Maddie’s Thoughts
‘Today, we are no longer what we were; what is happening today is not in our character. The norms and values left by Sardauna and our founding fathers are no longer with us. Today, there is meaninglessness in philosophy insecurity in polity, chaos in politicsm immorality in society, corruption in economy, frustration in art and lack of creativity in literature’-Late Maitama Sule.
An extract from the book Sardauna- The Motivator:
There was a rapturous applause as Sir Ahmadu Bello got up to speak. Sallama moved to get him to sit. He waved off Sallama and stared blankly into space. He waited for complete silence. Then he stepped out from where he stood and took a slow calculated step towards his ministers and traditional rulers. For a given while, he was quiet again, creating an unexpected tension.
“I am not unaware that i have often been a controversial figure. i have been accused of lack of nationalism and political awareness because i considered that independence must wait until a country has the resources to support and make a success of independence. I have been accused of conservatism because i believe in retaining all that is good in our old traditions and customs and refusing to copy all aspects of other alien civilization.
I have been accused of many things but the views of others have never made me deviate from the path which i am certain is the one which will benefit my people and our country at large. Our royal highnesses, cherished leaders of our people present here today, let me use the occasion of this special meeting to congratulate you all again on the great feat of the attainment of our independence. It was a battle that i will not stop thanking Allah for, but you see, since the event of this victory, i have had no sleep. It has been my constant source of worry. I’m worried!” he declared, raising up his right hand and waving to everyone.
“The baton has been passed over to us to lead our people by ourselves, not here up the north, we don’t seem to be ready. I’m gravely worried for the whole of Nigeria but much more worried for the vast regions of the north. i am even more worried now because i sense you don’t seem to see the problems i see,” he paused muttering to himself in Hausa language. Sallama called out, “this thing” because before now, he did not have a name for it. Our great grandfathers will not forgive us if we do not complete what they asked of us. The name for this thing that worries me is “disunity.”
Precisely fifty one years ago, the night of January 15th 1966, mayhem was unleashed and history upturned. Dreams were snatched by the cold bullets from guns that went deep and pierced into the heart of some of our founding fathers. Destinies were forever halted. Where they once stood in their prime, now empty and in their place an uncomfortable throbbing silence, a long pause in the history of Nigeria.
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Today, we are celebrating the armed forces Remembrance Day, and the question no one has dared to ask is this, why are we not making reference to history so we can learn from the mistakes of the past and understand our present predicaments in order to navigate into our future. No one has asked why the deaths of some of our founding fathers been swept under the rugs for so long. No one is asking because no one cares.
The late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the late prime minister of Nigeria, Sir Tafawa Balewa and the rest of the men that were assassinated on that fateful night were not perfect people, but they stood for something. They saw their deaths, they felt the betrayal but they believed in fate and the hand of God in everything and they refused to bolt and seek asylum in other countries. They had their ideals and values that have gradually been obliterated into oblivion by the malicious and corrupt tendencies of our contemporary leaders. The labours of our heroes past buried long before their bodies were buried.
What we have today is a state of emergency. We have forgotten the legacy of farming that was laid, the industries that were nurtured to free us from complete dependence on the west. We have fought and killed each other for black gold, brothers hate brothers, strangers have crept into our midst. Moral decadence is on rampage; mayhem on our streets. Chaos unleashed as our youths scramble all around the world looking for greener pastures. They have lost their identities simply because there is no sense of history.
Today, the 15th of January 2018, this is a call for us all to wake up and be the change we need. Let’s begin to ask the questions that must be answered. Let’s go back to where the history of Nigeria was paused and address the issues that led to the first coup d’état. Let’s remember the labours of our heroes past. Let’s celebrate those who fought for the independence of Nigeria. Let’s remember the values they taught us and learn to live by them. Let’s build the Nigeria of our dreams together.
The time to start is now by bringing history back into the curriculum.
Madeline Agoba. Writer of the book Ahmadu Bello, the Motivator.. soon to be released.
Comment:
Today, i have decided to become the change i need. I may be far from perfect but i am work in progress. i have been on this journey for five years. A painstaking journey that didn’t seems to have an end. The journey of a forlorn writer with so much to say. A mother that is desperate to see society change for good for her children and their friends. A society that they would be proud to call their own and walk with a sense of purpose.
The future seems bleak for “generation next”. History has deliberately been taken out of curriculum. Our children do not understand our norms and values as taught us by our forefathers. What they know they have learnt from social media and reality shows
