We all are to blame

by Muhammad Miftahuddeen Isa

The situation in this country has been understood by many to be a game of politics and that has led us to approach the issue with a single theory; a theory that only examines the failure of leaders and not the led. I’m not saying we shouldn’t hold our leaders accountable; but we should at least ponder on the possibility of other options to curtail the atrocities.

As individuals, we’ve been instrumental to the woes of this country. We educate our children just in the hope that they land a job in the Finance ministry or the booming oil industry- not to develop the sector but for personal aggrandisement. We fail to pay taxes on the silly excuse that the government isn’t productive enough to utilise it appropriately and, when in public offices, divert funds meant for state developmental projects to finance our personal projects. We lust over riches more than we lust over peace. Everything we do is to make sure we’re one step ahead of our neighbour.

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We talk about insurgency, banditry and others, but forget to mention that the perpetrators are our brethren; the very ones we either fail to take good care of or those we brainwash to fuel our lustful journey to an evil destination. How many of our neighbours sleep on empty stomach? How many yearn to send their wards to school but cannot due to financial hiccups? How many of them can we help but chose not to? And how many of those children are recruited by evil elements to cause destruction? On whom now is the blame? These are questions we should be asking ourselves.

The only thing that ever matters to many of us is riches. We instill the fear of poverty in children but forget to build in them the invincible love for humanity and their country. In fact, the children produced today hardly think about others, including their parents. Why? Because they are taught to put themselves first before others.

In the good name of religion, Imams and Pastors pit a group against another, and politicians in the name of ethnic solidarity destroy the morality of society. Teachers in learning institutions ask where you come from before any other thing, and interviewers ask who sent you not what you can offer to the development of their institutions. Inflated prices by traders and bad policies by unions. Lack of discipline in the youths and loss of empathy in elders. Is this really the world we want to bequeath to the next generation?

So, agreed. The system might be so unworthy of commendation, but I’m sorry to say that we are the system. If your uncle is in the NNPC, mine swims in the blissful ocean of the CBN and the man beside you has unrestricted access to the Government House. Thus, if we are saying the government is bad – at least we could try to be fair enough to say that we are the government.

Muhammad Miftahuddeen Isa, Bauchi State.