22052019 - F U L A N I S AT I O N A G E N D A : Obasanjo seeks to divide Nigeria in his old age —FG

OUR economic discourse
obsessively tracks GDP
figures but fails to analyse the
standard of living in real terms.
Similarly, we pay very little
attention to the average
Nigerian’s emotional wellbeing
in a system where it is virtually
impossible to achieve anything
without a high level of resources
or connections. We talk about
attracting foreign direct
investment but fail to analyse
why it doesn’t seem to have an
impact on the lives of ordinary
people.
Similarly, we are yet to accept
that economic growth will not
help the majority unless we
tackle inequality in our society.
In 2010, seven out of 10
Nigerians were already poor,
and two thirds of that number
were from the North and
projected to spend a lifetime in
poverty, according to the Centre
for Global Development. Social
inclusion is not given the same
attention as trade policy, yet it
is central to the survival of our
democracy.
Of course, if people become
less poor they are more reluctant
to be used as tools of violence
and instability, hence why many
of those bemoaning Nigeria’s
current state did little to prevent
our nation’s slow decline when
they had the chance.
We thought we were making
progress because telecoms were
booming, fashion and art shows
were everywhere, oil prices
were high and construction was
up, and with progress came all
of the social ills of modernity but
with none of the discourse,
analysis or government
programmes to keep them at
bay.
Perhaps the one thing we
discuss even less than
inclusive growth is mental
health. Both are linked. Our
winner-takes-all society is
producing citizens nursing a
Obasanjo
THE former President
outraged many leaders
and former associates by stating
Boko Haram is proof of a plot to
islamise West Africa. Like Reno
Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode,
he believes there is a
“fulanisation” agenda.
It’s a shame that so-called
statesmen continue to play
dangerous games, pitting
Nigerians against one another,
using the tools of
misinformation and
demagoguery to do so.
Statistically, Boko Haram has
killed more Muslims than
Christians in the North where
its attacks have been
concentrated. Some people are
smartly using the North/South,
Christian/Muslim divide to
enforce their own agenda.
It is also quite ironic that
Obasanjo believes “the twin
evils of Boko Haram and
marauding cattle herders were
initially treated with kid gloves”
whereas both issues were
already present under his
administration. Wikileaks
cables allege they were ignored
and allowed to fester for political
reasons not unrelated to the
third term agenda.
The unspoken public health challenge: Depression,
suicide and Nigeria’s declining standard of living
myriad of personal issues:
anxiety, depression, life
dissatisfaction are a result of an
unjust society where
individuals are damaged by
pervasive inequality. We
wonder why suicide is suddenly
so prevalent without
connecting this to the
disintegrating moral fabric of a
country where neither merit nor
hard work are rewarded, one
where we are all constantly
trying to outdo or outspend
•Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
To quote Dr. Junaid
Mohammed, a Second Republic
lawmaker: “Every Nigerian
leader should be blamed for the
mess we find ourselves in. We
must blame in totality the
political class who have not
handled the economy and
politics well. They have been
very divisive in their ways”.
He questioned Obasanjo’s
alleged meddling in the politics
of Sharia when it was
introduced, and the use of
religion (by both Christians and
Muslims) to divide Nigerians.
We must interrogate
politicians’ utterances and
actions which might not be
unconnected to their loss at the
polls.
each other while creating little
wealth or socio-economic value.
Our country remains poor
despite (some might say
because of) our luxurious tastes:
we put pressure on ourselves
to outspend each other, the
appearance of wealth matters
more than sustainable
production, and we fail to see
that in this rat race we’re all
losers; the energy spent
attempting to outdo one another
only benefits foreign brands and
companies.
We might think our spending
makes us big men in our local
context but we are only big fish
in a very small pond, and the
pond is shrinking fast with no
mass commitment, from all of
us, to make the pond bigger and
increase the number of fish
which have access to it.
Modern living negatively
affects our physical and mental
health. Yet, the majority of
Nigerians don’t seem to be
aware of this.
The more affluent the middle
class becomes, the more we
mindlessly consume imported
products: from technology, to
food and beverages, everything
that is a marker of higher status
is slowly becoming a means to
State governors
THE Nigeria Governors
Forum has rejected the
financial autonomy recently
granted to local governments.
The NGF Chairman and
Governor of Zamfara State,
Abdulaziz Yari, signed a letter
to President Muhammadu
Buhari stating the NGF’s
displeasure.
Many of those in office do not
support the sort of radical,
structural change which could
really make a difference in
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2019 —17
encourage poor outcomes from
obesity to status anxiety, as it is
done in the West.
We mistake progress and
development for consuming
expensive or mass-produced
products we don’t really need,
and human relationships suffer
because of this. Parents more
readily buy their children
entertainment than take an
interest in their lives and a “real
man” is one who can afford to
fund the lifestyles of several
Our country offers
too few
opportunities for
self-realisation for
us to believe that
people will forever
accept a society
where one’s
aspirations are only
realizable if one
cheats and steals
one’s way into
becoming upper
class
women. These behaviour
patterns put pressure on
individuals and the entire
society; they have psychological
consequences which we are yet
Nigeria. One wonders, in fact,
how many of those around the
President himself truly believe
in his professed agenda.
The NGF statement asked the
Nigerian Financial Intelligence
Unit to focus on anti-money
laundering and combating
those who finance terrorism.
How can this be done without
looking more closely at the use
of local government funds?
How long will Nigerians
tolerate this hypocrisy?
to fully realise or condemn. The
pressure to live up to the
financial expectations of others,
the lack of contentment the
modern world mocks and
discourages, is fast becoming a
public health challenge.
Social media is perhaps one
of the most intriguing
inventions of the century. The
ability to seamlessly connect
with others and broadcast one’s
message has obvious
revolutionary potential. It also
feeds into some of humanity’s
worst tendencies, insecurities
and status anxiety.
In a consumerist world where
individuals are defined by what
they own, social media easily
becomes a projection of
excesses as exemplified by the
Nigerian culture.
For a long time, we were
living a sort of dream life,
pretending this was still the
1970s, when our problem wasn’t
money “but how to spend it”,
according to General Yakubu
Gowon. We produced little
besides oil and felt we were
literally too big to fail.
Unrealistic
expectations
Entire generations grew up
with outsized, unrealistic
expectations based on the
lifestyles exemplified by those
at the top. The current travails
of now infamous musicians
such as Naira Marley who was
questioned by the EFCC due to
his alleged connection to
internet fraudsters or “yahoo
boys”, is but one example of a
culture of overindulgence,
dissipation and extravagance.
Ironically, Dino Melaye, a
senator, said on Twitter recently:
“I am afraid of the revenge of
the poor… Housing
segregation puts us the elite in
jeopardy. Ikoyi, Banana,
Maitama, Asokoro, etc. Our
leaders + me beware of violent
revolution. Perilous times
loading”.
Yet, the bills he and his
colleagues sponsor do not seem
to reflect this sense of urgency.
The idea of a revolution in a not
too distant future is not
unconnected to the
phenomenon of mass
unhappiness
and
dissatisfaction taking over
Nigeria.
Nigerians are grappling with
many frustrations, and the same
loneliness as elsewhere in the
world.
Our country offers too few
opportunities for self-realisation
for us to believe that people will
forever accept a society where
one’s aspirations are only
realisable if one cheats and
steals one’s way into becoming
upper class. Will the new
leadership of the National
Assembly work on bills to uplift
the standard of living?
Tabia Princewill is a
strategic communications
consultant and public policy
analyst. She is also the cohost
and executive producer
of a talk show, WALK THE
TALK which airs on
Channels TV.