Feature: Making Mincemeat Of Our Situation, Our Pain
By Bernadette Idalu
These are no ordinary times. Strange things are happening. Children who should ordinarily be content, playing about, licking ice cream and munching popcorn now complain of hard times and a bad economy with the mental sagacity of elders. When did society begin to luxuriate in hardships, who is making mincemeat of our situation, our pains, forcing us into a denizen existence? This is giving me an ice-cream headache.
"Sound Sultan" born Olanrewaju Abdul-Ganiu Fasasi, (November 27, 1976 – July 11, 2021) a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, comedian, and recording artist satirized the Nigerian situation. His humorous Sci-Fi music, "Ole (Bushmeat)" would have been a good incidental music for an adaptation of George Orwell's novel, "Animal Farm," famed for being a political satire and allegory.
The first verse and refrain (chorus) of his song would suffice for this analysis, it reflects creepy societal anomalies.
"I am something like a bush meat
I am searching for the hunter
If I ever search for a hunter
If you, help me see the hunter
Help me shout say
Eba mi kigbe ole (barawo)
Ole-ole-ole-ole-ole
Eba mi kigbe ole (barawo)
Ole-ole-ole-ole-ole
Eba mi kigbe ole
Ole-ole-ole-ole-ole
Eba mi kigbe ole
Ole-ole-ole-ole-ole
See, one day bush meat go catch the hunter
See, one day bush meat go catch the hunter
See, one day the bush meat go catch the hunter
Catch the hunter
Catch the hunter..."
It is not only the Super Eagles Captain/Kano Pillars striker Ahmed Musa that is in the news for single handedly crashing the price of petroleum in Kano his home state on July 25, 2023, through an announcement in his verified Instagram page wherein he wrote. "Fuel #580@MICA-7 Filling Station Kano" despite the subsisting Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regulated price at #617 per litre as his personal contribution to ease the pain of the masses, Nollywood actress Peggy Ovire also made headlines as she finally caught the thief that had been stealing from her.
Posting a video to her official Instagram page on Monday, July 24, 2023, the actress narrated how she had met the alleged thief, Chinonso, while working at a movie set. "I met him on a production I was in, the production was filming at an apartment I gave them to rent, immediately the job was over, this guy came back, made sure neighbors had gone to work during the day, stole generator parts weeks ago and went to sell the parts worth 80 thousand naira for 15 thousand naira.
"He later came back on Saturday pretending he was helping to refill the gas cylinder but stole the gas cylinder and took it again to sell. This same guy came again today for the 3rd time this Monday morning, while someone was cooking, they noticed that all of a sudden the gas cooker wasn't working anymore, by the time they rushed out, they realized that their gas was missing. Immediately, security was alerted, this guy quickly took a bike and was running, luckily he was caught."
"Life is a two way street," there is need to find contentment in-between traversing this street, called life. Hmm, let me draw you in on neighbourhood gist. I start the narrative from my house. We noticed the keypad to our Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Prepaid Metre was faulty. This hindered the upload of electricity units. Off we went to the distribution company to lay formal complaints led to its repair on Monday, March 20, 2023. However, by April 24, 2023, at around 2:30 am, a crackling sound woke everyone up. It was later discovered that the said metre had gone missing. Ha! I am forced to sing the throwback first verse of Omawumi Megbele's song, "If you ask me."
"If you ask me na who I go ask
The matter wey we see so e tay wey e start
No be me go talk am e heavy for mouth
If you ask me the matter for ground eh
Na who I go ask."
There is a pidgin adage which says, "Na who chop belleful naim dey go play oracle wan know wetin future get in store forram." In life, you have to thank God for small mercies. Situate yourself weaving through bureaucracies to get a police extract to authenticate ownership of said metre as you go about to make a formal complaint at the power generating company office. Disenfranchised subscriber gets migrated to an estimated billing system, informed about new billing plan which reveal a spike and need to pay a higher tariff for same service. You have to book online and wait for at least a month for a new metre while hoping to retrieve missing one. "Water hang for teeth."
