BROKEN NATIONS THINK IN SIDES

By Akin Ojumu

Whether you are a diehard Darwinist or a dyed in the wool Creationist, it is impossible to look at the human body and not conclude there is an intelligent mind behind its design. Composed of nearly forty trillion cells intricately organized and arranged into tissues, organs, and systems all working and functioning in one accord, the human body is, without a doubt, the most complex and complicated piece of engineering there is on earth.

The Maker of the human body is inventive of mind and dexterous of hand. Like a grand orchestra, the organization of the human body is a masterful arrangement of complicated melodies, harmonies and rhythms producing rich and luxurious music. His creative genius and skillful craftsmanship manifest in the more than 40 trillion chemical processes that occur in the human body every passing second. The One who weaves all of the structures, functions and processes together in perfect harmony is a Grand Maestro of 40 trillion member opera. It is His invisible hand that puts everything together in their place and in proper order.

As long as the body exists in harmony with itself, people live their lives to the fullest. With every cell putting in the work, every tissue doing its due, every organ pulling their weight, and every system performing their job, all in the service of the whole body, the unity and health of the body is preserved. The entire body is filled with the light of life when each of its cells recognizes and fulfills their role according to the natural order of creation. When all the component parts of the body function in one accord, the body is sound and at its optimal best. The body is in health when all of its parts are in sync, and wellness is the outcome of all components working hand in hand.

Conversely, sickness is the introduction of disorderliness to the orderly operation of the 40 trillion cells that make up the human body. The slightest alteration to the perfect balance between the structure and function of the cells, tissues, organs, and systems results in a disease. When the concord of existence is shattered, discord assumes control. Brokenness ensues when a ripple of chaos sweeps through the oasis of peacefulness, and a broken body is one in which the balance in the milieu intérieur has been lost.

Under normal circumstances, human cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old or become damaged, they die, and new cells take their place. Tumor develops when this orderly process of the body cells breaks down and it becomes abnormal. As cells become more and more abnormal, old or damaged cells survive when they should die, and new cells form when they are not needed. These extra cells continue to divide uncontrollably without stopping and thus form growths called tumors (What is Cancer? National Cancer Institute).

The primary cause of all bodily ailments is the introduction of chaos and disorder into internal milieu of mutually beneficial co-existence. Deadly diseases, like cancers, thrive in such a chaotic and disorderly environment. They often invade nearby tissues and sometimes they break off and spread to distance parts of the body where they propagate themselves by forming new tumors far from the original source. Lacking regard for the health of the whole, the cancer tissues are all about self and exist for self alone. Unconcerned about the well-being of the entire body, cancerous cells think in side to the detriment of all sides. Cancer cells conscript nearby normal cells, molecules, and blood vessels to feed the tumor by inducing them to form blood vessels that supply the tumors with oxygen and nutrients, which the tumor cells need to grow. Likewise, cancer cells survive by overriding and evading the body’s inbuilt self-control mechanism (i.e. immune system).

And for all the amount of oxygen, nutrients, and the body’s resources they consume to grow and propagate themselves, cancerous tissues serve no useful purpose other than to cause pain and suffering that end in death and destruction.

Similar to the human body, sovereign states (or sovereign nations) are made up of a group of people who share a lot in common and live within defined and internationally recognized geographical boundaries. Many nations (defined as culturally homogeneous groups of people which share a common language, institution, religion, and/or historical experience) often exist within a sovereign state. When it comes to the survival of a sovereign state there can be no thinking in sides, because there is just one side. The prosperity of the sovereign state is determined by, and dependent on, the peace and concord between the constituent nations. For the sovereign state to thrive the people that make up the nations will have to recognize their individual roles and fulfill them.

A broken nation is like a broken body, they are each a byproduct of broken harmony. Without a rapprochement between the nations, the sovereign state crumbles. As it is with a body overtaken by disease, when the bond of unity among the people of a nation is broken disorder ensues and the people are at cross-purposes with one another. The result is a disunited people that think in sides, a chaotic society at war with itself, and a degenerate state where hopes are shattered, dreams go unfulfilled, and potentials get wasted. Broken nations are graveyards for creativity and are sepulchers for ingenuity. It is a place of pain and a land of misery where lack and despair reign supreme.

Nigeria is an example of such a broken nation. It is a place where the people think in sides. The nations that make up Nigeria are up in arms against one another. The seed of discord sown by our forefathers have grown and is ripe for harvest. Distrust and suspicion are in the very air that we breathe, and they are the oxygen that inflames into blinding fury the differences that exist among us. And the soot that falls from the burning wreckage cover over the rich heritage that we all share in common.

