IN NIGERIA, THE SUBJECT SEEMS SAME AS THE SOVEREIGN

IN NIGERIA, THE SUBJECT SEEMS SAME AS THE SOVEREIGN

By Bala Ibrahim

There is a popular Hausa political program on Freedom Radio Kano called, Kowane Gauta Ja Ne. The pivotal theme of the Programme is to tell the listener that, when subjected to the same temperature and pressure, without prejudice to class or crass, many people are likely to succumb to the temptation of petty thievery. When subjected to heat or sunlight, every garden egg would turn red. So said the adage.

In something supportive of that adage or theme, someone sent a Hausa cliché to me this morning, that reads, thus, “Ba zaka gane waye talakan Nigeria ba, sai kaje k’auye, ka bashi amanar gonarkar, nan zaka gane bannancinsu da y’an siyasa zab’e ne kawai”.

The literal meaning of the cliché is, In Nigeria, you wouldn’t know the difference between the subject and the sovereign except when you entrust the subject with your farm in the village. That’s when you would come to know that, the only thing separating the subject and the sovereign politicians is nothing but election.The ambition of the expression is simple: to tell people that when it comes to the issue of trust, many are culprits, with regards truthfulness, ethicality, fairness, or the collective will to resist the temptation of cheating. The down trodden are always quick to accuse their leaders of collective corruption. Leaders in Nigeria are permanently accused of dishonesty, untrustworthy behaviours and insincerity. They are called thieves. And the accusations always come from the subjects, or those at the bottom of the ladder. The downtrodden in short.

Now subject these downtrodden to a trust test, particularly in the village, where the cry of injustice is loudest against the leadership, the result would shock you. They would fail. That’s Nigeria for you. Politicians are victims of stigmatization, because of the accusation that the downtrodden are treated very badly by those of them in power. The subjects do not have the ability or the energy to do anything about it, because of the powers of the people in power. Another slogan is that, the business owner is making huge profits at the expense of the downtrodden peasants. And the condemnation continues.

This morning, I did something similar to a referendum, or what people in power would call, a plebiscite, by sharing the Hausa cliché with a number of people on my contact. Almost all the people I sent the message to, responded with approval. That is to say, they have undoubtedly agreed to the truth of that submission. Some even came up with an addendum, that adds to the sins of the subjects.

One of the addendums from a Fulani friend says, “Ko ka bashi Shanun ka kiwo”. In other words, the respondent is saying, or you entrust him( the villager) with the care of your herds. In this case, cattle. In all, today, with regards the subject of trust, my survey had come up with the verdict of a general vote of no confidence on the downtrodden.

In his article, The Masses Are the Makers of History, Tien Chih-sung, wrote, “WHO makes history? The heroes or the slaves? This is a basic question underlying the long-continued struggle between the idealist and the materialist conceptions of history. To preserve their reactionary rule, the exploiting classes have for thousands of years invariably resorted to reversing history by propagating the idealist conception of history, the conception that history is made by heroes. A few heroes belonging to the exploiting classes have been referred to by them as ”talents by natural endowment” or identified with ”god’s will” and as makers of history. On the other hand, the masses have been branded the ”mob” who can only put themselves at the mercy of the heroes, or, worse still, ”inert matter” holding back historical progress”

Am not sure Tien is knowledgeable enough, about the truthfulness of the Nigerian masses, whom he said, are packed alongside, and have been branded as, “the mob”. Yes, the Nigerian masses make history, but in some cases, the history of dishonourableness.

Leveraging on the countless confessions I received, about the truthfulness of the propensity of some of the poor to cheat, I make bold to say, the time has arrived, for us to do a review of our collective conscience, by changing the direction of the narrative of condemnation, from the leaders always, to the censure of the followers also.

Yes, in Nigeria, if we have the dificit of honour in some of the leaders, we need also to acknowledge the dificit of sincerity in some of the followers. Because, on matters of honesty, the subject seems same, as the sovereign.

IN NIGERIA, THE SUBJECT SEEMS SAME AS THE SOVEREIGN