You need to take a chill pill when you feel things are falling apart. Move around and you will hear unique challenges of neighbours. A neighbour, who is a pastor cannot even say a word. His family battles unknown forces on Sundays. On such holy days there is a house visitation when owners go to church. Belongings disappear. On a spectacular day, the unknown visitors put the pot of stew and soup meant for lunch down, boiled rice and had a feast. They emptied out all the protein source in both pots. As a show of appreciation the oil from the stew was used to write on the kitchen wall, "Stew sweet."
As neighbours exchanged notes on experiences, it was discovered that it was not an individual thing, thievery is at its peak on Etete and its surrounding streets, down to Ugbor. BEDC prepaid metres grow wings and fly by day and by night, same with air conditioners and properties. Building materials and household appliances are found in pushcarts of some people of northern extraction as they wheel their pushcarts along the street without possessing any evidence of ownership. Workers at building sites complain of theft. No one feels safe anymore.
Then another theft incidence happened as early as 10:am in the morning, two months back. These two thieves I dare say don't know their calling; they would have been great sprinters representing our country, Nigeria, at international sports events. They beat guys from three streets to the race, only lost when they got hedged in on all sides. These guys went to a goods store by the main road oh, and each picked a litre pack of coke and Fanta, 4 canned sardines, a sachet of peak milk and Milo, leisurely walking off with goods in hand, trying to hail a keke (Tricycle) to cart off their loot.
An eagle eyed (Aproko) neighbour walked past the store and discovered that though the store was open, the steel iron rod store protector was firmly padlocked. No one was inside the store. He shouted, "Oyi" (Thief) repeatedly which magnetically pulled youths out from three surrounding streets. They chased the nimble thieves who dexterously melted into a thorn thicket, disappearing from view. One of the thieves weaved his way through and into a compound whose gateman left the gate open to go buy stuff. A female tenant, noticed the silhouette of a crouching man from her bathroom window as she showered. She made a loud scream. This gave away his location and even helped at smoking out his partner. The physical combat they both put up could not free them from the crowd.
When questioned, they claimed to be regular customers who came to collect earlier placed order. The shop owner who had been summoned back via phone said she had never laid eyes on them in her life. The youths began to run commentaries on possible reasons which pushed these youths into theft , "Undermining say sakpa dey, Omo...these guys na cruise. Nor be hunger, dem be thief. If to say na hunger dem for carry Jerry bread waka. We for no vex, we understand wetin dey ground. As economy dey unfold we dey unfold follow am... jungle no clear. Hand for no meet them at all. Guys for suffrey give dem the bread. Guys dey reason each other for street.
"We dey reason am say na person tear man pikin list. One of them dey assist the oda one. The person wen dem be wan please, go join crowd kon look guy as e sidon for ground as dem catch am for area as e dey thief. Wetin make am bad be say even im guy follow join. He no go fit say na devil cos am. Naim make dem tork say make you nor dig ridge pass where your power reach."
The crowd is milling round these suspects, people are streaming in to catch a glimpse of them. Tempers are flaring, guys are baying for action, hearts are palpating, waiting to witness their possible lynching. There was however no jungle justice death sentence passed or an on the spot killing taking place though, "hand touch them." They were handed over to the police.
The Nigeria Police Force plays a vital role in crime prevention. As at January 20, 2020, the then State Commissioner of Police, Lawan Jimeta, while making the Edo State Police Command Year Crime review for 2019, said, "99 suspects were arrested for alleged kidnapping, while 523 suspects were arrested for alleged armed robbery, and 4,353 suspects for alleged cultism. The Command said it had arrested 5,070 suspects for various crimes in 2019.
The above figure also represented suspects arrested for murder, fraud and car theft in the year under review. The arrests were from 1,883 reported cases of crimes brought before the command. The command charged 950 of the cases involving 1,979 of the suspects to courts with 429 of the reported cases under investigation."
