Who is who in Nigeria

First published in the Nigerian Compass of Tuesday July 27, 2010

Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan decorated 186 ‘distinguished Nigerians’ with different honours ‘as part of recognition for their selfless service to their fatherland’. The awardees include, but not limited to, politicians, professionals, retired soldiers and philanthropists. Since this ceremony in Abuja last week, there has been mixed reactions from Nigerians, home and in diaspora. While some think that these Nigerians are worthy awardees, some others disagree and feel that some of these awardees are people who have benefited from Nigeria than people who have given to Nigeria. Nigerians like awards and honours and this is a big problem. The first day Vice President Namadi Sambo resumed office, the first activity in the presidency is to give him a GCON. What for?

The newspapers have been making a lot of money from congratulatory messages and felicitations with these awardees. This is expected as societies like ours are filled with sycophants and this is the kind of things they want. They make people feel that they are loved and cherished but deep down in their hearts, they are only interested in what they gain from such person. This shows when things go sour, they align with someone else. This is not the theme of our discussion today. My take on the award ceremony, the awardees and the awarder is that Nigeria has nothing to award a serious mind. Anybody who feels that he needs any of these awards could be said to be unfriendly and selfish. On what basis are these awards given? How much money or how much influence? Relevance or being a major player? These could be some of the yardstick used by the organisers to dish out the awards. We can also look at it from this perspective; how distinguished are these Nigerians in the moral usage of the word that now warrants a national honour? Are there no better Nigerians than those paraded for the honours? Why can’t local achievers be honoured or are they exempted? Why are some people rejecting these honours? There are so many other questions that this piece may not capture.

I was listening to a programme on a local radio station last week and the presenter was talking about serious and unserious countries, particularly on ways a country evolves distinguished personalities that will be national as well as international figures. It is not a deliberate action of the state, but due to an enabled society, these personalities spring up and dominate talks locally and internationally. Anywhere they go, citizens come out in numbers to catch a glimpse of their hero. They are treated like heroes everywhere they go. They did not force these love on people by giving out money or other incentives, but work tirelessly to make the people happy through their different professions. Some are found in the entertainment industry, some, politics, while some others are located in other spheres of human endeavours. This presenter then mentioned Michael Jackson, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton and some others in America. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez was clearly the idol. In Ghana, Jerry Rawlings was mentioned as a national pride; South Africa has Mandela and the Queen, in England. This presenter then threw the bombshell that listeners should mention a Nigerian idol or figures that, willingly without any form of inducement, Nigerians will troop out en masse to catch a glimpse of. It was like a form of quiz. I searched through my file and could not think of one. Of course, it is my opinion. The presenter himself said he knew none as at that time and maybe after reactions and feedbacks are collated, he may find one. But believe you me, Nigeria has none. Then, what honours are being bestowed by Jonathan last week. Could any of the honoured gone to the other side of his clan and be welcomed as a hero?

I was even thinking of our footballers, but they too are not heroes. Is it Kanu Nwankwo, or Austin Jayjay Okoacha, or Yakubu Aiyegbeni, or even Mikel Obi, that is a national hero in the stature of the Madiba or Bill Clinton? When last week I wrote about the 92nd birthday of the African sage, Nelson Mandela, I made reference to the fact that Nigerian past leaders could not be regarded as sages simply because they think of themselves and their immediate interests rather than the interests of the country. It is shameful and disheartening that a country of Nigeria’s size and population status will be in short supply of nationalists and heroes.

Meanwhile,the way out is simple. The 2011 election seems to be the ultimate beginning to the end of Nigerian problems. If peoples’ choices are not tampered with, the country will be on the verge of reclaiming her place in the comity of serious nations. Enthroning good governance has been the major issue debilitating the country’s growth and development. The country is filled with potentials, material and human. There is no excuse not to flourish. Excellence should be rewarded and not riches and infamy. Many farmers contribute more than most of the people being honoured and they are not mentioned. This is not the vision of our heroes past. Honour should not be traded between the elite class but given to whom it is due.