THE ABSURD WORLD OF POLITICS

Victor C. Ariole writes that the country has descended to doing so many unreasonable things

WHEN A LAW BECOMES SO OPPRESSIVE THOSE IT IS INTENDED FOR COULD RESOLVE NOT TO OBEY IT

If (as women) you are playing football with men(quite uneven competition) you have to use all means, hands inclusive, to score goals…Zika on STV. Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus are two great authors who wrote on backgrounds of the absurd world that got some politicians after the Second World War to rethink. On such writings General Charles de Gaulle recanted his approach to colonisation and the Algerian war as well as pleading for getting China (People’s Republic) replace China (Formosa or Taiwan) in the United Nations Organisation. In effect de Gaulle could not understand the foul goal intended by UNO as it decided to exclude one-third of humanity in favour of tiny Taiwan. Wars and killings get so much to absurd levels that those who have no capacity to withstand such could turn inward for their own goals, foul means inclusive so as to obey the immediate quest for survival. Recently, a 92- year-old woman killed his son of 72 years in USA in a struggle of who should live the house and join old people’s home. And, so, which law could attempt at convicting 92- year-old woman? That is absurd world we are in and it is not far from Nigerians, as acollectivity, being asked by NPDP or R’APC to remain forever in irredeemable state so that their quest to amass more wealth, their only goal scoring intent, could be assuaged. It is not far from asking them to dig their own grave and be buried alive as one sees in some war situations when the loser is desperate to sink with whoever is not obeying their orders.

Listening to the same STV on press bill presented to the National Assembly and its absurdity, that is, how to emasculate press freedom one started wondering if Nigerians are not going to see rules which could make them live on SOS, by any foul means, because when a law becomes so oppressive those it is intended for could resolve not to obey it and more prisons could be built to accommodate majority of the collectivity. It is also as debated on that platform that Nigeria is going to import crude oil for a refinery it intends to build on the borders of Nigeria and Niger and the crude is to be imported from north east of Niger, a distance of 900 kilometres. Courtesy of EngrOnovo, it is like carrying coals to Newcastle. It is absurd that Nigeria that ships out about two million barrels of crude needs to import 20,000 barrels to service such refinery.

So, Nigerians are on a field, very much unlevelled, playing with no fewer than 2000 politicians who are about to bury them alive in a non-equitable competition. Remember the tag: we are the 99%. Nigeria is running ¾ of the year without visible budget implementation and the politicians are still earning, by SanusiLamido’s reckoning, 25% of the nation’s earning and more people in the working class are not yet paid for months. So, where is the level playing ground for the poor masses and the politicians? Indeed it is turning to men and women playing football. I just witnessed that in a Lagos market on a Sunday and it was quite absurd. Somebody went to carry the money bag of a seller and started running and people started shouting Ole! Ole! Whereas no one was emboldened to pursue him and I wondered what was going on only to notice that he has lined up his likes and people around just mentioned ‘awonomo xyz niye’. It was as if who dare pursue him when they know where he came from. Quite absurd.

Reading the book of Brigadier General Alabi-Isama on BiafraNigeria, he said that, faced with a stronger competitor like General Madiebo when they were in the same battalion he learnt to observe foul play to win just as Akin Osuntokun just revealed about the success of OlusegunObasanjo as he was faced by uneven competition all the time in the Nigerian army. Noticing the predicament of Brigadier BabafemiOgundipe in which common rank and file disobeyed him, Obasanjo knew that the field had no level playing ground and, so, as politics had permeated the rank and file he had to aim at building his political capital which is now great enough to re-engineer Nigeria as the north still trust him. Even when you listen to some Biafran survivors they reminisce on what they learnt from the man they call Air Raid – only brave soldiers survive the war. Like also in ‘Man of the People’ by Chinua Achebe, historians are the bravest, men go to war, women tell the story. Isama, also, narrated encounters that make him praise the quality of great women of our time, Okereke-Onyiuke and even his own mother who provided materials for filming his war stories; and I agree with him as the woman proved tough on the stock exchange terrain. So, women are to come to the rescue of Nigeria in this absurd politics playing out. Yes, it should be noted that it was Okereke who led the battle to keep NSE in Lagos like it was known of Aba women riot. In deed how I wish a lady of such substance could show up to win Nigeria for Nigerians. I don’t even mind having the wife of the current president as a Presidential candidate as she had proved a great lover of the Nigerian project either as a ‘retribalised’ Nigerian speaking the language of true federalism as against the current language of ‘them and us.’ Only two ‘tribes’ exist in Nigeria now- the tribe that speaks the language of true federalism and the tribe that speaks the language of ‘them and us’ and the woman is on the camp of true federalism. As said let foul play be allowed if only to save Nigerians from digging their own grave just as Spain did by allowing non elected businessman to form a government for it so as to survive disintegration.