The command was of the view that, “The summary of intelligence gathering is community policing. Intelligence gathering propelled by community policing and information is key to the success in the protection of lives and properties.”
In the absence of community policing especially now when the attendant cost of fuelling vehicles is high, a neighborhood watch has to be in place to keep an eye on security issues. Nothing is more reassuring as listening to the metallic sound of a manual gong "Gbo-gbo-gbo," late at night. It reminds you of those days when children gathered round their grandma's to listen to folklores. She had to stop her storytelling sometimes, to listen to, and later interprete message to grandchildren about what the town crier said as he hit on his metallic gong, moving round the village, shouting out announcements on moonlit nights straight from the desk of the " Village Chief and his elders in council."
Psychologically, the present day resort to use of manual gongs for security communications allows you sleep a bit more knowing that able bodied young men are out there, "Chesting" and dribbling unknown forces, like "Voltron" defender of the universe, are inbrewed with active abilities to pull off shirts for celebrate recorded victories just like Asisat Oshoala, who pulled off her Jersey to celebrate scoring the winning goal by the Nigerian side against Australia at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) Competition after she netted the team’s third goal in the 72nd minute of the game at the Brisbane Stadium. That was a split second reflex action which defied inhibitions.
Aside jubilations, efforts of youths who are mostly at alert during night guard duties for streets must be commended. They help rid the street of unnecessary tension. The stipends they get are just a show of appreciation for work done. Nonetheless, a human factor always manages to rip the bonds of unity. Motivation wanes over time. At the monthly "Landlord and Tenants" street meeting, it was discovered that the street protectors had abrogated on their agreement with street thereby allotting one day to themselves for rest. This breach of procedure created a vacuum which led to a porous security situation.
Questioned about this security lapse, these knights in shiny armour gave a point blank reply, "We be yiorg meh...we still geh womah for hass. We nor want make anoda mah do our work for us." That was simply saying, aside street security issues, they needed time off to play their husband duties at home. They also informed that the "Secretary" of the street was aware of said development. Interesting, on that day, the man went absent without official leave (AWOL) at said meeting. Phone, switched off.
It was a day of great reveal, security team leaders let everyone know that they had been influenced to join the more organized Edo State "Vigilante" group. They are now referred to as "Officers" whenever they walk the street, receiving full compliments, dressed in their uniforms. They adorn red roped arm bands or wear beads on hands nowadays which are said to be aesthetics of a strong man who battles the bad guys.
While pondering on this, news broke out about the kidnap of the twenty five years old celebrity native doctor, Chukwudozie Nwangwu popularly known as Akwa Okuku Tiwalu Aki na Oba. He was said to have been released on July 29, 2023, after a ransom payment of three hundred million naira (N300,000,000). He was kidnapped in his newly opened Triple P Hotel, Oba, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State on Sunday, July 23, 2023.
The said kidnap was so vicious as to leave some of his aids wounded with two dead. Anyways, heard he is making preparations for a church thanksgiving.This information is powerful enough to excite christian brethren at Oba, "Obi Kubana's" hometown, no doubt, leading such to engage in brief staccato dance with hands raised, screaming, "Jezus Igwe ay," to assert the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Unlike "Merlin" who "lived in the land of myth and a time of magic," the historical reality of happenings from February 9 to 21,1897 have refused to be blinked away. This was the period when the British carried out an amphibious attack on the Benin Kingdom, from three separate points of entry.
Referred to as the "Benin punitive expedition" masterminded by the British desire for control over West African trade and territory, the rampaging force of 1,200 Royal Marines, sailors and Niger Coast Protectorate Force overran the well organized traditional Benin empire and its warriors. At that time, magic was said to have flowed naturally through the veins of warriors.