The Nigeria house is divided against itself, and as the nation crashes and burns everyone wants to flee. All over the land, there is call for restructuring and secession is seen as the solution to nation’s myriad of problems. Unbeknownst to many, secessions have already occurred, and are occurring on a daily basis, in Nigeria. Albeit, this is happening in a manner unrecognizable by many Nigerians. The union of the Nigeria nation has long been dissolved, it’s just not in the way we think of how such unions or dissolutions go.

Surreptitiously, like sneaky thieves in the dead of the night, the rich and powerful seceded from Nigeria many years ago. The Nigeria political class have obtained decree nisi from the Nigerian people, and the ruling class have in their hands the absolute divorce decree. The privileged in the society have seceded from the rest of us and they have given us all a letter of divorce. In the mind of these secessionists, ordinary Nigerians contribute nothing meaningful to the continuance of their privileged existence, they add nothing to the bottom lines, so working to level the playing field so that the hardworking Nigerian can make something good out of their live is not a purpose worth pursuing. Having concluded that their well-being is no longer tied to us, they severed tie from the rest of us.

You only need to look around at the condition of the nation to see the proof of this divorce. It is obvious in the non-existence institutions and the crumbling infrastructures. The secessionists have no need for institutions or infrastructures, for they are an institution to themselves and have the means to provide for themselves all the infrastructures they need to live. Also, institutions mean accountability and responsibility that all lead to questions being asked. They know that opening such a can of worms will only take them down a rabbit hole they’d rather not go.

The evidence is found in the gross unemployment of the youth and able-bodied Nigerians willing to work to make an honest buck. Why create jobs when they have accumulated wealth large enough to last a lifetime even to the 10^th generation? The sign of secession can be seen in the education system that produces uneducated graduates and in the public schools that are starved of funds and left to drown in the pool of penury. What useful purpose would adequate funding of the public school system bring, when their children populate the most expensive private schools in and out of the country?

Proof of secession of the rich and powerful in Nigeria from the rest of the country is the road networks that are left unkept and have become death traps. Why waste of resources to build and maintain good roads when they are never going to use them and always have the option of traveling by air? If there is ever a need to travel by roads the secessionists are often accompanied by hired guns in police and military uniforms who provide escorts to clear the roads to avoid being attacked and delayed by miscreants such as us.

A clue the political class seceded from Nigeria is seen in a largely abandoned military and police force who have been left to protect the country, fight crimes, and provide security using weapons that date back to the Kiriji war of 1877 – 1893. It is no brainer, really. The secessionists all live in gated communities with walls so high they almost touch the sky and are under the protection of armed guards and night watchmen while the rest of us are left at the mercies of armed robbers and night marauders. And should war break out, they have private jets to escape the mayhem.

You know the ruling class have divorced us when you discover that the healthcare system is a deathwatch system and the hospitals are glorified morgues. Duh! The moment the secessionists hurt even their pinkie, they are on the plane to seek care abroad. The evidence of secession of the political class is the power sector that perpetually generates weakness and darkness. Of course, it all makes sense. Their homes and businesses are powered by generators so big they have to be housed in specially constructed housing.  

These are all the proofs I need to convince you that those who solemnly swore and affirmed to be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria have long seceded from Nigeria. Their pledge of allegiance is nothing but a sham to cover up their silent divorce from the Nigerian people. The only allegiance the secessionists hold is towards protecting their ill-gotten wealth.

Robert Reich described this situation in the article titled, “What is a Nation?” (Robert B. Reich. What is a Nation? Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 106, No. 2 (Summer, 1991), pp. 193-209),

“Many working women these days are able to secede from unhappy or unrewarding marriages. While the reasons for such withdrawals vary, where an economic motive exists it is usually because the defectors conclude that they will do better on their own. The union is unnecessarily costly or constraining, and the defectors no longer wish to subsidize partners who fail to pull their own weight. Secession need not be explicit. It does not require a declaration of war nor even a formal revocation of contract. It can happen quietly, almost imperceptibly, as in a marriage whose partners slowly drift apart. One day the players awaken to a new reality. They discover they are no longer part of the same team.”

Something of this sort is what is occurring in Nigeria today. In a sign of brokenness and utter disharmony, those who hold the reign of power in Nigeria, and those who shape the destiny of our society, have concluded they don’t belong to the Nigerian team. Our adulterous partners have determined that their continuing relationship with the rest of the Nigerian nation has become untenable and they feel they are much better off being on their own and doing their own thing. These cancerous secessionists have therefore sold their stake in the progress and development of our Fatherland and are all about protecting the wealth and possession acquired at the expense of ordinary Nigerians. Without a thought about the well-being of the rest of us, they have left the nation to rot and decay. Nigerians need only wake up to this our present reality.