Nigeria: Judgement day draws near

Nigeria: Judgment day draws near!
By
Joshua Ocheja
jocheja@yahoo.com
I have been somewhat confused with the happenings in the country that I realized that I spent most of my productive hours trying to digest news items that bothers on the PDP magic, the terrible spate of kidnappings, the amnesty deal, the defacto President Turai Yar’adua, the Anambra dead heat and a host of other burning issues capable of disintegrating the nation if urgent and proactive steps are not taken.
As a sociologist, I will not draw conclusion based on hear say or assumptions, but rather with the availability of facts and weighty figures as I have spent more than half a lifetime trying to express the tragic moments in the life of Nigerians and Nigeria in a sentence.
The implication of what is happening now in Nigeria will not be felt now, but in no distance time I assure all and sundry reading this piece by accident or by compulsion that the effect will be phenomenal and will chain react to all stratum of the Nigerian landscape. Our rulers have toyed with the destinies of over 150 million people alive and unquantifiable millions unborn, with an unmitigated display of recklessness and stupidity, while hopelessness and despair are the order of the day, but guess what? For seed time and harvest time shall never seize.
This piece was or is rather propelled by the Bode George’s, the Obasanjo’s, the Anenih’s, the Ibori’s and a host of others that have turned the country into personal properties, making us feel like second class citizens in our own land our fore fathers fought for.
The irony of everything is that the above mentioned names are irrelevant should the struggles for our independence be mentioned, I will rather say it was out of sheer luck or rather through circumstances that they became rulers and not leaders, and since they were not part of the struggles, they decided to toy with our destinies with impunity and without the fear of God in their wicked hearts.
We have cried and cried to the point of no tears left, we have seen conferences, amnesty deals and deregulation hullabaloo, we have also talked and talked to no avail, and in the midst of the rumblings in my mind a favorite quote by Renowned Crusader John Locke came to my mind, which is” Any single man must judge for himself whether circumstances warrant obedience or resistance to the commands of the civil magistrate; we are all qualified, entitled, and morally obliged to evaluate the conduct of our rulers. This political judgment, moreover, is not simply or primarily a right, but like self-preservation, a duty to God. As such it is a judgment that men cannot part with according to the God of Nature. It is the first and foremost of our inalienable rights without which we can preserve no other”
We as citizens of Nigeria have a moral right to evaluate the conduct of those saddled with the responsibility of ruling us, though the stole our mandate from us, as they are rulers and not leaders, but we are nonetheless not going to sit and watch helplessly as they continue to insult our sensibilities , rather we are going to ask questions, we are going to evaluate situations, we might form resistance to the commands of the civil magistrates depending on circumstances as highlighted by John Locke and we shall pass our verdict accordingly.
I believe I will be speaking the minds of the generality of “concerned” Nigerians, in passing my verdict on the leadership series in the country. But before I go on with my verdict, I beg to excuse the Yar’adua and Turai nightmare, as that alone is an insult to us as a people, which to an extent is capable of sparking a revolution if care is not taken and for that reason I have excused them with the consent of members of this honorable court.
Honorable members, its common news that the nation is in serious disarray not for any reason, but the sheer display of stupidity and lack of common sense, and for this reason, I ask the defense counsel to Obasanjo, Ibori, Anenih, Aandooakaa and others to rise up.
Silence! I have just been notified that an accused by name Aondoakaa doubles as the defense counsel to the accused persons. This is rather a welcome development if you ask me as he will provide the much needed details this court of change needs.
My verdict goes thus: I have quite substantial evidence before me that clearly shows that Nigeria as a nation is in an advance state of delusion. The citizenry have continued to bask in abject poverty which was caused by the exhibition of lack of ideas and foresight by the ruling system and to this end I herby pronounce that all political office holders from 1970 to date be remanded in kuje prisons till death with hard labor.
By the powers vested in me, I also pronounce that all properties belonging to them be seized and returned to the rightful owners, the citizenry. Family members, both nuclear and extended should be camped in Abejukolo village of Kogi state for a period of ten years, in an attempt to integrate them into the new Nigeria.
I guess you reading this piece must be laughing out loud, but the plain truth is that we have had enough of the experimentation by these cruel people that label themselves leaders. They are not leaders but rulers, not just rulers but stupid ones. I am so pained writing this piece, because ordinarily the things we talk about are just common sense applications. But the ruling system does and cannot see light in applying these principles in dealing with the avalanche of problems the nation is encountering, which was principally caused by them.
Well having said all, in line with the new democratic setting in Nigeria, that gives room for comments, suggestions and contributions from all citizens, I will like to hear views comments and suggestions from every Nigerian in Nigeria and the Diaspora as regards the above judgment.
While I await your responses, before passing my final judgment, I employ all to be objective and precise, in addition it is very possible that this court of change erroneously omitted some names of accused persons as this is due to the fact that the court clerk is 60 years of age, yet to retire to give room for fresh brains and ideas.
I can also assure you all that these and many more issues will be addressed when I hear your comments and views.
Court!! To be continued.