Tackling the season of darkness in Nigeria

By Isah Chiroma Aliyu

This is a strange and frightening moment in Nigeria. There are many voices today mixed with anger and bitterness spread across the country expressed over the prevalent waves of insecurity, hunger, and disappointment.

We took hold of a lot of questions shuffling out of our minds and began to make some inquiries. Our findings were clear and inescapable because when we consider the dangers we are deeply rooted in, all seems terrible. This led us to pose another inquiry. And it is this: are our leaders doing the needful to bring an end to those security crises? 

While reflecting on our current situation, I felt little tension under my cheats. I feel the tension of lust and I hope that the dawn will come. I looked at the situation again and again, and despite everything, I feel we are yet to bridge some gaps that make our souls lifeless. I feel a rage, at myself, at society, at humanity, and above at what our future holds.

Somehow, I concluded that, as a matter of fact, many people out there are facing one of the toughest times in their history of human struggle. When we take a long look at ourselves and our society in the mirrors of our life, we must admit that we were wrong; wrong in such a way that we failed to choose good leaders who will serve and steer the wheel of our nation towards a safe land, far away from ocean tides and currents. We failed to elect leaders likely to take us to a land filled with hope, promise, and future greatness for younger generations and those to come. I make these thoughtful insights into our country’s destiny even though I have some insights that leadership is not an easy task.

Today, Nigeria as a county has lost hope and will likely collapse. I realize no one will save us but us. We need to see out the truth and unravel the snarled web that clings to our visions, which will help us find out who we are and what we can do as collective individuals to change our history. I realize that we need to take full charge of our future and restore our hope of a greater nation, which will make our lives better. Our hopes and faith in humanity need to be reaffirmed. Society is slowly coming awake, it is not fully awake yet, but from the engagements we see around happening, we feel some ease down our spines. It is time for our country to straighten up and fly right.

While reflecting on the current waves of insecurity, hunger, and disappointment that form the layers of our atmosphere, I realise we are a very sick county. Perhaps all the regions are sick from the northern part of the county, down to the southern part. This is an idea we must accept. We are very familiar with the situations happening in those regions, precisely Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, and other major cities across the country. These are places where insecurity has shattered the lives of the population and turned a lot of Nigerians into displaced persons. This is a life filled with disappointment, and this is something that a good leader should be able to handle; a leader who puts his people’s problems first and provides solutions to those problems.

Some of the situations we find difficult to understand. But our leaders need to put more effort into combating those challenges disrupting our society. Take the case of insecurity. It has almost become an endless battle. Yes, even though the crises are taking place in almost every state in Nigeria, it is possible to reduce them to a certain minimum. I am not saying the effort being put in place to check insecurity in Nigeria is not appreciated, but more effort is needed because the situation is already getting out of hand.

What must be done, I believe, is that all these problems, particularly insecurity, must be brought out and approached strategically. No society will grow under crisis unless it is tackled and peace is regained. I know that fighting insecurity is hard, but what I believe is that we have all we need to win the fight, from vastly experienced individuals to the resources needed to carry out that task. I believe that in the experience of the men in power lies the knowledge and wisdom that needs to be utilized to help contribute to solving the insecurity problem in Nigeria. It is the role of the government to invite those who know the way to help steer our county out of the woods.

I think all of us, as citizens have a role to play in the fight against insecurity and the long run, contribute to the growth of our county. A lot of our feeling will may be hurt, but when we consume the antidote of patience, it will serve as the driving force to keep us moving. And above all, the government needs to fasten its belt and take full charge of our country. It may be that our weakness as humans arises from not doing the needful and the things that are expected from us. Of course, we want our beloved country to be a place that is comfortable for humanity. We need it to be a comfort zone, where citizens will build their lives and become who they want to be and be relevant to their society. We need to figure out where we want to go as a nation, what kind of society we need, and how to go about it.

Today in Nigeria, the sun is hot and the shade of the trees offers no comfort. Our dying souls are irritated and in this charged atmosphere created by the presence of those waves of challenges we faced, we keep our burning flames of how to regain our strengths and live to see our nation become a better place. 

Chiroma writes in from Abuja, Nigeria.