Falz The Bad Guy, This Too Is Nigeria (1)

ARINZE IGBOELI

Folarin Falana, also known as Falz the bad guy cracks me up as an entertainer. His heavily accented Yoruba, his cadence and rapping is indeed salutary as a talent and also as a means of cultural diplomacy; exporting the dynamics of our culture to the  outside world. A number of his tracks have also largely been successful and his stint as an actor, performing a number of roles on a number of TV sitcoms largely stands him out from there pack.

The son of legal luminary, vocal activist and one of the nation’s voices of conscience, Femi Falana. Unlike his dad,  Falz who is also  a law graduate from the University of Reading, took to music rather than the court room like his father had done.

Recently, Falz released a hit track titled “This is Nigeria” a song that has been trending not for it’s ryhthm but for the portrayal of our nation as a Banana Republic and a near failed state.

While a number of his lyrics are said to be true,  hitting at the failures of leadership and it’s people to build a national identity, ethos and spirit that is positive and inspirational  to future generations to come, I must note that for posterity’s sake that is not all that there is to Nigeria, no, we are indeed more than the
negative labelling  and adjectives with  which we have been rashly described by the West and even fellow Nigerians themselves.  We are like a coin with two sides and like every nation we have had and will always have our flaws,  but does this make us a country of criminals like Falz lyrically suggests?  The answer is no!

This too is Nigeria  where we have been blessed with the most astute and selfless of statesmen, names like MI Okpara,  Obafemi Awolowo, SD Adegbenro, Dennis Osadebey, Aguiyi Ironsi, Ralph Uwechue,  Aminu Kano, Murtala Muhammad, Alex Ekwueme,  Lateef Jakande, Bola Ige, Bala Takaya and a number of others bestride our political history if not that of Africa, each as a collusus in his or her own right.

This is also Nigeria,  a nation with a citizenry given to performing heroics, standing tall as a proud people in Burma,  Congo Kinshasa,  Tanzania, Chad,  Liberia and Sierra Leone.  Shadow boxing Apartheid as a frontier state through effective diplomacy, defying world powers then and freeing Angola, Zimbabwe,  Namibia and South Africa from the last mementoes of the white man’s rule.

This is Nigeria where the likes of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi,  John Pepper Clark, Buchi Emecheta, Flora Nwapa,  Ken Saro Wiwa, Helon Habila,  Mamman Vatsa,  TM Aluko, Zulu Sofola,  Okey Ndibe,Chinamanda Adichie, Uzodinma Iweala,  Tolu Ogunlesi are her citizens who have made and are still making giant strides in literature.

This too is Nigeria,  where a number of her citizens stand tall in the field of academics, the likes of Akinola Aguda,  Bolaji Akinyemi,  Chike Obi, Gauis Igboeli, Chuba Okadigbo, Pius Okigbo, Iya Abubakar,  Bala Takaya,  Chukwuemeka Ike, Yusufu Bala Usman, Stella Okunna and a host of other household names.

This too is Nigeria,  where the likes of Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu,  Alhassan Dantata,  Sanusi Dantata,  Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony and Shafi Edu hailed from,  merchants and businesspersons per excellence, today they are joined by the Dangote’s, the Otedola’s, the Ovia’s, Alakija’s and Elumelu’s in dominating the corporate global turfs all over the world.

This is Nigeria,  a nation of individualist, non conformist trend setters,  the Nigeria of the Aba Women Riots, of the Funmilayo Ransome-Kutis,  the Hajia Gambo Sawaba’s,  the Margaret Ekpo’s,  the Fawhehinmi’s, the Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s,  the Micheal Imoudu’s, Hassan Sumonu,  Ali Chiroma’s, Pascal Bafyau’s,Oshiomole’s and Charly Boy’s.

The Nigeria of  legal luminaries,  judges and lawyers alike such as Rotimi Williams,  Adetokunbo Ademola,  TOS Benson,  TO Elias,   , Chukwudifu Oputa ,Ben Nwabueze and Richard Akinjide of the 12 2/3 rd fame,  men who made courtrooms quake with their knowledge of the law.

This is Nigeria where journalists on a number of occasions proved that the pen is still mightier than the sword,  wordsmiths and kings of the fourth estate lunged at the evils of colonialism, corruption  and the infamous concept of dictatorship and malgovernance as witnessed in the nation’s dark days.  Editors,  investigative reporters and columnists, who matched brute force and sheer propaganda with stirring words, a mix of sarcasm and mordant wit, embarrassing the high and mighty with truth.  This list is endless and has the largest constituency with the likes of Herbert Macauly,  Nnamdi Azikiwe,  Adeyemo Alakija’s,  Anthony Enahoro, Allade Odunewu, Ernest Ikoli,  Sam Amuka Pemu, Lindsay Barret,  Segun Osoba, Babatunde Jose, Tony Momoh,  Stanley Macebuh,  Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu , Soji Akinrinade,  Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor.

Keen readers will note that in this diatribe of mine,  I have mostly referenced a large number of what we call the generation X, this is for a reason,  perhaps in the sequel that will follow this, “the generation Next of Nigerians”,  which includes Falz and myself might all be Yahoo boys and criminals.  We shall see!
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