NZE JAMES CHINONYEREM
We have been adjudged among the happiest people on earth. We are Nigerians. Tongues and tribes may differ but in brotherhood we stand and suffer. In oneness, solidarity, love, we smile and laugh with happiness in spite of ourselves. We are not necessarily, happy because there are many reasons for us not to be. We are happy because we cannot afford to be otherwise. Our nation’s structures, economic and political, compel us daily to be angry but our cultures dissuade us. The culture of *Nnonorm ele uwa* and *Onyegbula onweya* Our kindred spirit in music and vision bearer, Fela sang about it. “Suffering and smiling” he sang. In all conditions, we must smile and laugh, be happy and move on. Our leaders know and understand this. They use it against us. Consider this, our president has directed himself to start paying toll fees at every tollgate in every airport he passes through. He must pay to encourage us to pay. The theatre continues.
Few days ago, the news space became awash with another happy news. This time, Rt Hon Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, the member, representing Mariga constituency, the Hon Speaker of the Niger state House of Assembly. As the speaker, he spoke about the plights of the many girls at the internally displaced camps, who became orphans because of the dastardly acts of the bandits. To him, these girls’ suffering must stop. The girls needed helps. They needed a new life, happy and steady. To ensure this, the speaker came with a very smart and bright innovation. A rare thought to reengineer the lives of these poor girls, hundred of them. Marry them off, they speaker said. As a benevolent speaker and uncle to these girls, he appointed himself the chief sponsor. He said he would pay for the mass wedding. What a kind man. The speaker did not let us in who the lucky husbands are. I can guess, the husbands are also going to be the girls’ fellow orphans, the boys whose parents were also killed by the bandits. This is a nice arrangement. At least, the couples will share a lot in common. So, what sorrows join together, let no man put asunder. What a kind speaker!
Curiously, the benevolent speaker said he had everything worked out for their welfare. He did not say how. It is sad that the speaker’s benevolent spirit did not lead him to think outside the box that marrying the girls off just like that would not be the best option. He did not think about the emotional and psychological healths of the girls neither was he concerned with their dignities. One can say Rt Hon Abdumalik favours the creation and multiplication of problems as solutions. Why couldn’t he think about the education of the girls, skill trainings and proper social placements.
I wonder the kind of public officers we have. People who fiddle while the society burns. A bunch disconnected from the socioeconomic realities around them. Recently, Senator Rufai Hanga, representing Kano Central District”graciously” donated 10,500 white cloths (called “Likkadani” in Hausa) and 2000 clay pots for the burials of his constituents. He said his needs to seek God’s mercy motivated the donations. Can you imagine a Senator caring more for the dead more than the living?
Thank goodness for Hon Mrs. Uju Kennedy -Ohanenye, Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, who challenged the benevolent speaker against the ill conceived program. Rt Hon Abdulmalik Daji’s suspension of the planned induced mass marriage should be commended. He acted rightly in the circumstance for the good course. Let him listen again and make uses of the advices given to him on the best ways to make the girls better citizens for the good of themselves and humanity.