I will start by saying that owing to the chain of events that followed the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian Federation has been described by some analysts as the most confused nation in the world.
The two attacks by Putin were perhaps designed partly to appeal to his dreams of imperial grandeur. But the irony of the Russian situation is that in addition to the pains of sanctions and her pariah status, the Russian population finds itself confronted with a great conundrum which is a prevailing lack of clarity regarding the underlying objectives of the conflict, particularly in Ukraine. Russians find their children, spouses, relatives and friends now actively engaged in the theatre of war even without necessarily supporting it.
The war in Ukraine emerged as an existential fight, almost determining the very essence and fate of the Russian Federation. However, it has now evolved into a war against the future. It has snowballed into a pivotal struggle for the survival of Putin’s regime. Russian existence hinges upon the ultimate resolution of the war, which is evidently not in sight. The current situation is one of great danger for Putin, and a serious threat to all of Russia.
Thus the characterization of the Russian Federation as a confused nation derives from the simple fact that it looks as though Russians do not know where they are presently headed. In other words, it appears as if they have no direction. But even then, their case is quite understandable because their enemy is external and well-known to them.
In comparison, the case of Nigeria is peculiar because the nation is at war, not with an external force, but with itself, which makes the Nigerian situation thoroughly complicated.
Prof. Nneoke Ufere of Havard Medical School, Boston, USA says the country is in a state of profound confusion and desperation. When a nation doesn’t know what it’s looking for or doesn’t even know where to begin or where it’s heading, it drifts aimlessly, unable to address its challenges or seize opportunities effectively’’. In this country today, para-normal is the new normal.
We hear of calls for the return of former President Jonathan in 2027, the same man that was said to be clueless, suspected to had sponsored Boko Haram, whose wife was made a subject of public ridicule; that same Jonathan that built schools to curb the scourge of Almajiris, such that by the time he left office, the feeling was that he is better forgotten.
Now, they want him back in Aso Rock. Nigeria is indeed an inscrutable puzzle of sorts. Today the Almajiris have returned in full throttle, providing ready fodder for terrorism and insurgency. Some of the youths up north were found waving Russian flags during the recent hunger protests. Apparently, they prefer to identify with Russia and possibly transport Vladimir Putin to Aso Rock and further obfuscate their confusion! To even think that any right thinking Nigerian would in this century have the conscience to contemplate a return to military rule simply conjures absurdity walking the streets naked!
Like a paradox wrapped inside another paradox, civil society organizations, right-wing civil right activists, media organizations, prophets and general overseers, the academia, herbalists, and even ‘area boys’ and their masters, who occupied Nigeria during Jonathan’s tenure in protest against high cost of living are now pleading that Nigerians should exercise patience and make sacrifices in the face of acute hunger in the land.
Who knows, a delegation could be sent to former President Buhari to beg him to come back to Abuja! At the end, the nation would go back to square one and then the same old familiar song of agony would rend the air and another round of lamentations would begin. How could such an unpropitious fate befall a nation as great as Nigeria? Not even the Gipsies with all their palm-reading powers could have chiromanced this turn of events back in the early sixties when the nation held so much promise. The Azikiwes, the Awolowos, the Amadu Bellos, the Balewas must be resurrected to rescue the nation! Yes, going backwards is perhaps more convenient than moving forward without direction.
Nigerians were assured that by the time Dangote refinery comes on stream, the problem of oil subsidy, scarcity and high cost of fuel will be over. Today, what we hear is that some of the so-called backers of the same refinery are now in the forefront of the struggle to sabotage it. Is there an unseen force that is bent on pulling this nation down?
These days, Nigerians themselves make damning commentaries about their own country, which actually speaks to the frustration and disillusionment that they have to live with. Writing in Daily Independent newspaper, Oby Maduka said there is no country in this world that has limitless resources, and hence, most countries are strengthening their economic comparative advantages based on their core limited resources. The truth is that Nigeria has become a confused and wasted nation is because, while other nations like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Angola and several other oil rich nations are investing heavily on human capital, infrastructure, AI technology, healthcare and education, the Nigerian leadership elite were busy stealing as if they won’t die again’’.
Only a few weeks ago, it was reported that a group of police officers opened fire on their fellow police officers mistaking them for bandits because of the way they were dressed. Such bizarre incidents are manifestations of rancour.
In a country that has produced world beaters and the finest in all spheres of life, we still find young school leavers and even graduates who cannot spell the name of their own country correctly, not to talk of singing the controversial national anthem.
According to records, Nigeria has 16,300 churches for every 3.6 million people and in the UK alone, Nigerians own 2,684 churches. One would have thought that this level of ‘godliness’ would have translated to love for one another, compassion for the poor, justice and equity for all. But instead, wickedness, hate, evil abound in the land. One begins to wonder, have Nigerians forgotten that there is God?
Nigeria is known globally as the giant of Africa. And quite characteristically, when the military toppled the government in Niger Republic, the federal authorities started to threaten fire and brimstone as champions of democratic rule, whereas the general elections conducted by the so-called champions carried all the trappings of a ‘coup’ against the electorate. Today, bandits, terrorists, Fulani herdsmen and kidnappers operate across the entire landscape of Nigeria with reckless abandon, sacking villages, attacking police checkpoints and even military formations. The nation’s vast forests are swarming with bandits and unknown gunmen. The entire Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with President Tinubu as Commander-in-Chief, and with an annual budget of N2.5 trillion, the fourth-most powerful military in Africa, numbering over 230, 000 officers and men cannot penetrate these forests to smoke out those chaps. Now, the unfortunate label, ‘Nigeria is a scam’ is gaining notoriety among the younger generation.
The truth of the matter is that Nigeria is not a scam and can never be. Our people, Ndi Anioma have a parable: “the fact that a lady is not beautiful does not mean that she is a witch’’. Nigeria is beautiful but her beautiful skin has been bleached off with adulterated and expired cream.
To be let off the hook, all a politician facing criminal charges needed to do is to cross-carpet to the ruling party and his sins would be forgiven, and behold old things will pass away and everything will become new! The same people fighting poverty in Abuja are the ones using it as a weapon against the poor, appropriating lanterns to blind men who have no need of it. The poor themselves have been so impoverished to the point where they now see the oppressor as the saviour and their fellow poor citizens as the enemy. If the country is confused, the confusion of the poor masses is far more stupendous. The poor will defy all the perplexities of hunger and starvation to sing and dance and vote in the rain for a person they know as lacking in character and competence. Every other Nigerian is a bad leader except their own brothers and sisters from the same tribe. Even at the individual level, some otherwise normal Nigerians have been seen acting in ways that suggest that poverty might have tampered with their thinking faculty. A young man was asked to identify himself by stating his own name. It took him quite a while to recall it. If this is not confusion, what is it?
