Nigeria is like a veritable paradox. And paradox, like irony
\nand ambiguity has always had sensational appeal to the intellectual. No wonder
\nNigeria has an enduring Fascination for the genuinely restless and enquiring
\nmind. Those who fail to appreciate the disturbing proportion of the Nigerian
\ncondition are those who devalorise paradox as the eternal index of confusion
\nand hesitation.<\/p>\n

But paradox is itself the element of the human condition.
\nHuman beings have contructed inventions that have taken them to the outer space
\nand the moon yet they are unable to fashion out a means over which the problem
\nof humanity such as war, hunger, corruption and pestilence can be fixed.<\/p>\n

Against the annual rituals of regrets or sorrow over the calamities that had befallen nations, against the tear drops for the victims of the recklessness of wars, nations have continued to consummate even more encompassing and conclusive methods of human destruction. Ouer peek into the depth of hopelessness or despondency has only galvanised our resolve to live even more dangerously.<\/p>\n

Dismayed by this endless circle of human imbecility,
\nLevi-Stranss, the great French anthropologist, in a moment of deep dejection,
\nonce observed that the world began with the human race, and will terminate
\nwithout it. If we alienate ourselves from this hopelessness it is not because
\nwe think something has not gone wrong with us as a nation, but because we hold
\nsolidarity in derangement, which annihilates our national folly within a more
\nglobal Lunacy that holds out a paradoxical assurance that all is not yet lost
\nfor Nigeria.<\/p>\n

At 52, the Nigerian condition still remains paradoxical
\nindeed. Only those who appreciate how in the dialectics of history, natural
\nblessings may turn into national burdens and how natural curses can, by the
\nforce of human will be magically transformed into nationally blessings, will
\ncomprehend the extent of our collective predicament.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, we are
\na nation blessed with\u00a0 natural and
\nhuman resources. But on the other hand, we are a nation that has consistently
\nsuccumbed to a curious paralysis of the will when it comes to judiciously
\nharnessing the resources for our good. If nature has endowed us with so many
\nresources, the same nature cannot be held responsible for our bleating
\nresignation in the face of self- inflicted disasters.<\/p>\n

This nation has the singular aptitude for throwing up her
\nworst when her best is required. It is probably the only country in the world
\nthat is yet to evolve\u00a0 an organic
\nnational character but which allows politicians and its leaders to toy with its
\ndestiny. Nigeria is the only country where the cry of millions of men, women
\nand children of vision is answered by fortune tellers and \u201cbabalawos\u201d.<\/p>\n

But in spite of these, Nigeria still remains a robust
\nreality, and so cannot be wished away. It does not matter if certain aspects of
\nthat reality fills one with appalling fear. And the inscrutable nation itself
\ncontinues to confront her own reality with the glorious assurance of a
\nsleep-walker. What is ambiguously re-assuring about this nation is its ability
\nto consistently fool professional obituaries, by simply walking away from the
\noperating tables after being pronounced clinically dead.<\/p>\n

A unique characteristic of this country is that its capacity
\nto shock and scandalize is infinite. In moments of deep national despair and
\ndisillusion, when everyone appears reconciled to the permanence of desperation
\nor hopelessness, a miracle always occurs abruptly to remind us of our potential
\nfor greatness. But miracles as they may be, cannot take a nation far.<\/p>\n

As we celebrate our 52nd independence anniversary, has any
\none considered what the essence of our national problem is? Has any one
\npondered why instead of being the giant of Africa, we have become a graceless
\ngiant that produces unwieldy ironies and national contradiction? What then is
\nour problem? Does it have to do with the sheer size of our nation?<\/p>\n

Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana was once said to have contemptuously
\ndismissed Nigeria as \u201cbig for nothing\u201d. But single individuals have been known
\nto rule over bigger nations with consummate skill. For instance, when compared
\nto China, Nigeria is a minor province, and compared to the United States of
\nAmerica (USA), it is only but a state, a minor nationality in a melting pot of
\nnationalities.<\/p>\n

But going by the Chinese experience, for example, size is an
\nadvantage. Only those who have lost contact with contemporary reality will
\nrepudiate the fact that the bigger a country is the better its prospects for
\nfuture greatness.<\/p>\n

Nothing advances the cause of a country and its development
\nthan patriotism. This is what we lack. This is the essence of all our problems.
\nFor the supreme example of this devotion to one\u2019s fatherland, we might as well
\nborrow the illustration of Charles De
\nGaulle of France. Nothing can serve as a more shining specimen than the
\nexemplary career of this patriot.<\/p>\n

France was De Gaulle\u2019s enduring love. He dreamt France. He
\nate France and cultivated France. This patriot had mystical faith in his
\ndestiny and the destiny of France. His sense of history was superb and the
\nancient tradition of his country weighed over him like an albatross.<\/p>\n

Where are our patriots? Where is our De Gaulle? The long and
\nshort of these is that the time for real change is now, and that Nigeria should
\nsave itself by its exertion and perhaps other African nations by its examples.
\nAnd this cannot be achieved by substituting the cultivation of slogans for the
\ncultivation of patriotism.<\/p>\n

Patriotism thrives on three principles: justice, equality
\nand fair play. Without these being enshrined in its national life, no nation
\ncan subdue mediocrity.<\/p>\n

At Nigeria\u2019s 52nd anniversary of its marriage to mediocrity
\nand mutual destruction, my passionate plea to President Good luck Jonathan is
\nto grant us a divorce from our incompatible partner. If this plea is granted,
\nwe might soon witness the emergence of a nation from the ashes of defeat and
\ndespondency to greatness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Arnold Alalibo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria is like a veritable paradox. And paradox, like irony and ambiguity has always had sensational appeal to the intellectual. No wonder Nigeria has an enduring Fascination for the genuinely restless and enquiring mind. Those who fail to appreciate the disturbing proportion of the Nigerian condition are those who devalorise paradox as the eternal index […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n