THE Greeks are famous for inventing the play as a formal contrivance, and tragedy is their forte. Not even Shakespeare we are told, would rank as a near equal to any of the great Greek tragedians. And one of the glorious inventions of Greek drama is the rite of chorus. The chorus as a special tool of drama came to serve a portfolio of aims. One of those, was to hint at the auguries that are beyond the perception of the protagonists at work and or at play.
Perhaps, no Nigerian presidency acted out the ancient Greek tragedy like that of the guy, Goodluck Jonathan. Here was a shoeless lad, apparently preferred by the gods and pushed to greatness, to heights that were beyond him. And his presidency came crashing down, shattered, like ancient pottery in the hands of rascally children. Perhaps his fate was too much for him, or perhaps Nigeria is too broken to be ever be mendable. It is all in the end a Greek tragedy at work. The Nigerian men, presidential and all, were merely at play. Ahiazuwa.
But before the tragedy made its end or denouement, Professor Chukwuma Soludo waded in. Like an actor in an ancient drama, he let out a shrill chorus. It was something of a swan song. And not too long, President Jonathan was impaled, became a political cadaver. Now, his political remains or its living ghosts are interred or in hiding at the swampy creeks of his Ijaw nation, waiting for trans-substantiation or is it resurrection?
Among the many visions of the Soludo chorus is that the coordinating minister for the economy, Dr. Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was rusty in and with her economics. In other words, our economy in her hands was headed for the shit pit, and it did. Was Soludo a Greek prophet, if yes, was his own knowledge of economics any better?
Here comes in Economists as Assassins: The Nigerian Connection* by this correspondent. But first, let us summarize the questions which this book finds and or founds new answers. Why is it that since 1966 all our economic and life indicators have collapsed? And have these economists by their incompetence and completely rusty knowhow, one and all, not enacted the worst squandering of riches in human history? And have they however, inadvertently, not murdered more Nigerians than the Biafra-Nigerian war? Literally, one can spoof these economic assassins thus: We are Nigerian economists, and we have blood on our hands, the bloods of our fellow nationals.
Now, in a work of electrifying analysis and immense courage, we can announce that we have cracked the atom and laid bare the answers. And we are naming names, and not just these two. Tracking from Chief Obafemi Awolowo to Okonjo-Iweala we were able to establish for the first time, why and how it is Nigerian economy have been amputated by these economists on a race of the fleet footed. It is true Soludo never rose to be a finance minister but his image as a national worrywart economist is ‘given’. And he has played life critical roles for good or evil and has spoken out too loud, he is a critical witness. So we ‘docked’ him.
A corollary question is why and how is it that our economists, one or all, having failed to deliver despite the high promises, ratings, and all that jazz, all ended up stupendous wealthy, like successful bank robbers or even better, like successful coup makers, or both?
The answer as never before is in this book. This book, we warn is hotter than snow. It has been described as a mind-changing intellectual event. Henry Boyo, famous economist weighs in thus: Jimanze is an original thinker, his paths of thoughts are very novel… my opinion in a lot of things gets shaken each time I read his books. And Akogun Tola Adeniyi, intellectual luminary, seconded him even more generously. Yes, this book carries the ‘Surgeon General’s’ warning. It may date and quash your deeply held convictions. It is all too probably the greatest nonfiction work by any Nigerian, dead or alive.
And if you read it and your understanding and ideas on and about economics, Nigeria and Nigerians are not smashed like the presidency in the hands of a Jonathan, call for a refund of your money and more. Ahiazuwa.
Bukola Saraki and the sheriffication of modern Nigeria
WHEN Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu came in to save Nigeria, all the nation hailed. And by the time events unfolded according their own logic, we were led through a maze of dictatorships up to General Abdulsami Abubakar. And Nigeria, in consequence, became a wreck, completely destroyed by putative messiahs. That Nigeria is a ridicule, is a work started by Nzeogwu and perfected through the agencies of Generals Gowon, Murtala, Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Abdulsalami. And each swore he wanted in to do go great good, but all ended up doing great evil. At least Nigeria as it is today, a living wreck, is the evidence if one needed any of their ‘good works’. Dictatorships all start so innocuously.
In the end all what these dictators wanted and succeeded in doing was to gather and concentrate all powers in the hands of their co-confederates, cronies and themselves. Now corruption is a second skin and in-nature to dictatorships, to all dictatorships. That is, what these dictators achieved in the end, was to coopt and totally corrupt Nigeria. If you are in doubt please see my earlier book: Corruption in Africa: Resolution Through New Diagnosis.
That is why we should all be wary of this assault on the Senate President. It is in the way of emergent dictators, to sack independent others as to consolidate their own powers. The game is for him to harvest and gather all powers into his hands, those of his cronies and fellow ethnics. That is, the siege on the Senate President is a feint. Its game is to distract the entire nation to its real aim. And the aim is to inaugurate an absolutist dictatorship. That much is the way to all emerging dictatorships. They come with the bait that only they, their cronies and or fellow ethnics are clean or trustworthy. And the rest of us are thus as filthy and as prostituted as shit pits.
Yes, Bukulo Saraki may be a common thief, a saint, or just anything in between. But that is and must have been what he was when he campaigned for Buhari as presidential contender. That is we can say that Saraki and his sins are so ancient they were not born yesterday. So it is upon this alleged gross sinfulness of Saraki that the saintliness of Buhari was canvassed for, built and or procured as president of Nigeria. That is it may be said that arch-sinner Saraki, was a promoter, canvasser, accessory and or accomplice to the emergence of Saint Buhari. And that is gracious in the sight of the Lord.
Now Saraki as a player may deserve his fate. However, it is important that we save ourselves from an incipient and emerging dictatorship and thus the worst imaginable corruption that necessarily follows and upon which all dictatorships are built. And to save ourselves and the country, Saraki, the putative sinner is the baggage we have to carry. That is, the idea is not to save Saraki. It is like knack-sacking on a holy journey. The journey is not to carry a rucksack. It’s just that it is inevitable we carry bags for our convenience and comfort as travelers. And to remember that Saraki like Buhari has a pan Nigerian mandate is to have the fright of our lives. Yes the dude was elected to represent a mere third of Kwara State. But all Senators acting on behalf of all Nigeria next elected him to be their chosen leader. Thus while as a senator he is a local boy, as a Senate President he is a national, an all Nigerian moral and numerical majority leader. The ‘sheriffier’ and or sheriff, technically doesn’t have a superior mandate. Ahiazuwa.
So if Saraki is that heavy burden we have to bear on our journey to liberal democratic society, so be it. Meanwhile we all must see through to this: the fart of a dictator is more corrosive, is more corrupt than the feces of the liberal democrat. Nigeria ronu. Ahiazuwa.
Source:The sun
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