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“I fear evolution has inbuilt greed and aggression to the human genome. There is no sign of conflict lessening, and the development of militarized technology and weapons of mass destruction could make that disastrous.” -Stephen Hawking

The number one New York bestseller, Angie Thomas, in her new book titled: “The Hate you give” is a compelling book I recommend to haters anywhere to read. Nigerian haters who dwell in self-hate will benefit immensely from the imports of the book. In a nutshell, the book chronicles the burden of black African-Americans in the dark periods of American history. That is, the Jim Crow era in America and its resurgence now! The hate you spread in Nigeria may be counterproductive and consume you and many other innocent people. Politics, religion, and tribal motives are the three nuances being weaponized to destroy the nation’s fabric and the world. The new normal in Nigeria are confusion, hate, greed, jealousy, instant gratification, hedonism, and general hopelessness.

Sadly, the prevailing state of anomie in the country is a concerning development. The alarming situation is multiplying at a rate we have never seen before in Nigeria! The problem seems to be at the point of inflexion now! There are two groups of people in Nigeria today whom I term as ‘opposing forces!’ The first group believes that Nigeria is a “mere geopolitical expression” that is irredeemably destined to disintegrate any moment from now. The second group of people believes that Nigeria is a bridge of hope if her people get their mojo to make it so. Differently, the first and second groups of these Nigerians believe that “Nigeria is a matter of time!” “A matter of time” represents the two different opposing “believers” of Nigeria.

This writer is an incurable optimist who incurably belongs to the latter group of people (those who believe that Nigeria is a bridge of hope). Going by the prevailing circumstances in Nigeria, you are allowed to call this writer a fantasized dreamer! But this writer’s dream of a new Nigeria through optimism is anchored on his courage of convictions and the antithesis of the evolving global developments. It will get worse before it gets better! But the rattling eternal question is: “e go better, e go better…” when will it be better?

As quoted above, Steven Hawking’s instruction and exposition are based on the current three nuances (Politics, Religion, and Tribe) in Nigeria. Nigeria is sitting ignorantly on a tripod stand of hate while love hovers aimlessly in her horizon. Politics, religion, and ethnicity are now being used expeditiously as weapons of hate to hatch a plan to destabilize and plunge the country into a destructive war. Nigeria is already going through the bedlam of crisis, false unity, and conceited associations. It’s high time we renegotiated our unity through constructive conversations, or the country perished. Conversations that will redefine amicably our ill-conceived conception of administrative convenience as designed by the brutish British and colonial masters. With nostalgia, everyone was jostling in the euphoria of glowing expectations of a birthed Nigeria at Nigeria’s infancy and independence. Abruptly, the military putsch punctuated the joy of launching Nigeria into Eldorado. The false-conceived nation became a dystopian country where human life is a dispensable and expendable commodity. Bribery and corruption were institutionalized by the self-styled Military President, General Babangida, and it has become a way of life. Everyone is now motivated by instant gratification, selfishness, greed, and the ugliness of hate. Corruption is the umbilical cord that connects Nigerians. Corruption in Nigeria can be defined as the inability of the corrupt people to eke or have access to the national cake like their counterparts. If an evil individual has access to the nation’s wealth illegally, corruption becomes an opportunity; he becomes part of the opposing forces.

The gnomes of the then iron-fisted General Buhari, the evil-genius Babangida, the cunningness of Mr. Tortoise Obasanjo, the mindless mind of the dark-evil-goggled Abacha, the meekness and naivete of Jonathan, and the current mummified Buhari are in all of us! The system of government in Nigeria is a government whereby the looted monies are ‘re-looted’ by the looters for the looters. A country where the looters are beatified with “rankadede” and bestowed upon with the highest national honor, honorary academic awards, and chieftaincy titles. Nigeria is a country where illegal wealth is flaunted to motivate prospective and future leaders (oh sorry, future looters) to engage in a rat race to loot from the national vaults. Nigeria is a country that welcomes, with fanfare, a Britain’s released ex-convict who robbed his people’s wealth. Nigeria is a country with people who swim in the pool of mediocrity with calm indifference to meritocracy.

Now, it is a big task to change a rotten system! It also requires an unfettered approach with vision, imagination, and unbridled determination to salvage a contradictory nation. Nigeria must save herself from herself to achieve good sustainable results. Nigeria is a beautiful nation in a big bang of a disgusting mess, pangs of hate, lies, and bad leadership. It’s unfathomable to see how Nigerians now openly traffic in greed, hopelessness, and self-hate to hate themselves. Most Nigerians are being weaponized or armed with hate by the politicians, religious bigots, and tribal zealots at the expense of their future. Nigerian non-correctable countrymen and women are now making a once-beloved country the forest of hate and divisiveness. So many ghoulish compatriots now hide under the canopies of politics, religion, and ethnicity to spread hate and division.
To be continued tomorrow.

Balogun wrote from Arizona, United States of America.