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| EMECHO TED (AEP) |
Things Fall Apart, as we
know, has become synonymous with Prof. Chinua Achebe. The novel, to my
understanding, is not about displaying bravery as depicted by the protagonist,
Okonkwo. Rather, it is about dynamism in opposing the assault or the position
of the White men who viewed the African culture with much disdain and inferior
and went ahead to impose their own culture which was totally strange to the
Africans.
It seems that the novel which was
published in 1958 is now revealing more information thereby adding more value
to our contemporary society and environment. Today, most developed and
developing nations are using Science and Technology to leverage their life and
economy but it seems that the same Science and Technology is like a curse because
its wrong usage is impacting negatively on the black race. People are now
engaging in cultures that are alien to us. People are now using sophisticated
weapons to engage in physical warfare’s and armed robbery, terrorism,
manufacturing of explosives and bomb blasts, computer fraud, kidnappings and
ritual killings and other maladies through the use of the social media.
For the past few years, things
have really fallen apart in many parts of Nigeria. The security situation in
the country has become a great concern to every well-meaning Nigerian. It is
quite regrettable that Pope Francis, the new Catholic Pontiff, has commented on
it during his Easter message to the world recently. What a pity!
The Boko Haram insurgency
and the incessant communal clashes in the north, the dumping of
unidentified corpses in Ezu River in Anambra State, the nefarious activities of
pipeline vandals and oil stealing in the oil producing areas of Niger Delta,
discovery of baby factories in some states in the South-East and various labour
unrest and demonstrations in some higher institutions are indicative of this
falling apart of the nation’s moral fabric.
With all these prevailing
uncertainties, the hearts of many Nigerians are fast beating with fear. Many
are suffering in silence while many others can no longer sleep with their two
eyes closed. The current level of unemployment should be
nerve-racking for Nigeria’s leaders and must stimulate them to action. It is
unacceptable, disgraceful and smacks of insensitivity on the part of any
government when this situation is viewed against the fact of legislators’
unjustified jumbo pay, corruption in the executive branch and general waste in
government. In the light of this, it is not surprising that an army of angry
and desperate unemployed youths prowling cities and the unending influx of
youth into the urban areas to eke out a living now pose further threat to an
already precarious state of national security.
Unemployment has conspicuously impacted negatively
on sustainable economic growth, environmental progression and political stability
in Nigeria .
Owing to the rot in our
educational system, many young Nigerians are now queuing up in foreign
embassies to obtain visas to study abroad, even in fellow African countries
like Ghana and South Africa, where the learning conditions are better.
Unfortunately, the government appears to be nibbling at the problem rather than
tackling it holistically. Just recently, the Federal Government approved nine
new federal universities to bring the total of universities in the country to
117. Ordinarily, one would say the more the merrier. But that is not the case
here, as the problem of funding the universities and education generally is
still largely unaddressed.
These days, most of our youths
cannot communicate in their mother tongues. Also, a lot of the elite can hardly
read and write in their local languages. People who lost their language have
obviously lost their values. Besides, our dressing is nothing to write home
about. Respect for the traditional rulers who are supposed to be the custodians
of our culture and the elders in some parts of the country has become a thing
of the past. Instead, respect for wealth has become the order of the day
thereby making some of our traditional rulers and elders to compromise as they
turn to the rich for goodies.
Our ethics and moral values have
degenerated to the lowest ebb. Bribery and corruption, examination malpractice
and the special centre syndrome, obtain by tricks, tribalism and nepotism, drug
trafficking, human trafficking, child labour and prostitution are no longer
viewed with any disgust, religious bigotry, cheap blackmail and frame-ups
coupled with other negative acts which many thought had left our people are now
prevalent in our society.
With the recent happenings in
Nigeria, what strength would individual derive from the country? What strength
would innocent citizens derive from an insensitive government? What strength
would an angry unemployed graduate derive from a clueless administration? “Individuals
are suppose to derive strength from their society, and societies derive
strength from the individuals who belong to them”
Indeed, in every segment of our national life,
things have actually fallen apart and the centre cannot hold. Since we cannot
pretend about that, the option left for us is to reflect and know where we have
failed as a people and a nation, and Endeavour to make the necessary amendment
by being patriotic, maintain peace and integrity, equity and justice, and love
one another without hypocrisy.
God Bless Nigeria!!!
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