Akoko-Akuma: The Dream.
For Hakeem Shitta
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“…we are chronically, intuitively wired to doing things the hard way. The usually progressive short-cuts seem too cumbersome for us Nigerians to toe at any given time. Must be a cogent reason we prefer flickering candlelight and power generators to the steadiness and the ease of electricity; why we choose chaos over orderliness or why we prefer the constant runs to the corner “Chemists” rather than make one brisk visit to the Doctors. Our choice of the “Tunnel”, over the “Peripheral” kinds of vision is evident all around us by the account of our various “uncoordinated sense of prioritization”. From the man on the street, to the woman in the market, all the way to the parastatals, and to the tip of the apex of our national bureaucracy. A single Nigerian or his/ her office is not excluded. Our natural flair for the dramatics supersedes our innate sense for reasonability. Our definition for responsibility is as relative as the word itself. We define it to fit conveniently. Take a Nigerian- regardless of gender or demography from any of her many states, or from any of the burgeoning tribes or ethnicities; pad him up with all the necessary encouragements to act out any role unfamiliar to his or her nature…and watch the actor in him transform that spontaneous stage into a friendly Amphitheater- complete with no retakes, good backdrops and flexible props. The audience is instantly “abducted” into the One-Man show like he’s privately screening a high budget movie. Little wonder we have the “Heart of Nollywood” right here in the nation. The highly suspenseful political thriller presently playing out before us- believe it or not was-in the same sense not originally scripted! But it’s nevertheless turning out to be an epic- with many “stories within a story”. We’ve gone through many actors, scenes, plots and subplots already. We are approaching the final chapter – and I see a Court Scene in the offing- a Judge could just end up settling it all. He could end up being the ultimate Villian or the refreshingly Good Guy. Warning! This movie is never for the faint of heart, and its dizzying effect is second only to the slow spins of a gigantic Ferris-Wheel. But hard as they play it, tasking as they screen it- the constant Good shall ultimately triumph over any errant Evil!”- Akoko Akuma, in “The Dream: Liberating Wisdom From The Depth And The Comfort Of The Grave”.
