Lessons From My Wife’s Poultry and The Nigerian Situation

In the first post on Lessons from my Wife’s Poultry, we talked about the need for redirecting and redefining education. In the second post, we looked at the importance of dynamism in creating and adding more value to life and our responsibilities. We continue with the series.

Friday, the 12th of October, 2018, was a school-free day for private schools in Delta State because the National Association of Private Schools Proprietors set out today for meetings and other things.

My wife was at the poultry and I decided to go and help out, but she declined. However, I noticed that the birds were all crowded at the door separating the outer room from their pen. She could not even find enter the space to clear the floor or feed them.

It reminded me of the Nigerian situation. The birds were hungry and desperate. This particular species have very great appetite for food. Just like Nigerians have a big appetite for the good things of life. We love everything in big sizes and large numbers. We love big and fancy cars and we like them following us in convoys. We like big homes and large compounds. We love many wives, and having many boyfriends. Even if a man is monogamous, he would like to have many “side chicks”. We like Big Stout; even if there are two small bottles to make up for one big one, we prefer the single big one.

We like big ceremonies and an appetite for large crowds even in our churches. One pastor must preach in all the services. Sometimes, we don’t like creating more branches so that the whole crowd can be under our control. We like flowing gowns even as males. No wonder we like the name, “Giant of Africa”.

Another aspect of the Nigerian situation, in the presence of this big appetite, is the artificial bottlenecks we create before people can access services. All drivers’ licences must be approved from Abuja. All permits for tinted glass windows and screens must be from Abuja. There must be only one functional Automated Teller machine (ATM) amongst the lot outside the banks; all the ones in hotels, schools, hospitals and other public places must not function. We must have only one provider of electricity and single grid to distribute power.

Our leaders and even the subjects who handle issues enjoy the frustration and desperation the people seem to suffer. People have been trampled to death because thousands of people were crowded into a stadium for an interview to fill very limited spaces in a federal parastatal.

Do you realize that corruption is the grandchild of insufficiency and desperation? Criminality is the firstborn of intelligence seeking manifestation in the midst of deprivation and oppression.

All admissions into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education must pass through one examination board.

In such a situation the man who holds the power becomes the center of attraction. You can see in the video clip how the birds crowded my wife. Some were pecking her legs.

When you refuse to pay workers for eight months and pensioners for 36 months, they will sell their permanent voters card to you for 4000 Naira.

Nigerian politicians have perfected the act of creating desperation amongst our people. That’s why junior workers extort money by hiding forms etc.

There is a transport company where the ticketing clerks fill the manifest with fake names and collect tips from desperate passengers who want to fly.

Decentralization and Insufficiency

My wife was able to eventually clean the feeding troughs and put feed. Initially, there was a crowd around her. As the food was placed in more spaces round the pen, the desperation stopped. The crowd around my wife dispersed and they even ignored her. The aspect of their ignoring her really enlightened my spirit. If we can create sufficiency and functional services in Nigeria, the desperation and worship of wealth and the rich will greatly be reduced. Corruption will die gradually. Why do I need to steal to buy a big generator if electricity is regular? Why will I need to sink a borehole for myself when water is regular? Why do I need a fast car when a fast train can take me to wherever I want to go easily? Why will I cheat to get admission to University, when there are several things I can do and still live a comfortable life? Why do I need four big and expensive dogs if I am very sure of prompt police response?

The other lesson I learnt further buttressed my proposal for a six-man presidential council in my post on A New Narrative. They should represent six geopolitical zones with each serving for two years as the presidential spokesman and each handling a ministerial position. There should be no national parties. There should be only regional parties. With decentralization and devolution of powers in Nigeria, the political desperation will be greatly reduced.

There is too much concentration of power and wealth in very few hands in Nigeria and Africa.

Why would I need a General to sign a form for me to join the army of my nation as a young man?

Next I shall write on the Lessons From My Wife’s Poultry and The Nigerian Church.

God Bless You.