by one person or the other either as a wailer or one of those who brought the ancestors upon us. Whereas social media was created for freedom of expression, the social media hawks have succeeded in driving many decent people into cocoons within the cyber space. What has really come over us? Have we lost our path so much that our relationships, thoughts and actions are exclusively guided by politics? When did our nation turn into a Banana Republic where individual rights to free speech cannot be guaranteed?  Young men and women who should ordinarily be at the front of a national vanguard for national rebirth are now like hyenas hunting for the head of anyone who dared express a view contrary to the position of their paymasters.

The sad part is that the harassment culture is in the name of loyalty. The Presidential election in Nigeria held about eighteen months ago, yet relationship between individuals in most parts of country are still being defined by divisions engendered by that election. Those who consider themselves loyal to the past government will crucify you if you fail to condemn the policies of the present government, while those who consider themselves loyal to the ruling party will do the same if you dare complain about the devaluation of the Naira. It is worse at the level of the States where loyalty even gets to the social space and one could killed or expelled from a community for voicing a different political opinion.  Expressing loyalty has gone beyond mere devotion or allegiance to a cause to antagonizing others for holding a different opinion. Is that how to express loyalty? What really is loyalty anyway?

I know what it means to be loyal. I have been loyal to Nigeria all my life. I took the ‘oath of allegiance’ to the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the tender age of sixteen when loyalty had an unambiguous definition. It was defined then as the ability to tell truth to friends, acquaintances and leaders whilst standing by them through thick or thin. You are loyal when you are able to tell your friend who has a mouth odor that other friends are avoiding him because of the smell of his mouth, rather than allowing him to wallow in ignorance. Loyalty is not hiding behind a mask and pretending to friends that all is well when all is amiss. ‘Loyalty means I am down with you whether you are wrong or right but I will tell you when you are wrong and help you get it right’ (Author Unknown).

 I still recall a particular training session when an instructor at the State House Annex Academy (as it was then called) taught us that the interest of the State is superior to the interest of the leader and that if ever there was a conflict between the interest of the State and that of the leader we were to remain loyal to the State. At what point was that part of the doctrine removed from the training manual of the agents of the Nigerian State? So why should the criticism of a governor for not doing well amount to being disloyal? Why should complaints that the downturn of the economy of Nigeria was a result of the inaction of the Federal Government turn people into disloyal party members and citizens?

We really need to understand what loyalty means in this nation if we are to move forward. We must all elect to tell our leaders the home truth. Our leaders at all levels are not doing well. They have not done well. They will not do well unless we all gird our loins and stop the patronizing attitude of praising them for failures or keeping mute so that we are not regarded as ‘disloyal’. For heaven’s sake this nation is bigger than any individual or political party. Our loyalty must be to the nation.