PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2013
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Opinion Mendicants, social parasites, and human rights By Ifeanyi Uddin
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he most unusual contribution (thus far) to the current conversation over the forced internal relocation of mendicants in the country (the recent action by the Lagos state government has been in the centre of this exchange, but, apparently, other states had done the same thing before) reprises an old argument. Some 25 years ago, I had this friend (quite prominent, today) who would not give alms “because acts of charity compromise the objective conditions necessary for a revolution”. The “poor and the vulnerable” should not be dandled if truly we looked forward to a revolution (and, I guess the eventual de-kulakisation of the wealthy) in Nigeria. In order for the awareness of the poor to make the necessary leap from quantity (the coins in their begging bowls are counted one-by-one, remember) to quality (when count is lost of the extent of the “political repressions, including arrests, deportations, and executions of millions of the bourgeoisie, better-off peasants and their families”), which a revolution requires, they must suffer more. And where the beggary of the poor is not sufficient, “true revolutionaries” must support programmes (pogroms – which would have been far easier under this mindset – will not do, I suppose, since this will reduce the number of “our”
foot soldiers when the revolution commences) that inflict new levels of hardship on them. History does play strange tricks on us, by going round in a circle. We inflict worse on ourselves, however, by failing to learn anything from these circles and forgetting everything else. Two centuries ago, a conservative politician declared that “The real grievance of the worker is the insecurity of his existence; he is not sure that he will always have work, he is not sure that he will always be healthy, and he foresees that he will one day be old and unfit to work. If he falls into poverty, even if only through a prolonged illness, he is then completely helpless, left to his own devices, and society does not currently recognize any real obligation towards him beyond
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the usual help for the poor, even if he has been working all the time ever so faithfully and diligently. The usual help for the poor, however, leaves a lot to be desired, especially in large cities, where it is very much worse than in the country”. And so, in the 1880s, the Iron Chancellor bequeathed to us, social security legislations anchored on the belief “that the healing of social wrongs must be sought not solely through the repression of social democratic excesses but just as much by positively advancing the wellbeing of the workers”. We, on the other hand, only wish to “sharpen the contradiction in the Nigerian society and make the objective conditions for the elusive Nigerian revolution to ripen”. In pursuit of this noble goal, however, the burden on
the poor must not be in the nature of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, slavery or servitude, and/or forced of compulsory labour. Remember, our constitution expressly forbids all of these unspeakable practices. At this point, I am not too sure whether to roll on the floor, laughing out real loud, or to shake my head in disgust, take a deep breath, pinch my nostrils, and try to live through the stench that our country is becoming. Indulge in the legal arguments, all you will. But my point remains that the argument for forcibly relocating (internally) beggars are easy to indulge in, today. None of us is a panhandler, yet. But what is to stop this new argument from being applied to any other category of Nigerians? Bankers, for instance? There
Indulge in the legal arguments, all you will. But my point remains that the argument for forcibly relocating (internally) beggars are easy to indulge in, today. None of us is a panhandler, yet. But what is to stop this new argument from being applied to any other category of Nigerians? Bankers, for instance? There is clear evidence that their every day job may be militating against the development of those “objective conditions necessary for a revolution”. Who knows by how much they harm the “subjective conditions”, too? And then, there is the evidence of their deleterious effects on the Nigerian economy! Did you not read the last communique of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy-setting committee?
is clear evidence that their every day job may be militating against the development of those “objective conditions necessary for a revolution”. Who knows by how much they harm the “subjective conditions”, too? And then, there is the evidence of their deleterious effects on the Nigerian economy! Did you not read the last communique of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy-setting committee? It describes vividly how these folks fleece the state, by taking deposits from ministries, departments, and agencies of the state (for a song) and lending it back to government for a king’s ransom! Should we not also forcibly relocate such people? Before you fall on the floor rolling with laughter on my take on this matter, recall that at Joseph Brodsky’s 1964 trial the judge asked him “Who has recognised you as a poet? Who has enrolled you in the ranks of poets?” The Soviet State had earlier charged him with “social parasitism”! As we look for innovative ways to address our own social parasites, we are allowed to address the new Nigerian state and its new “judges” in two ways. Either through Joseph Brodsky’s peerless response: “No one! Who enrolled me in the ranks of the human race?” Or in FelaAnikulapoKuti’s fiercer broadside: “Human rights na my property! Animal can’t dash us human rights”! Ifeany Uddin’s professional profile is on LinkedIn.
