Tag Archives: Nigeria

issues

AND LEAD US NOT INTO STUPIDITY…

Anyone seen the movie/documentary “Age of Stupid”? Every time I think of Nigeria my mind zaps back to the film, which coincidentally was partly shot in Nigeria. The basic storyline is that someone sits in the devastated future (2055) and watches archive footage from 2008 and wonders why no one did anything to stop the calamity that befell mankind. As extreme as they may have characterized the central thesis of their flick, what draws immediate consideration is the point we always have the opportunity to change things and predetermine the course which we may take. But what always makes history is the fact that we do nothing until our writers have to laboriously record on the pages of our sad histories what grave mistakes we have always made.

We always have the chance to make things right when things go wrong. This is an ability and privilege given to all men wherever they may be. But when it comes to collective decision making, too many cooks will spoil the broth, therefore we entrust that ability to certain men to make choices on our behalf. Well, this is predicated on the hope that the ones we choose to make such decisions are truly them that represent the nearest possible values which we all cherish. So when the ship of State appears to hit high waters, and the terrain becomes rough, we trust that the captains on board will grab the wheels and twist and turn until we steer clear of danger. But when the boat is rocked, and our captains are shocked, I refer to this as “a plot of stupidity”.

For a while, I have refrained from writing about the utter mess going on in Nigeria because I cannot always make a clear case from a point of anger. I have tried to coat my emotions by creating punditry out of the myriad of commentaries on the matter. I have watched also as many Nigerians have managed the ongoing by mockery and mild jocosity, all in an effort to wade off the immense stress that such nonsense can mount on the human mind. From one case to another, Nigeria has featured severally in the international media as playing the case of the preposterously bizarre-like character that you can always find in plots of revenge seeking movies. While we are dealing with the bad public make up we have just been slapped with as a terrorist nation, we are busy generating bad breath internally as though an ugly face is not bad enough; it must be matched with foul odour from the inside.
Continue reading →

Standard
issues

RECALLING THE KING OF NIGERIAN ROADS

As I boarded the vehicle to hit the airport, after a heated holiday in Nigeria (I mean this literally), I somehow managed to notice the brand of car I was about to ride. But when we hit the Third Mainland Bridge I became conscious again of all the cars zooming past our crawling automobile. I was a bit taken aback to see that eight out of the first ten cars I counted were of the same brand as the one I was in. I kept counting to prove me wrong on which car maker dominated the Nigerian market. I only rested my case when I had probably counted like a hundred of them.

Toyota clearly is the brand that rules the Nigerian car market, and if my zooming research is anything to go by, I would easily conclude that 80% of the cars on Nigerian roads are of the Toyota brand. Do I have any beef with that? Certainly not! Toyotas are cheap, easily maintained, and Nigerians love their Toyota models, especially their Prados, Landcruisers, Lexus, 4Runners, Avensis, Highlanders, Rav4s, Camrys, Corollas, Yaris, Avalons…should I continue? These cars are the dominating models featured on the auto-fashion shows on our roads. If it were possible, there would be Toyota coup in the country.

Toyota prides itself in stating that its guiding principle is “contributing to the development of a prosperous society through the manufacture of automobiles”. Obviously we may not question that at this juncture until certain questions on key indicators are asked. My main concern is with the recent developments with the car makers based in Japan on the recall of their vehicles in the US, Europe, and China. While there is probably a bigger market in these locations than in Africa, especially with the environmentally friendly Prius model, I am hoping that there will be an immediate recall to all affected vehicles in Africa, especially Nigeria.
Continue reading →

Standard
issues

BUILDING ON THE STRENGTH OF THE TIME

If you look or listen around, you will feel a sudden surge in the concerns we all have for our country. Most important is that young Nigerians all over are really building interest in the Nigerian project and there seems to be an increasing passion on experiencing due changes in all facet of the nation’s existence.  Every time you raise national issues in a discussion, everyone has a comment to make, and interestingly, such commentaries are loaded with intelligent submissions.

Not too long ago I was talking with a few young Nigerians who have barely lived in the country. As usual the subject of Nigeria came up, especially as we have been recently characterized as a rudderless ship floating nowhere. I was astonished at the extent to which these young ones have grown more competent in understanding the complexities of the society and having their minds congealed with high opinions on what’s going on and how this can be corrected. I find this to be fascinating because only a few years ago, young people were barely interested with what was going on in the country, especially with folks living without the country.

Today, everything that speaks Nigeria is basically an attempt at recreating an image for the country. From our entertainers, educators, researchers, scientists, and even social commentators, there is a word about Nigeria on everyone’s lip. On the lighter side (or maybe more serious than I think), we have suddenly become so internationally popular for differing reasons. From spinning adverts to freaky movies and to even underwear knockouts on a fateful Christmas day, Nigeria has had more than the usual dose of notoriety, which has evoked a plethora of commentaries, even from those who aforetime least mattered in the domain of public discourse.  Everyone is throwing something into this seething pot and hoping that we will eat the produce thereof and be glad.

Continue reading →

Standard