A nation in denial

ONE thing that has characterised us as a nation is self denial. We run away from the truth as long as the pinch is not on our foot directly. How is it possible to have solutions to the multiple challenges facing us if we are afraid to diagnose correctly the problems facing the nation? How can you correctly cure an ailment when the diagnosis is wrong from the beginning?

In a recent Wednesday night programme on Channels Television, Straight talk with khedirat, featuring APC presidential aspirant and governor of Kano State, Dr.Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, was asked to identify the causes of Boko Haram insurgency in the country. Of all the points he listed, he deliberately avoided the angle that deals with extreme religious doctrines, propagated by itinerant muslim preachers. He carefully avoided the role of muslim brotherhood in the fuelling of Boko Haram insurgency, carefully avoiding the fact that, each time Abubakar Shekarau comes on air, he claims, all he is doing in the name of Allah. He failed to highlight the fact that, it is only negative religion that can take a group of people to such height of delirium, what Marx referred to as ‘the opium of the masses’, nothing else.

If it is not religion, why is it that they have links with such bodies like the ISIS, al-shabab, al-queda both in Yemeni and Talibans and not other countries which do not have muslim links. Extremism exists in every religion, in Christianity and others. We remember the Jim Jones Guyana tragedy, it was recognised for the evil that it was and condemned by the whole world, a movie was even produced from it. The Boko Haram originated from people who have decided to mis-interpret the doctrines of Islam, those who were in position to condemn it initially kept quiet. Now the hand shake has gone beyond the elbow and people are trying to adduce extraneous reasons as the cause. Until we all decide to face the truth, a solution can never be found. We must appreciate Lamido Sanusi, for his bravery in rallying for a united fight against those bastards, valour has always been part of his character traits. Every northerner, I mean, the genuine muslims must rally round to bring to an end, the activities of these extreme muslim fundamentalists.

As long as we deliberately manipulate facts to suit our purpose, challenges will continue to remain insurmountable. When we say religion, we do not mean it to denigrate any group but to emphasise the huge burden that is placed on religious leaders to properly direct the focus of our youths. Religion addresses the mind and it involves a lot of brain washing, by the time we tackle it from the proper orientation of youths in their individual places of worship, recruits for the Boko Haram and other such terrorists will dwindle.

We live in self denial in this country, the naira, as I write is over 190 to a dollar in the parallel market, the price of crude oil is still on a free fall and our leaders have started preaching the value of agriculture to cushion the impact.They present it as if it is that simple. What kind of agriculture do we want to practise in this country? How ready are we for this? I notice that most countries that have succeeded in their agricultural sectors, have mastered the act of producing or manufacturing the agricultural implements that go with it; Israel, China, India, USA and others, no African country is in the list except South Africa and we all know why. It is not by mouthing it, how can we make our agriculture to successfully compete with the foreign products? Power is not stable, manufacturing is almost zero. A successful agricultural output must also go with a successful processing of the products, how ready are we for the processing? In modern agriculture, you do not need a large population to make it succeed. For example, in the USA, less than 5% of the population is into agriculture and they are able to produce surplus, which means; the other 95% of the population are engaged in other productive ventures. What will happen in the Nigerian situation? I need somebody to do some explaining.



source:vanguard