My Heart Bleeds For Nigeria: Corrupters
Never Succeed In Fighting Corruption
30 May 2013
By Isa Ali Pantami
As a result of the unfortunate events that have
engulfed our darling Nigeria, I fear for the health of
the most important and most essential flesh of my
body. That flesh that controls my rational faculties;
that flesh that controls my intellect; that flesh that
serves as a guide for the goodness of my body; that
flesh that accommodates piety; that flesh that serves
as the King and Commander-in-chief of my body while
the remaining organs are only lieutenants; that flesh
that accommodates my motive and intention; that flesh
whose quality becomes the pre-requisite of accepting
my good deeds and that flesh that my Lord looks at
anytime and always. And this is nothing else but my
heart.
These events express the depths of darkness upon
darkness that have enveloped Nigeria and fellow
Nigerians. The darkness
as a result of air and land tragedies which include
the recent Dana Air crash of 3rd June, which swallowed
over 153 people on board, in addition to unspecified
number of people that were trapped and killed in their
homes. And the darkness as a result of explosions that
frequently terminate the lives of many innocent
Nigerians; the darkness of the most essential
institution of Nigeria's political leaders-
corruption. The darkness of recent fuel subsidy probe
chaired by Farouk Lawal brought hope for Nigerians but
in the end started turning out to be perhaps, the most
inconsistent and terrible scandal in the history of
the institution; the darkness of reprisal on innocent
people with different religious and ethnic
backgrounds; the darkness due to the 24-hour curfew
enveloping masses in their homes with empty stomach,
missing their daily obligatory worship
congregationally. Elsewhere, the darkness as a result
of kidnappings. Also on our highways, there exists the
darkness as a result of armed robbery. The
aforementioned vices and crimes are as a result of a
self-inflicted monster, mischievously promoted by most
Nigerian political leaders, i.e. injustice. Lucius
Seneca argued that, "A kingdom founded on injustice
never lasts". My heart really bleeds for darling
Nigeria.
Unfortunately and sadly too, nobody sincerely cares
for Nigeria in the ruling class. The situation is
always diminishing from bad to worse and now ugly. My
heart bleeds for Nigeria. Perhaps all social vices,
injustice and crimes that slowly, but surely engulfing
our darling Nigeria are a clear sign of a failed
nation that invites Allah's wrath and curse resulting
from disobedience to Him through injustice, excessive
greed, oppression, immorality and inhumanity. Our Lord
has aptly and divinely analysed the unfortunate
situation of an unjust nation. The Glorious Qur'an
says: "Do then those who devise evil plots feel
secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow
them up, or that the wrath will not seize them from
directions they little perceive? Or that He may not
call them to account in the midst of their goings to
and fro, without a chance of their frustrating Him? Or
that He may not call them to account by a process of
slow wastage for your Lord is indeed full of kindness
and mercy" (Q16:45-47). Undoubtedly, it is as
a result of His mercy and kindness that the situation
remains only ugly and hazy without eliminating us
entirely from the surface of Nigeria.
A prominent international Christian writer Sir Noah
Webmaster emphasised that, "All the miseries and evils
which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition,
injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from
their despising or neglecting the precepts contained
in the Bible". Sir Noah's opinion reflects what has
been described by the Glorious Qur'an and the Holy
Bible which aptly and unfortunately captures Nigeria's
sinking in the ocean of pandemonium. I always
emphasise and try to stand by my word; this situation
requires spiritual intervention or at least fighting
all forms of injustice, because history has enunciated
and vindicated that, no nation has ever been sustained
and promoted with injustice. Alice Walker indicated
publically that "All history is current; all injustice
continues on some level, somewhere in the world".
Furthermore, Nigerians must try and identify their
individual crimes and turn to their Creator as soon as
possible. I personally proffer the following as a
solution, at least for now.
First, repentance from major and minor sins and vices:
Crimes committed by others always invite wrath and
confusion to a nation, and the consequences
are not restricted only to
those who have committed them, but rather affect all
and sundry. Look at the crime of corrupt practices,
fraud, selective justice, extra-judicial killings and
misappropriation of public funds by the executive and
public officers, while on
the other hand masses are dying as a result of hunger
and sickness that can all be addressed. Repentance has
become the pillar for successful life in this
temporary world and in the hereafter.
Second, steadfastness in promoting goodness and
enjoining others towards it: partaking in doing good,
resisting evil and even repelling evil with goodness
is of paramount obligation towards sustaining and
advancing a country. Replying evil with goodness is a
quality of exceptional people that every nation
requires for stability and development. Please if you
cannot beat them, don't join them. Try to be steadfast
and incorruptible.
Third, striving for positive change sincerely:
Striving tirelessly is an all-important factor towards
attaining responsible change. Two ingredients are very
essential for achieving focused change; these are
sacrifice and supplication. I wish to remind us that,
loosing hope is an anathema and evil and spiritually
prohibited. There is definitely a positive change for
Nigeria if and only if, Nigerians are sincerely and
genuinely looking for it. Corrupters never succeed in
fighting corruption. My heart bleeds for
our darling
Nigeria. May our Lord save our fatherland.
Isa Ali Pantami,
PhD Candidate (Computing & IT) in the United Kingdom,
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