The use of guns and superior fire power defied known logic. People found themselves by themselves. The still, small voice of Dame Patience Jonathan asking that teacher, "Na only you waka come?" as she made enquiries about incidents leading to the first recorded Boko Haram kidnap of female students might have passed as a comforting not angry voice.
Life is a teacher. The after effects of that forceful invasion resonates in the annals of the Benin Kingdom and Edo State in general even in 2023. The struggle for the reacquisition/ownership and warehousing of returned (looted) objects of worship and artefacts has become subject of national discuss, with lots of dust thrown in the air.
Walter Rodney in his book, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," at Chapter two, pp 40, in his introductory note to, "How Africa Developed Before The Coming Of The Europeans Up To The 15th Century" quoted J. E. Casely-Hayford, 1922, African (Gold Coast) Nationalist, present (Ghana), who said, "Before even the British came into relations with our people, we were a developed people, having our own institutions, having our own ideas of government."
The historian goes on to note that,
"The moment that the topic of the pre-European African past is raised, many individuals are concerned for various reasons to know about the existence of African 'civilisations.' Mainly, this stems from a desire to make comparisons with European 'civilisations'. This is not the context in which to evaluate the so-called civilisations of Europe. It is enough to note the behaviour of European capitalists from the epoch of slavery through colonialism, fascism and genocidal wars in Asia and Africa. Such barbarism causes suspicion to attach to the use of the word 'civilisation' to describe Western Europe and North America. As far as Africa is concerned during the period of early development, it is preferable to speak in terms of 'cultures' rather than civilisations."
I don't know about your area but in my hood, football fanatics who had been rooting for the Super Falcons, expectedly willing them to triumph over their English Lioness football counterpart at the WWC tournament were left disappointed on August 7, 2023, during the round of sixteen elimination stage when the Nigerian team went down 4-2 during penalty shootouts, at extra time. It was a brilliant performance even if fans could not for once obliterate the scourge of colonialism through their ardent wish to gain face by a retaliatory win at this soccer tournament. However, no one is protesting the outcome of the match, claiming there was "Parsha" or wrong officiating. it means we have grown as a nation. We are indeed civilized.
Protest.That is the key word. It is a verb. It denotes fist, fury and action. A Wikipedia search showed that, "The Lagos strike of 1897 was a labour strike in Lagos Colony (modern-day Lagos in Nigeria) which has been described as the first "major labour protest of the colonial period" in African history. At the time of the strike, Lagos was a colony under the governorship of Henry McCallum. McCallum, who had held a number of important colonial posts in Asia, decided to launch a major reform of the administration and economy of Lagos. Among these reforms was the driving down of wages paid to indigenous workers to increase the supply of labour. The reforms led to unrest among workers in the Public Works Department (PWD)."
Coming back to 2023, unlike prior protests in Nigeria where governance is at a standstill at federal and state levels during organized nationwide protests by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliate Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, the protest on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, was different. Every state did according to its own dictate, "As their power reach" in pidgin parlance. Over time, some labour union leaders have built robust relationships with their state governors. It is trite to state that whoever pays the piper dictates its tune. Also as we clearly know, self preservation is the first rule of nature. People choose personal interest over group interest.
In Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki while addressing members of the Labour union who were at the Edo State Government House to present their grouse, stated, “I want to alert you to reject the palliative they want to give to you. It’s a continuation of the fraud that the Federal Government has always undertaken against the people of Nigeria. The so-called money for palliative should be given to the local government which is closer to the people to take care of their people."
The state chapter of the NLC joined voice with the state government, calling out and accusing the federal government for being responsible for present hardships in the country. They scored the Edo government high, calling it a labour friendly state while highlighting the need for the federal government to have functional modular and regular refineries to refine fuel for public use to ease societal stress. As the content of this discussion sank in, i had to express my sigh, "May God not allow neighbouring African States to add Ebola to our name."
