I hate to think about it yet it cannot stop bothering me. The more I try to dismiss it, the more it tries to envelop my thoughts. A raging storm is gathering over my country and a heavy rain may be in the offing. The lightning and thunder sound exactly like those my mother once told me happened last in the late 60s. The signs are so unsettling that it has made me to suddenly begin to visualise those tragic tales in our history books and the indelible scars littered around our national landscape. It was one single devastating rain that changed the architecture of our nation, almost irredeemably. Is history about to repeat itself' Does it serve us better to sit akimbo in mute indifference as if all is well' I am getting very panicky and I need help and it seems that I am not alone. I have spoken to some prominent Nigerians in different locations and they have expressed similar sentiments of exasperation. Someone even went to the extent of calling for a speedy peaceful separation. There is a strange anger in the land and if the pulse is anything to go by, then, we may be preparing for something very awful. In my almost 40 years of existence, there has never been a time when the cracks and crevices on the entity called Nigeria became this obvious. I must confess that these subtle signs have always been there both in private and public life but the covert nature of the manifestations meant that we could pretend and tag along. Whenever there were occasional outbursts of reality, our pretentious leaders always had new explanations to offer to either console or deceive us after the damage had been done. To them, the false integration and mutual suspicion must continue as along as it served the interest of the fat cats. Is the story about to change' How' The wave of gloominess has grown so deep that it is now difficult for anyone to ignore. I have tried without success to trace the source of the current divisive ferocity and almost complete erosion of national cohesion. Pundits point to the drama that played out after the unfortunate demise of our former President. Others associate the results of the 2011 elections as possible sources of grievance of those who are allegedly generating the current discord in the polity. I find these justifications bizarre. Anyone who is peripherally familiar with the Nigerian Constitution will know that a major event such as the death of a sitting President will naturally lead to a change in gear. It was odd to discover that rather than strategise on the way forward, some so-called cabals concentrated on backward tactics that almost precipitated a national pandemonium. That is history, at least for now, though we can now claim a new word in our political lexicon. Amazingly, many people are yet to get over that reality. There are still body languages, actions and inactions across that teach divisive lessons and reinforce old prejudices. Two descriptions of the Nigerian reality best capture the mood. The first is the description that Nigeria is just a geographical expression, while the second is the assertion that Nigeria is an amorphous amalgam of individuals busy pretending to be a people. Both claims came from individuals who are so experienced about national affairs that one can hardly ignore their views. Could it be that the truism in those statements are about to play out fully' Many Nigerians believe that the only reason for pretensions to collectivism on the Nigerian project is the regular availability of monthly cake to be shared. This consumerist approach has made us a global poster child for resource curse as any attempt at national development ends up as coitus interruptus. Those whose responsibility it is to develop Nigeria do not even have a simple consensus yet on the 'how'. The universal language is plundering and self-enrichment, while rent seeking and patronage represent a shared vision that permeates the (imaginary) barricades of ethnicity and religion created by the Nigerian elite.To be continuedIgwe lives in Washington DC. He can be reached on ucheigwe@gmail.com
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