Baddies of yesterday, goodies of today By Olanrewaju Daodu
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his is Nigeria where the sympathizers cry more than the bereaved and you can’t but marvel at chameleonic and sudden metamorphic transformation of past public office holders in the Nigerian government. These were the chronic and irredeemable looters and kleptomaniacs our dear country has ever had-the magnitude and dimension of the looting is catastrophic and has left the economy and the people in prolonged comatose. Some of these ‘heroes’ and ‘heroines’ are professional ‘armed’ robbers-they are armed with exalted offices, funds, green pens and their spiritualists. They are robbers because they have captured and stolen the future of this country and converted it to a ping-pong passed down from one generation of robbers to another generation of advanced robbers- in any case kept perpetually in the bondage of parasitic cabalistic dictators. This is pathetic. The proportion of funds stolen and diverted to promote purses and pockets under their commands and operations is outrageous. No group of public office holders in any part of the world can rival them-they have become a reference standard in the game of mindless stealing. They have done more damage than the whole of witches and
wizards in Africa combined. They are vampires. They have sucked hopes out of the young people in Nigeria who have since forgotten about any glimmer of brighter tomorrow. These ‘heroes’ and heroines’ are worst nightmare of the Nigerian state. Thanks to these ‘celebrities’ 10.5 million children will not go to school in Nigeria-in fact, Nigeria has the highest out of school population in the world and increasing levels of pockets of violence in education underprivileged regions. Worse still, the entire university community in Nigeria has been grounded for more than 50 days without any resolution in sight. Is there any hope for the youth of this country? Due to the heartless manner and nature with which these ‘saints’ handle matters
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of national importance, there is a proportional collapse in the infrastructural and social amenities (if any really) in the country. Countless people have accident plane crashes more than whooping cough and malaria combined. Do we really have access to any good public utility? Our dear ‘heroes’ and ‘heroines’ are not alone-they have wide follower ship and fans as expected. These blind and deaf followers and fans are untreatable imbeciles and morons or they are consciously helping themselves with the crumbs from the hijacked national cake-you can’t blame them because there is so much poverty in the land. Together this unholy matrimony is architectural design of our misfortune as a
people blessed country with colossal poor citizens-our blessing hasn’t translated into the general commonwealth for the entire populace. Some of our ‘heroes’ and ‘heroines’ schooled in the best schools in the world. Others are stark illiterate and who can’t use the bottom of a bottle to inscribe letter ‘O’- the dumbest we ever had. All of these people have contributed to the woes of this country! Fast forwards, now they are out of public offices, broke and hungry-ok maybe a little broke! Their tenure has expired and they are out of circulation. Some of them (our present ‘heroes’ and ‘heroines’) are now indebted to many financial institutions and the lenders are calling for their wives and children. Life is tough for them
In Nigeria, since its independence from Britain, nothing has out-sold religion. Very many evils have been perpetuated in the name of religion. Our heroes and heroism are currently taking cover under its shade cashing in on the people’s ignorance and fearful gullibility. This group of celebrities have since become advocate of social justice and equity. Some have suddenly caught strange fire and become overnight crusaders and noise makers.They are very active on social media-obviously out of job and as such finding solace and comfort in the youth community.
now. Yes, they still have few things going for them-contacts they made while in office, few currencies laundered in foreign accounts and of course a few escorts. They have eventually returned to their abandoned houses and communities- they are now visible parts of us. Because some of them have PhD in sociology and political psychology. It is easy to make a transition from villainy to heroism is very easy when you combine these disciplines with religion. They have successfully integrated and settled amongst us. In Nigeria, since its independence from Britain, nothing has out-sold religion. Very many evils have been perpetuated in the name of religion. Our heroes and heroism are currently taking cover under its shade cashing in on the people’s ignorance and fearful gullibility. This group of celebrities have since become advocate of social justice and equity. Some have suddenly caught strange fire and become overnight crusaders and noise makers.They are very active on social media-obviously out of job and as such finding solace and comfort in the youth community. But we know what they are up to. What you have read thus far is the constant nightmare of the Nigerian people as batons change hands in the political space. Olanrewaju Daodu can be reached on www. allternativecommunication.