Every society has cherished values that are hallowed from generation to generation. Such values are rooted in their culture. Culture is the totality of the modus Vivendi of a people or way of life. So when such values begin to decay, it splashes on all aspects of society. That Nigeria is caught up in a morass of decaying values is no longer in doubt.
It is often more convenient for the people in any leadership dispensation to always point at the leadership and subject them to critical scrutiny. Such scrutiny sometimes, are not aligned to what should be the responsibility of the ordinary people who should hold on to values of good citizenship and ethics. Professor Chinua Achebe in his work on “The Trouble with Nigeria”, weighs more on the side of the followership than the leadership.
When you look at the Nigeria state, you will see the justification in that opinion. Yes, we agree that the followership is a reflection of the leadership. We also agree that a people get the leadership they deserve.
The Greek civilization had looked at the polity and came out with the relationship between leadership and followership. The most interesting is their classification of people with respect to roles and disposition in the well being of the polity. The Greek picked out a group they described as citizens. The Citizen according to the Greek is one who is well equipped with knowledge and skills to live in the realm of the public. The citizen should be able to see oneself as a member of the common wealth of the nation. He has an understanding and experience of what is civil and what is not, his rights and obligations. So when Nigerians speak of citizens and they speak of good and bad citizen, there is a contradiction. Those they call bad citizens are the class of people the Greek referred to as IDIOTS. The Greek idiots are not selfless, indeed the Greek identified the idiots as not being mentally deficient but those who are selfish and private in their actions and inactions. This is unlike our common understanding of idiots. The most important trait of the Greek idiot is the lack of public philosophy, knowledge and virtue.
In all, they do not have the common good of the public in mind. They are unethical and reckless. They are found in all strata of society. In Nigeria unfortunately they constitute a large population with dominant negative and decaying values in all aspects of our national life.
This phenomenon has led to the increasing population of the Greek Idiots. They are seen everywhere constituting nuisance in traffic, dumping refuse indiscriminately. These Greek idiots have also increased their negative nuisance value in the area of noise pollution, criminality of all sorts, even in the houses of worship.
Positive values are almost dead and buried. Values have been explained as ideals with which we evaluate actions with different perspectives.
Every ethnic nationality, communities and families have time tested values. The unfortunate situation in Nigeria today is that we have lost the value of decorum, respect for self and others. Our national values of respect for the rights of others have been eroded.
How else can one explain the nuisance of noise pollution in cities in Nigeria. In Port Harcourt the law against noise pollution has been taken for granted. Loud noise beyond the accepted decibel has become the norm rather than the exception.
Those whose offices are located close to Mile one park are in danger of losing their auditory well being as record sellers use loud speakers to unleash all manner of sounds into the confines of their business enclosures or officers.
These mobile record sellers are allowed to push their truck of noise pollution around the city center disturbing the neigbhourhood unhindered. Those who are supposed to enforce the state laws on noise pollution have remained adamant.
It is unfortunate that Nigerians which the Greek Philosophers would like to call idiots have refused to restrain themselves from all manner of unethical practices. People no longer have respect for residential places. Churches are located within residential homes mounted with horn speakers. Loud worship sessions rent the air at all times of the day even all nights. The worst case scenario are those who have cell worship groups that use loud speakers to disturb their neigbours and damming the consequences all day, all night.
They are those that Greek philosophers call idiots because all they think about are themselves, not their neigbours, not the state and the laws that are supposed to protect the rights of other citizens.
Maybe these persons in religious and secular sectors are waiting for the state to set up taskforces to enforce sanity in the state capital. These adults are quick to point at youths who have lost their family values, they are quick to point at some corrupt politicians who are also part of the Greek idiots but not themselves. They are holy and those who complain are demonic and must be consumed by Holy Ghost fire.
It takes a good followership to have the right leadership.
How can we have a sane society when there is a followership that have lost it?
Such followership breed bad leaders and even when good leaders emerge they make governance difficult for them.
The case of worship houses reminds us of the saying which poses a question that “if gold rust what should iron do”? We all are caught up in a morass of decaying values.

By: Bon Woke