Minority Report; The Nigerian Experiment
Minority Report; The Nigerian Experiment
Truth is that the little talked about New Year speech by the Nigerian President has come and gone, at the heart of it was sour hope, no charter, the treaty that binds the collection of her people, as a Nigerian project was not there. It is well worth reiterating that at the heart of pressing matters of governance, each passing hour in a year that is barely a week old, a lot is slipping from public consciousness:
The protection of lives and property
The faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the Nigerian citizen’.
In a country where good news is scarce and bad news is commonplace, a nation where the political class and elite are the harbinger of all sorts of rascality, epitome of crass misgovernance. We were anxiously waiting for the next drama to occupy public space. Happily yet unfortunately the Paternity scandal, and it’s ante-dent DNA drama sprung up. And the bastion of democracy USA also brought along with Trumpism, a once in a lifetime epic.
For Moyo, Tunde Thomas and Nuhu Adam, FCMB and their friends, these were not interesting times. For the purpose of my admonition let me refresh our memories.
Are we seriously unserious or not serious
Are we seriously unserious or not serious
So, Google releases what it calls top searches every year, for Nigeria in 2020 subject matter like ASUU, Rema, Naira Marley, Rahama Sadau, Hushpuppi, coronavirus, pornstar cocktail recipe were top on the list. Maryam Sanda, the woman who was sentenced for the murder of her husband in 2017 was ninth highest-ranked person on the internet for Nigeria this year.
As 2020 rolls to an end, it’s the year that would be remembered for so many things, and I dare say for Nigeria very few of those things are good memories and for a nation that chooses what it remembers, how it remembers and when it wants to remember, it’s instructive to take us a few years back and then maybe just maybe hope is appropriate to hold on to for the years ahead.
In November of this year of COVID19 2020, days after a starving lion and a number of other severely underfed animals were discovered by a shocked visitor to Gamji Gate Zoo in Kaduna State, a wildlife charity, Wild@Life e.V, in conjunction with the Nigerian Association of Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Parks (NAZAP) rescued the severely malnourished lion.
Francis Abioye, NAZAP National President, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri that the distressed lion was trapped for five days in the zoo after a recent flood in the state. Abioye said the rescue could not be easily carried out due to lack of tranquillisers to administer on the lion to gain easy closeness to it, a situation, he said, caused the animal serious distress.