Nigeria: A Nation Of Cultists, Rapists And Pedophiles In High Places By Ikechukwu Mbachu

By Ikechukwu Mbachu
My heart bleeds as I write; I can't helpbut ask how did we get into
the sorry pass? How did we sink this low? Where and how did we lose it
as a people and a nation?
Nigeria is rapidly becoming a theatre of the absurd, not a single day
goes by without news of one sordid tale or another. In Nigeria, the
obnoxious and awkward does not rain, it pours! Nothing is news in
Nigeria anymore. Nigerians have sadly developed a thick skin for bad
news. Nothing shocks Nigerians anymore. According to the late cerebral
journalist, Dele Giwa, Nigerians have been shocked tothe level of
"un-shockability."
In just three weeks Nigeria have witnessed enough absurdities that
would probably totally crumble some other countries. In the last three
weeks, news headlines include stories of multiple buildings collapsing
in a day, in a country wherethere was no natural disaster. The
incineration and painful death of 42 innocent persons in a school in
Yobe State; children whose only crime was seeking for knowledge. The
scandalous score line in two football matches, (67-0 and 79-0) which
is reminiscent of the Nigerian example of democracy, where 16 is
greater than 19 and 5 is greater than 27. Add to these, the River
State House of Assembly mayhem, the news of a pastor raping two eleven
years old girls and the Senate's indirect approval of marriage of
underage girls.
If happenings in Nigeria in recent times are indicative of the future,
then I am afraid we are in big trouble with our leaders both spiritual
and temporal as their only purpose it would seem is to ruin the
country. How else does one explain the sight of lawmakers frolicking
and associating with miscreants? How does one explain the rape of
children by pastors? How does one explain thecircuitous endorsement of
marriage to minors by people who should be making laws against such
condemnable practices?
Nobody is in doubt that cultism, rape and pedophilic activities are
very prevalent in Nigeria and constitute a real menace. But it becomes
particularly worrisome when leaders both spiritual and temporal
indulge and actively promotes the very evil they are supposed to fight
against.
The first case in point is the River State House of Assembly mayhem.
Watching the YouTube clip of the melee, one couldn't help but cringe
in horror at the barbarity of the wholething, the vulgarity, the
viciousness and savagery, I couldn't help but shudder in disgust at
the kind of leaders (I find it very difficult to call them leaders) we
have in this country. Is this the kind of democracy Nigerians
deserves? Is this the democracy we fought for? Rivers statelegislators
seem to have contrived their own version of democracy; democracy of
thugs for thugs and by thugs?Watching the clips, I was appalled by
three things; The invasion of the hallowed ground of the state
assembly complex by hoodlums and the chanting of cultist slogans right
inthe presence of so many law enforcement officers. Apparently, the
security officers were so focused on making their individual paymaster
happy that they simply forget their duty and joined in the fight. The
sight of a lawmaker boasting to fellow cultists about how he viciously
attacked other lawmakers made my gut churn with revulsion. But the
most brutal and unforgettable image was that of a lawmaker attacking a
fellow legislator with the intention tomaim/permanently incapacitate
him. What kind of human being does that ifnot a hoodlum or hired
killer? In saner climes, all the lawmakers and officers who took part
in that show of shame would have been rounded up and brought to
justice.
But this is Nigeria, a country where anything goes. The only thing
that matters is the power behind you and the higher the power behind
you, thegreater the level of obduracy.
Watching these clips, I am deeply worried about the future of the
country. A lot of people in Nigeria agitate for the generational shift
in terms of leadership. They oppose the preponderant proportion of
those they see as old and tired men holdingpolitical positions. They
desire more space for youths in our political landscape. While, I
share the same sentiments, however the "wrestlemania" fight in rivers
state has partially forced me to have a rethink. Most of the
gladiators in the melee were youths full of gladiatorialenergy and
they exhibited it very well in their fight. So how are we surethe
youths are better than the so called elders?
Away from the Rivers state brouhaha, it is clear that the country is
descending into moral anarchy when news of pastors who are supposed to
act as moral guides raping underage girls turn to a daily headline.
How come pastors who are supposed to beon higher moral grounds are
descending to the level of brutes? What could be responsible for this
perversion? How come the so called spiritual leaders are giving in to
the allures of the flesh? How come our spiritual leaders who should
serve as moral compass for the nation have become the very people
committing the most heinous crimes?
While one is reluctant to comment onthe current controversy in the
senate concerning the age of marriage because of its controversial
nature, suffice to say that considering the precarious state of the
girl child in Nigeria, any law that remotely looks like it supports
underage marriage is simply abhorrent. While on the surface the bill
may have nothing to do with underage marriage, however its passage
will embolden pedophiles(especially people like the bearded senator
from Zamfara state) with suchsentiments.
In conclusion, while, the Fela Anikulapo Kuti called those in high
places VIP (vagabonds in power) I chose to call them CRPP (cultists,
Rapist Pedophiles in Power): In all honestly, there is no gainsaying
that conduct of our leaders (spiritual and temporal) leaves a sour
taste in the mouth. If we don't get it right morally, how are we going
to get it right developmentally and technologically? The truth is with
these kinds of morally bankrupt leaders Nigeria might remain in the
cul-de-sac of underdevelopment for avery long time.
Everything happening in Nigeria points to a nation that is
plummeting,a nation that is decaying, a nation whose moral fibers is
been torn to shreds by its leaders. Nigeria has become a nation of
cultists, rapists and pedophiles in high places. Can wecontinue like
this? I seriously doubt it,something just have to give!
Ikechukwu Mbachu
Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus, Germany
Email: ikechukwembachu@gmail.com