A word for NLC national leadership, "Buoda Joe Ajaero, answer Sir to 'Egbon Tinibu' and solve dis labour mata kiakia.' Dis last protest wakarin show bow legs o, your pipo morah low. Some provoke say una dey use dem catch cruise; as soon as una negotiate reach midway una dey comot hand for mata. Later, ear go dey hear how una don become paddy-paddy wit government pipo for corn-tri. Dem come still tork say strike na film trick wen leaders dey use shake ground to take put sumor tin for inner pocket.
"Abeg hold Egbon hand wueh for dialogue, we wan hear tori wueh go sweet belle, this strike wueh una dey arrange to begin from August 14, 2023, base on say, if dem no remove contempt of court summon for union leaders head, be as e get. You geh food for hass no mean say your nebor don chop. Wetin go happen wuen area scatah? Go verify unemployment rate even as una dey negotiate for minimum wage. Kooloo-kooloo... kooloo temper.
"Nor also forget teh your Abuja pipo make dem nor dey pull down national assembly gate or destroy national property wen dem dey vex o, na taxpayer monie dem go still use repair am and more. Area tie wrapper for suffer both at state and national level. Enter street make you look pipo face."
The federal government on Monday August 7, 2023, backtracked and withdrew the contempt suit filed against leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress for organising a nationwide anti-subsidy protest on August 2, 2023.
Against the prevailing backdrop of labour protest, poverty statistics in Nigeria show that as of 2022, an estimated population of 88.4 million people in Nigeria lived in extreme poverty. The number of men living on less than 1.90 U.S. dollars a day in the country reached around 44.7 million, while the count was at 43.7 million for women as at Feb 2, 2023.
A survey by Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) a multinational professional services network, and accounting firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services, on April 11, 2023, in its report tagged ‘KPMG Global Economy Outlook report, H1 2023,’ said unemployment will continue to be a challenge due to the slower than required economic growth and the inability of the economy to absorb the 4-5 million new entrants into the Nigerian job market every year.
The report said Nigerian unemployment rate will hit 41% in 2023. Unemployment is expected to continue to be a major challenge in 2023 due to the limited investment by the private sector, low industrialisation and slower than required economic growth and consequently the inability of the economy to absorb the 4-5 million new entrants into the Nigerian job market every year.
'Although the National Bureau of Statistics recorded an increase in the national unemployment rate from 23.1per cent in 2018 to 33.3per cent in 2020. We estimate that this rate has increased to 37.7per cent in 2022 and will rise further to 40.6 per cent in 2023.”
The report also said that in 2024, the unemployment rate will grow to 43 per cent while inflation will accelerate to 20.3 per cent in 2023 and 20.0 per cent in 2024.
It further said that the spillover from an expected slowdown in the global economy in 2023 and its trade and financial flows implications would drag on Gross Domestic Product.
The report claimed that growth will be negatively affected by the naira redesign policy introduced in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023.
The KPMG report said this has implications on key non-oil sectors like manufacturing, trade, accommodation and food services, transportation and other services, further slowing down overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2023.
“Headline annual inflation maintained its upward trend throughout 2022, reaching its highest levels in almost two decades and closing the year at 21.34 per cent, with food inflation and core inflation growing by 23.75 per cent and 18.49 per cent, respectively. This was driven by persistent structural issues, which impacted domestic food production and transportation such as insecurity, floods in key agricultural producing areas and rising international food and energy prices following the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other policy-related bottlenecks, which continue to impact the cost of doing business.”
It also noted that the expected fuel subsidy removal and the 2023 fiscal bill would also mount pressure on domestic prices in 2023
On another hand, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) as at January 19, 2023 projected that unemployment rate is likely to increase to 37 per cent, while poverty headcount will increase to 45 per cent due to weak performance in the job-elastic sectors while the report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on March 15, 2021, revealed that one in three Nigerians is now without a job. This is contained in the NBS report titled ‘Labour Force Statistics, Unemployment and Under Employment – Q4 2020’ which states that 33.3 percent of the current population of Nigeria is unemployed.
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