Obviously, Nigerians are resilient people, capable of taking several knocks and jolts and yet continue to smile even while suffering in silence. This accounts for why Nigerians were said to be the happiest people on Earth; happiest in the sense of having developed a system of immunity which remains resilient amidst a barrage of knocks, jolts and junk they bear and consume. For example, with the renewed panic over Covid-19 pandemic, the average Nigerian would go about his affairs, saying: “Covid-19 pandemic, not my portion”!
Surely, there is some uniqueness about the human mind, such that what an individual fears most or gets jittery about comes his way. Psychologists would talk about the mind attracting what it is regularly focused upon, and about a law of reversed efforts. Human emotions such as doubts, anxieties, guilt-feelings, etc, tend to reverse the possibility of the efforts of an individual to achieve successful results in any undertaking. We also have faith healers who achieve wonderful results where medical sciences are helpless. What is behind such phenomena? There’s power in human volition!
Therefore, resilience is mind-power which produces immunity, if an individual is unwavering in confidence, with no fear of come-uppance. To say that guilt-feeling drains personal confidence, is a reminder that every immunity has conditionality. This means that personal resilience can be overtaxed as well as the resilience-induced immunity of the masses. When that limit of elasticity is breached, what comes next can be unpredictable but likely to be sad.
Surely, those whose foods and every necessity of life, including political immunity and security, are provided via public funds would hardly know the knocks, jolts and bruises which the masses of Nigerians experience daily. Such regular plight cause the resilient mindset to serve as a shield which keeps sanity intact, in the midst of unrelenting barrage of knocks. Nigerians must be praised for being so tolerant, resilient and non-volatile, even when tempted to be so.
We must admit that across the globe, there are serious pressures, forcing people everywhere to awaken from a state of slumber and inactivity, into a boiling point. The result is that acts of aggression, including those close to deeds of madness, are increasing daily. But amidst this state of restiveness, opportunities also come up for people of goodwill to do some bits as lie within their ability, to provide some healing balm to ease knocks and pains on the masses. Those who try to do so may appear like fools, but such people of goodwill are not lacking in Nigeria.
One of the root causes of global instability and insecurity can be traced to capitalist political economy which is characterised by acquisitive propensity. There was a time when there was a belief that resources on earth were limited, calling for ruthless scrambles and struggles to grab what one is able to grab, at any opportunity. That mindset brought into being economic aggressiveness which stopped at nothing to acquire the good things of life, even at the expense of the well-being of others. Then aggressive politics served as a ready tool to facilitate a winner-takes-all predatory affair.
No honest person would deny that the Nigerian political economy is predatory and parasitic, even when this would be denied by those managing the affairs of Nigeria. It is a global plight rather than an exclusive Nigerian experience. What matters is how each nation manages to contain the volatile situation. Truly, there is an “animal-farm” affair, where some animals are more equal than others. Neither would it be wrong to say that “A Tale of Two Cities” aptly describes the predatory and parasitic tale of global economy.
When the cold war between capitalism and egalitarianism was raging between the world powers, leaders of African nations suggested the adoption of a non-aligned system and toyed with Pragmatic African Socialism. At the end of the day, it was victory for Western capitalism, facilitated by political duplicity, global oil economy and arms race. One honest African leader once confessed that there was no way that African nations can stand aloof, without belonging here or there. The dream of African socialism was a still-birth. What do we have now?
The predatory and parasitic nature of capitalist economy thrives on the game of monopoly, whereby individual strong associations join hands together to become a devouring titan or an intimidating behemoth. Both in economic and political affairs this system of ganging up to achieve goals and knock out opponents or competitors is a well-known strategy. Dr Goodluck Jonathan had a taste of that ruthless game, neither have we had the last of it in Nigeria. Any keen and far-sighted watcher can figure out what 2023 portends for Nigeria. The do-or-die game has started!
The old idiom that when elephants fight, it is the ground and plants therein that bear the brunt of the brawl. A unique feature of the Nigeria’s still emerging political economy is the injection of religion into the power game. Since ruthless power game thrives and depends upon money, two means of wealth accumulation include resource monopoly and tax evasion. Apart from enjoying some tax incentives and waivers, big business outfits have clever ways of dodging and evading taxes.
Tax fairness and redressing inequities are rarely in the agenda of political leaders, largely because they usually have hands in big business outfits. The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) also gives us some clue into the game of monopoly and wealth accumulation. Decree No. 27 of 1969 transferred ownership of oil and gas to the federal government, with oil block allocation as a clandestine affair. Are there not a few highly placed Nigerians fronting for multinational interests in the oil and gas industry? An average Nigerian would tell the moneybags: “Inherit the whole earth if you can, but just provide opportunity for me to earn a living by my own efforts”. Is that available?
Long-suffering Nigerians are not interested in the feasts of winners and champions; neither do they envy them of their possessions and power. What would ruin the feasts and sleep of the champions would be comparable to a straw. Don’t seek to set the straws, on which the impoverished masses have their sleep, ablaze, because you want to grab that piece of land, to add to your expansive possessions. Religion, as a partner in the power game, comes handy when needed.

Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.